The State-Journal Register, January 29, 2010

Travis Akin, spokesperson for an anti-consumer group, must be getting writer's cramp. He's been on a letter writing campaign, sending out variations of his recent Letter to the Editor (January 26, 2010) to newspapers around the state blaming a "lack of lawsuit reform" for our state's economic woes.

His letter is another version of the same old tired rant, full of the same false claims, distorted facts and worthless surveys. There is no correlation between our state's economy and the civil justice system, yet Akin in his fantasy ties those unrelated issues to his flawed research and creates out of whole cloth a conclusion that fits his bias.

And we only need look at the organizations that Akin quotes in his letter to see that bias; one is so anti-consumer it opposes any restraint on Wall Street, any reforms on bank practices and any legislation designed to protect credit card holders. Another is fully funded by lobbyists for the insurance industry whose main goal is to limit your ability for a fair hearing in an open courtroom.

Not exactly the kind of organization most of us would want to associate with, but these are Akin's kind of people: special interests with anti-consumer agendas.

You're known by the friends you keep. And Travis Akin's friends are no friend of the working man and woman. Their interests, and Akin's, are all about limiting the rights of consumers and advancing the agenda of lobbyists for Wall Street, the banks, and the insurance industry.

I expect we've not seen the last Akin letter full of distortions and fabrications. It's what he does and what his sponsors expect of him. However, when you see the next one keep in mind the real issue at stake is fairness, and it is under attack by critics such as Akin and his anti-consumer allies.

Our court system protects those who have been injured, through no fault of their own, and protects the rests of us from dangerous products and negligent behavior. Let's not let special interests, such as those Akin speaks for, weaken it.

Peter J. Flowers
President
Illinois Trial Lawyers Association
St. Charles