Vested Interest - March 1999 Issue

The President’s Thoughts

This is the time of year when the Illinois legislature gets into full swing. While thousands of bills were introduced, our concern will come down to just hundreds of them. At this point, all bills which will be considered by the full House must have passed out of committee. However, the subject matter of bills which have not passed out of committee can still be considered as an amendment if tacked onto another bill passed out of committee. Any amendment would be, of course, subject to the single matter requirement. There is a similar deadline in the Senate. So while there are no “tort deform” bills passed out of committee in the House or Senate, the issue can still come up later this session as a floor amendment.

We have been active with labor in the area of construction safety advocating reinstatement of the Structural Work Act (HB210). On a positive note, it passed the House with 61-53 vote. As we anticipated, a bill granting certain immunities for Y2K problems to the banking industry was introduced in the Senate. We testified against it, but it was voted out of the Senate Banking Committee with the understanding that all interested parties would have further opportunities to discuss the terms of the bill. On the House side, a consumer-oriented Y2K bill protecting consumers from defaults and foreclosures by banks arising out of Y2k problems passed out of the newly formed Committee on Computer Technology. I am sure this will be a topic of much discussion for the remainder of the session.

HB886 amending the Code of Civil Procedure was introduced by a Republican member. It allows the use of discovery depositions at trial under certain circumstances where witnesses are unavailable. As currently written, we will be supporting this bill. On HMO reform, HB626, containing a bill of rights with a right to sue, is on third reading in the House. There has been no agreement as yet on a lien notification bill (SB507) requiring notification to medical providers prior to settlement. This is similar to the Act that was recently held unconstitutional by the Illinois Supreme Court for a single subject matter violation. There is also no agreement on a lien limitation bill (HB232) limiting medical liens to one-third of a recovery, in response to the Burrell decision.

On another matter, St. Patrick’s Day brought another opportunity to advance our bike safety campaign. ITLA sponsored a float in the downtown St. Patrick’s Day Parade urging all to Keep Our Families Safe and to wear bike helmets whenever they ride. A number of children from a boy scout troop and near West side school where we had distributed bike helmets were on the float with their helmets. Jim Hurd, former curator of the Bike Museum furnished a reproduction of a 1885 high wheeler in use in the 19th Century. The bike was secured to a stationary platform and then to the float, so the children could pedal it as the float moved along. There were a lot of positive comments about our bike safety campaign and coverage on Channels 7 and 9. We will be involved in Bike Week, in May with Mayor Daley in Chicago , and other officials in Springfield and the Metro East.

If there are any questions or comments about specific legislation, kindly call the ITLA office.

Martin J. Healy, Jr.
President, Illinois Trial Lawyers Association