Madison County, Illinois
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Madison County is an Illinois municipality considered a part of the St. Louis Metropolitan Area. As of 2006, the population was 265,303. The county seat is Edwardsville, Illinois.
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History
Madison County was formed in 1812 out of Randolph and St. Clair Counties. At the time of its formation, Madison County included all of the modern State of Illinois north of St. Louis, about three-fourths of the Territory. The county was named for President James Madison, at the outbreak of the War of 1812.[1]
In the late 1800s, Madison County became an industrial powerhouse, and in the 20th century, was known for first, Graniteware, and later, its steel mills, oil refinerys, and other heavy industry. Because of this large working class population, the County, and the surrounding area, was well known as a Democratic powerhouse.
"Judicial hellhole" Designation
Madison County was ranked the #1 "judicial hellhole" by the American Tort Reform Association in 2002, 2003 and 2004. The county improved, falling down the list to #4 in 2005 and #6 in 2006. The ATRA argued that local judges, bankrolled and elected by local plaintiffs' attorneys, encouraged forum shopping by misapplying the laws to make the court system unfairly balanced on behalf of plaintiffs.[2] One-third of United States asbestos cases were brought in Madison County, and the number of class actions increased from three a year to nearly a hundred a year.[3]
Recent Improvement
Due partially to the reform efforts of Chief Judge Ann Callis and Judge Daniel Stack, as well as the enactment of the Class Action Fairness Act, class action filings have decreased from 106 in 2003 to 87 in 2004, 56 in 2005 and only three in 2006.[4]
2004 Supreme Court Election
In the 2004 election to the Illinois Supreme Court, both tort reform advocates and trial lawyers spent record amounts of money on behalf of their preferred candidates. Lloyd A. Karmeier, a Republican, defeated Appellate Judge Gordon Maag for the seat. President George W. Bush traveled to Madison County to give a speech proposing federal tort reform for medical malpractice lawsuits.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 258,941 people, 101,953 households, and 70,041 families residing in the county. The population density was 357 people per square mile. There were 101,953 households out of which 32.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.00% were married couples living together, 11.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.30% were non-families. 26.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the county the population was spread out with 24.90% under the age of 18, 9.40% from 18 to 24, 28.90% from 25 to 44, 22.50% from 45 to 64, and 14.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 93.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.90 males.
Political subdivisions
Cities
References
- ↑ Allan H. Keith, Historical Stories: About Greenville and Bond County, IL. Consulted on August 15, 2007.
- ↑ ATRA, Judicial Hellholes 2002
- ↑ Manhattan Institute, Trial Lawyers Inc. Illinois
- ↑ ATRA Judicial Hellholes report 2007
