Hellhole no more

Good news for Madison County, and for Illinois: for the first time in six years, the Downstate county has been dropped from the pro-business American Tort Reform Association's list of "judicial hellholes" — places its considers to be the worst legal venues for lawsuit defendants. Madison once topped the list three years running, and it was cited by President Bush as a reason for Congress to limit jury awards for medical malpractice. The court system there made several changes that helped it get delisted, including requiring mediation in medical malpractice cases, and seeking to cut "forum shopping" by giving attorneys one change of judge per class action. Whether the reputation was deserved or not, Madison is no doubt happy to shed it.