Source: http://www.atra.org/state/illinois/
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 00:35:54+00:00

Document:
Limits the amount a signatory to the Master Settlement Agreement can be required to pay to secure the right to appeal to $250 million.
Joint and Several Liability Reform: HB 20 (1995).
Bars application of the rule of joint and several liability in the recovery of all damages. The reform violates the State Constitutional prohibition against special legislation. Best v. Taylor Machine Works, Inc., 689 N.E.2d 1057 (Ill. 1997).
Joint and Several Liability Reform: SB 1200 (1986).
Bars application of the rule of joint and several liability in the recovery of noneconomic damages from defendants found to be 25% or less at fault. Except in auto, product or environmental cases.
Medical Liability Reform: Noneconomic Damages Reform: SB 475 (2005).
Limits noneconomic damages in medical liability cases to $500,000 per physician and $1 million per hospital.
Held unconstitutional by the Illinois Supreme Court in LeBron v. Gottlieb Mem. Hosp., 930 N.E.2d 895 (Ill. 2010).
Noneconomic Damages Reform: HB 20 (1995).
Limits noneconomic damages to $500,000. The reform violates the State Constitutional prohibition against special legislation and separation of powers provision of the State Constitution. Best v. Taylor Machine Works, Inc., 689 N.E.2d 1057 (Ill. 1997).
Collateral Source Rule Reform: SB 1200 (1986): 735 Ill. Comp. Stat Ann. § 5/2 –1205.
Provides for awards to be offset for benefits over $25,000, as long as the offset does not reduce the judgment by more than 50%.
Product Liability Reform: HB 20 (1995).
Establishes affidavit requirements in product liability cases. Creates a presumption of safety, where manufacturers meet state and federal standards, and where no practical or feasible alternative design existed at the time the product was manufactured. Applies statutes of repose on all product liability cases to bar an action after either 12 years from the first sale or 10 years from the first sale to a user or consumer.
Held unconstitutional by the Illinois Supreme Court in Best v. Taylor Machine Works, Inc., December 1997.
Punitive Damages Reform: HB 20 (1995).
Limits the award of punitive damages to three times the award of economic damages. Prohibits the award of punitive damages absent a showing that the defendant engaged in conduct “with an evil motive or with a reckless indifference to the rights of others.” Requires the determination of awards for punitive damages to be made in a separate proceeding. The reform is unconstitutional. Best v. Taylor Machine Works,Inc., 689 N.E.2d 1057 (Ill. 1997).
Punitive Damages Reform: SB 1200 (1986).
Prohibits a plaintiff from pleading punitive damages in an original complaint. Requires a subsequent motion for punitive damages to show at a hearing a reasonable chance that the plaintiff will recover an award for punitive damages at trial. Requires a plaintiff to show that the defendant acted “willfully and wantonly.” Provides discretion to the court to award punitive damages among the plaintiff, the plaintiff’s attorney, and the State Department of Rehabilitation Services.
Offers protection from civil liability to employers providing employee refernces unless: by a preponderance of the evidence the employer knowingly disclosed false information with the intent to mislead, in bad faith, or with malicious purpose; and/or, by a preponderance of the evidence the disclosure constituted an unlawful discriminatory practice. Provides a loser pays provision.

References: v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 § 5
 v. 
 v.