In a district election to fill a seat on the state Supreme Court, Gordon Maag, a Democratic trial-lawyer-turned-judge from Madison County, was beaten by Lloyd Karmeier, a Washington County judge backed by the ICJL and the Illinois Chamber of Commerce.
Business interests are exercising their election-year muscle for a vote, while the G.O.P. further pursues its campaign to rein in pro-Democratic trial lawyers by crimping citizens' right to sue.
Besides being major campaign contributors to legislators, especially Democratic ones, trial lawyers occupy prominent positions in the Legislature.
In their haste to rescue doctors and spite the Democratic-leaning trial lawyers, legislators need to make sure that any limits they set do not beleaguer a patient who has suffered truly grievous harm from negligent care.
They propose caps on malpractice awards that can drive up costs, which is anathema to Democratic-leaning trial lawyers, and, if costs rise faster than targets, they back the introduction of a public plan on the new insurance exchanges, which is anathema to Republicans.
Correction: March 26 , 2000 Sunday An article on Thursday about campaign contributions to Democratic candidates from trial lawyers characterized the Center for Responsive Politics incorrectly.
All the while, they'll be arguing over a straight-up political issue in Congressional maps, an issue that splits mostly Democratic political money (trial lawyers) from mostly Republican political money (tort reformers) in the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association fight, and ethnic politics, in sanctuary cities.
There were special arrangements made for big Democratic donors, like the trial lawyers.
After the trial, several Democratic state legislators asked for his help.
