VOICE OF THE PEOPLE: Governments Must Act Safely

Chicago-The tragic stories retold in a recent letter to the Tribune ("Protect taxpayers from liability," Voice, Oct. 27) are really stories of government gone wrong.

Edward Murnane, president of the Illinois Civil Justice League, tells a skewed version of a case involving a 32-year-old Hoffman Estates woman who was injured while jogging three years ago. The driver of the Schaumburg Township shuttle bus for seniors that hit her said he never saw her, but even passengers did. For two months, she lay in a coma. For 10 more months, she was in and out of hospitals and rehabilitation centers.

What Murnane doesn't tell you is how Maria Reyes will never be the same. Once a high school student who graduated second in her class, she can't remember a word she is told 15 minutes later. She has scars on her forehead, legs, neck and stomach. She has to take anti-seizure medication for the rest of her life.

I know. I represent Reyes in her civil action against Schaumburg Township. Voters are to be asked in a Nov. 4 referendum whether to pay higher taxes to pay a $5 million settlement that even township officials have said is fair.

But it seems that Murnane would rather that Reyes carry the financial burden herself for an accident that was not her fault. He contends that his so-called justice reforms would not affect the catastrophically injured. But what he doesn't say is that even if Reyes were forced to pay for the life-long care she needs, she would surely wind up on the welfare rolls- at taxpayers' expense.

Reyes is not to blame for the lack of township insurance coverage. Elected township officials are. Murnane fails to mention that it is they who decided to put the taxpayers at risk carrying only $2 million in insurance, one of only two governmental bodies in the state to be so inadequately covered for such an activity.

Murnane points to another story to elucidate his argument $7.1 million jury award to a motorcyclist hurt in the Village of Hanover Park.

But what Murnane fails to disclose is that he is really a front man for the village. Hanover Park is a member of the Illinois Civil Justice League, having paid to have Murnane speak on its behalf. His organization represents many municipalities, park districts and school systems throughout the state, hawking a system to protect those partisan interests while leaving injured victims unprotected.

And Murnane fails to tell the whole story behind Senate Bill 843-vetoed by Gov. Jim Edgar under-which a local government could be held liable for accidents on its property. What he fails to say is that the bill calls for governmental liability only if the injured can demonstrate willful and wanton conduct, a very difficult burden of proof.

Certainly, if it is your child who drowns in the public pool, you would demand some sort of restitution and acceptance of responsibility as well as an incentive for governments to act more safely.