Claims for harm from asbestos in Illinois

Illinois mesothelioma claims are filed primarily in Cook County Circuit Court (Chicago) and Madison County Circuit Court (Edwardsville), both of which have historically maintained active asbestos dockets. Madison County was once the nation's busiest asbestos litigation venue before tort reform reduced out-of-state filings. Illinois plaintiffs also submit claims against asbestos bankruptcy trusts including the Owens Corning/Fibreboard Trust, the H.K. Porter Trust, and the United States Gypsum Trust.

Illinois provides a 2-year statute of limitations for mesothelioma personal injury claims from the date of diagnosis or discovery that the disease is asbestos-related. Wrongful death claims must also be filed within 2 years of death. Illinois follows the discovery rule, and courts have consistently held that the clock begins at diagnosis rather than at the time of original exposure decades earlier.

Madison County's asbestos docket grew dramatically in the 1990s and 2000s, attracting out-of-state plaintiffs due to liberal venue rules and plaintiff-friendly juries — at its peak it was the single busiest asbestos court in the country. Illinois Supreme Court venue reforms in 2015 and the U.S. Supreme Court's Bristol-Myers decision significantly restricted this practice, redirecting most filings back to plaintiffs' home counties.

Illinois asbestos exposure is concentrated in Chicago-area steel mills (U.S. Steel South Works, Inland Steel), oil refineries (Standard Oil/Amoco in Whiting, Indiana border), the extensive Union Pacific and Illinois Central railroad yards, and commercial construction throughout the metro area. The Calumet industrial corridor and Chicago's building trades unions represent the core claimant population.