Madison County, a small county in southwestern Illinois that has long been a prime venue for plaintiffs’ lawyers, may be the asbestos litigation capitol of the world. A new report by the Madison-St. Clair Record shows that 74.6% of cases filed in Madison County circuit court are asbestos cases.

The Illinois Trial Lawyers Association chalked the numbers up to historically large concentrations of industry and population. However the Record’s analysis challenged the Association’s claim and showed that industry in Madison County has drastically dropped over the past thirty years and that the county’s population only represents 2% of Illinois’ populace.

Madison County became a go-to destination for filing class action lawsuits around the turn of the 21st century. By 2002 it ranked third nationwide in the number of class actions filed per year behind only Cook County, IL, and Los Angeles County, CA. Lawyers frequently file more mesothelioma cases in Madison County than any other county in the nation. This stems in large part due to “rampant forum shopping” which has been detailed by a U.S. Chamber of Commerce report due to Madison County judges (and the Illinois Appellate Court) largely ignoring the forum non conveniens doctrine. According to the report many cases have little, if any, connection to the county and a minimal connection to the state of Illinois (The Record’s analysis shows that 98% of plaintiffs in these cases do not reside in Illinois).

Tort reform has been slow to come to Illinois. While the Class Action Fairness Act may be responsible for a temporary reduction of class action cases filed in Madison County, the numbers have since rebounded. Recently the Illinois senate judiciary committee voted down Governor Bruce Rauner’s tort reform bill. He has since stated that he intends to continue negotiations on tort reform as part of the state budget process. The budget process is currently stalled.