Courts May Have to Decide if Asbestos Bill is Retroactive

Illinois Democrats, with a supermajority in both chambers of the state Legislature, wasted little time this year passing a bill that would allow workers to file civil suits for asbestos exposure after the statute of limitations to file a workers' compensation claim has elapsed. But since the Senate passed SB 1596 on March 20, the bill has sat on the desk of Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker. Some are beginning to wonder what the holdup is. By law, the governor has until May 20 to sign the bill, but there's new concern that the bill may be limited by the state Constitution and cas...