Metro East courts are back on the list of ‘judicial hellholes’

Madison and St. Clair counties have once again been named “judicial hellholes” by the American Tort Reform Association.

After being off the list in recent years, the counties are now ranked as the seventh-worst court systems — alongside Cook County — in the group’s latest annual report, released Tuesday.

The report accuses the courts of allowing venue shopping, with trial lawyers flocking to what it calls "plaintiff-friendly" jurisdictions in the metro-east to file lawsuits against businesses over asbestos and baby formula.

It also criticizes state leaders for enacting a new law that expands courts’ jurisdiction over toxic exposure injury claims. According to the American Tort Reform Association, the law will allow cases “with little real connection to the state.” The association th