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| PRITZKER: Willing to settle, he won't lose |
If
you sue a government, you’re probably going to wind up getting some sort of
settlement – although very few will wind up becoming wealthy for life as a
result.
SERIOUSLY,
THE RULE that most governments use is that the moment the cost of attorneys
fees to defend oneself become too great, the attorneys are under orders to
reach a settlement.
Of
course, that’s why so many lawsuits against government wind up being resolved
with clauses saying there is no admission of guilt or wrongdoing. The
government entity will claim this means they really didn’t do anything wrong –
even if they wound up having to cough up some cash!
This
concept is what pops into my mind as I learn of Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker’s
comments recently about how he wants to settle the lawsuits pending against
Illinois government as a result of military veterans who were living at a
Veterans Affairs facility in Quincy.
Those
were the people who came into contact with Legionnaire’s Disease while living
at the facility. Their families are the ones who are now suing, saying the state
needs to compensate them for the deaths of their loved ones.
THESE
INCIDENTS OCCURRED during the gubernatorial reign of Bruce Rauner – which has
just over one more month to run. Pritzker says he fully intends to resolve
these lawsuits – once he becomes governor come mid-January.
Of
course Pritzker is going to want to resolve these lawsuits. He’ll be able to
place full blame for any acts of wrongdoing on the previous gubernatorial
administration.
And
perhaps by cutting the state’s losses loose sooner rather than later, the state
will be saved a bit of financial expense in the long run.
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| RAUNER: Will get the blame |
Not
that any of this will produce a definitive result as to what went wrong or who
truly screwed up and caused the deaths of military veterans. But if partisan
political points can be scored, who really cares about fact? Or the truth?
MAYBE
IT’LL BE all about the payoff – with the families who have spent the past
couple of years tangled up in court feeling grateful they’re getting some money.
Not that money alone will truly make up for the loss of a loved one.
But
it’s also about the partisan politics. Which means that a Rauner victory in
last month’s general elections would have extended this process – at least long
enough until Rauner himself would have concluded that a quest for a dismissal just
wasn’t worth the expense in legal fees.
He
would have paid them off, provided he got that concession of “no wrongdoing” on
the part of the state.
Whereas
Pritzker isn’t as concerned, because he can shift off blame to someone else. As
for what money has to be paid out in settlements, I suppose Pritzker will be
able to argue, “It’s not my money!” and will merely sign on the dotted line to
approve the compensation for those who suffered a loss.
IT
MAY ALSO be why Pritzker will be willing to go along with the General Assembly’s
recent action to increase the amount of money people can win in such lawsuits
(from $100,000 to $2 million apiece).
Illinois
will wind up having to come up with significantly more in cash to settle the
dozen lawsuits that are now pending against the state.
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| Pritzker would like to turn happenings of Quincy into 'yesterday's news' |
Which
J.B. will regard as the ultimate prize, thereby making him the ultimate
political victor with regards to the Quincy “issue.”
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