Civil justice needs fixing

To the editor:

It is a sad day for the state of Illinois and Madison County.

In an article entitled, "Illinois moves up in Harris Poll, but Madison County still has problems," (The Record 3/27/06), the Harris poll ranked Illinois 45th on a survey of states' legal fairness, and Madison County was said to be one of the worst offenders in the entire country.

This factor could determine if a company would even do business here or not.

This comes as no real surprise since Madison County has always been known to be a hot spot for award settlements and favortism towards unfair suits against business. U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue even referred to Madison County as being "as crooked as a dog's hind leg."

What comes as a surprise is that we've let it get as bad as it is. Illinois cannot affort the continued job loss that judicial systems like the one in Madison County cause.

Something should be done soon or Madison County will cost us all dearly.

Arnold W. Buescher
Edwardsville