Sen. Frank Watson
Sen. Dave Luechtefeld
The Illinois Civil Justice League (ICJL) Wednesday released a mid-session scorecard tracking the voting records - on civil justice issues - of all members of the Illinois General Assembly.
State Sens. Frank Watson (R-Greenville) and Dave Luechtefeld (R-Okawville) were among the named "Friends of Fairness" who fared particularly well for their consistent support for civil justice issues in the most recent Illinois legislative session, the ICJL announced.
According to ICJL's recent legislative scorecard, Watson and Luechtefeld supported key civil justice reform legislation 83 percent of the time.
Ed Murnane, president of the ICJL, said in a press release that the senators' constituents should be proud that their legislators supported "their interests over the interests of the interests of the personal injury trial lawyers."
"For too long, the personal injury trial lawyers have held too much clout in Springfield, advancing their stealth agenda of increasing their profits at the expense of hard-working Illinois citizens," Murnane said. "This scorecard enables the average voter to know if his or her legislator stands with them – or with the trial lawyers."
This scorecard, which can be viewed with analysis online, reflects the roll call votes on the floor of the House and Senate, as well as committee votes on and sponsorships of bills that are important to the Illinois civil justice reform effort.
The ICJL states that it has produced the most detailed legislative scorecard – on any issue - in the state of Illinois by looking at roll call votes, committee votes and bill sponsorships.
"It is important that Illinois voters know where their legislators stand on issues relating to the reform of our state's troubled legal system," Murnane said.
The scorecard assigns each legislator a percentage scored based on the number of times he or she supported or opposed a key bill. ICJL then highlighted the best and worst scores through the following groups:
FRIENDS OF FAIRNESS: This group highlights those legislators who exhibited an exemplary voting record on civil justice reform issues by having an aggregate score of 75 percent or higher.
Illinois Senate "Friends of Fairness":
Illinois House "Friends of Fairness":
"We feel that it is only right to honor and call attention to those legislators who consistently support common sense lawsuit reform – and reject the trial lawyer agenda." Murnane said.