Maag lost double

Karmeier win means big changes in Madison County, presecutor says [sic] by Paul Hampel

The election of a Republican to the Illinois Supreme Court on Tuesday was a disaster for the Madison County plaintiff's bar, says longtime prosecutor Don Weber...

Weber called Karmeier's victory a "cataclysm" for personal-injury lawyers, and said the biggest impact would be in the area of forum shopping in civil cases.

For decades, the Madison County court has attracted damage lawsuits from around the United States because of the county's reputation for generous verdicts.

Weber said he expected defense attorneys to begin filing more motions to dismiss such out-of-state claims with the confidence that Karmeier will agree to hear their appeals...

Brad Lakin, of the Lakin Law Firm in Wood River, where Maag once worked as a personal-injury lawyer before becoming a judge, conceded on Wednesday that Karmeier's win posed problems for trial lawyers in regard to venue.

"I think it's a major setback, but not a catastrophe," Lakin said. "I expect we
will see more of those (motions to dismiss), but once the cases are argued and
the facts laid out, I think venue will usually be found to be appropriate."

The race set a national record in campaign contributions for a judicial contest...

Maag, a Fifth District appellate judge...also lost his appeals court seat in Tuesday's election...

State Senate Republican leader Frank Watson, R-Greenville, who has been among the leading advocates for so-called tort reform, said that the Karmeier-Maag contest amounted to a referendum on the issue.

"It was a referendum on the fact that doctors are leaving the area, and the reason is the high cost of medical malpractice insurance," Watson said Wednesday. "Both candidates tried to tie themselves to (the issue), but it didn't stick with Maag. It was obvious from where the money was coming from in his election. He tried to be a part of the medical-malpractice solution, but it didn't work."