Vested Interest - Keith Hebeisen, ITLA President 2005-2006

May 2006 Issue
“Twelve jurors cared. Twelve jurors, acting for the 12 million people of Illinois. Twelve jurors devoted to the notion . . . that citizens are entitled to the honest services of the public officials they elect to office. Twelve conscientious jurors weighed the evidence and declared Ryan a criminal.” (Chicago Tribune editorial, April 18, 2006). The Tribune failed to mention that a trial lawyer, Joe Power, was instrumental in discovering and exposing the license for bribes scandal leading to Ryan’s conviction. [View Full Issue]

April 2006 Issue
Recently retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor urged a conference of attorneys at Georgetown’s Corporate Counsel Institute to speak out on the importance of judicial independence. "You have an obligation to speak up. Statutes and constitutions do not protect judicial independence — people do. We must be ever vigilant against those who would strong-arm the judiciary. [View Full Issue]

March 2006 Issue
Corporate America is trying to sell a ridiculous story to "fix" a "problem" that does not exist, i.e. that "lawsuit abuse" has driven 200,000 manufacturing jobs out of the state of Illinois. The truth is that the rising trade deficit is the major factor in the loss of nearly 3 million U.S. manufacturing jobs since 2000, as U.S. companies move production overseas to lower wage nations. Many economists believe those manufacturing jobs will never come back. [View Full Issue]

January - February 2006 Issue
The Senate and House Republicans, with the support of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Illinois Civil Justice League, have introduced six bills in each chamber to further take away the rights of our citizens and tilt the playing field even more in favor of corporations and the insurance industry. These bills deal with expert witness qualifications, the elimination of joint and several liability, restricting liability in asbestos cases, restrictions on class-action suits and gutting the venue laws. We will use all of our collective resources to oppose these bills and any others which take away the rights of our citizens.[View Full Issue]

December 2005 Issue
Remember when President Bush came to Collinsville in January advancing the myth that too many " frivolous lawsuits" were driving doctors out of Illinois and that a cap on damages was the "silver bullet"? By Memorial Day weekend, the silver bullet had been delivered and became law in August. ISMIE’s response in June was to raise rates on its corporate policies over 20%. [View Full Issue]

November 2005 Issue
In recent years, one has had to wonder whether truth and integrity still matter. But they do. "Scooter" Libby was just indicted for "merely" lying to the FBI and the grand jury about how the identity of a covert CIA agent was leaked to the media, blowing her cover. Recently we have seen the trial of former Governor George Ryan unfolding. Ironically, the same prosecutor brought both cases. [View Full Issue]

October 2005 Issue
The day the Governor signed PA 94-677 into law, the Chamber of Commerce and Civil Justice League announced that they considered it to be a "small first step," leaving no doubt that they will stop at nothing to take down the entire civil justice system. Their targets are each and every one of us, and our present and future clients. PA 94-677 will eventually be the subject of a constitutional challenge, as were similar laws in 1975 and 1995. [View Full Issue]

September 2005 Issue
Things could be a lot worse as they are for countless families devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Please help them as much as you can. Some suggestions are on our website. [View Full Issue]

July 2005 Issue
Now, more than ever, this organization needs to be strong, as our clients’ rights are under a strong attack. During the last two weeks ITLA, joined by Illinois AFL-CIO, Citizen Action/Illinois, Illinois State Conference NAACP, Center for Justice & Democracy, Victims & Families United and Illinois Alliance for Retired Americans, signed on to newspaper ads throughout the state urging the Governor to veto SB 475. It is not too late for you to write to the Governor and the media to send the same message. [View Full Issue]

June 2005 Issue
This year we will realize our true potential to be a powerful force in shaping public opinion and preserving the rights of the people of Illinois to have a full right to trial by jury. [View Full Issue]

Vested Interest Past Issue Archive