Updated Saturday, October 2, 2004, at 11:00 pm
Special Airing in the Suburbs of Public Affairs with Paul Tully on Sunday night.
The "Public Affairs," program featuring State Rep. candidate Paul Tully [R- Riverwoods, 59th Dist.], who is providing a strong challenge to the incumbent in that district, Kathy Ryg (D- Vernon Hills), will air in a special time slot, this Sunday, Oct. 3 at 6:30 pm on Comcast Cable in the following suburbs on Comcast Cable Ch. 19 or Ch. 35: on Comcast Cable Channel 19 in Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove Village, Hoffman Estates, Lincolnwood, Morton Grove, Niles, Northfield, Palatine, Rolling Meadows and Wilmette and on Comcast Cable Channel 35 in Arlington Heights, Bartlett, Glenview, Golf, Des Plaines, Hanover Park, Mt. Prospect, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Prospect Heights, Schaumburg, Skokie, Streamwood and Wheeling.
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Jeff Berkowitz: Okay. Let’s talk issues. Medical Malpractice tort reform. You favor capping damage awards...
Paul Tully [R- Riverwoods]: I do, but I want to give you a caveat to that...
************************************************
Tully: …Under my plan, the Tully safety net I think we would all agree that under the example you gave—you harm a child for life and you do something that is grossly negligent, I think you and I would probably both agree that a cap on non-economic damages [Pain and Suffering] of $250,000 just isn’t reasonable.
Berkowitz: So, you should have a differential, a higher level for those damages in those cases?
Tully: Well, exactly. My proposal is this, let’s put a cap in place that deals with your run of the mill negligence claim- 99% of the cases. Maybe that number is $500,000; maybe that number is $750,000, but let’s get that under control. What that will do is that that will stabilize medical malpractice insurance costs; it will stabilize doctors from leaving this state; it will bring some of our Ob-gyns back; it will keep our neuro-surgeons here.
Berkowitz: But, don’t touch those high damage awards in those other cases? Is that what you are saying?
Tully: Then, what I think we need to do is we put an exception in which deals with the [Illinois] Supreme Court and basically what it says is that if you prove up a gross negligence standard in a court of law—which is a very high level of proof, as you know as a former practicing attorney- there is a big difference between negligence and gross negligence, the standard of proof is much higher. I think if you get into that realm, I think what we need to do is explore two things: One, a very high cap for those types of situations, maybe two million dollars, perhaps maybe no cap at all. I think it is something we need to explore. I think that is a good compromise. I think it takes care of the situation that people on the other side of the aisle [Democrats], maybe my opponent, I don’t know.
Berkowitz: What do you think Kathy Ryg would say? She is the state representative. She is a Democrat. She represents the 59th.
What do you think her view would be?
Tully: Well, I’d take a look at her, I’d take a look at the 2002 election and I’d look at her contribution reports, as everybody does. Everybody looks at mine. I look at hers.
Berkowitz: These are D- 2s?
Tully: These are D-2s, yeah. And, I would look at and I would look at the amount of money that came in from trial lawyers and I think I know what her position might be. I think it might be tough to have a position opposite of that.
Berkowitz: You are saying that she [Ryg] took substantial contributions from trial lawyers?
Tully: Yeah, they were pretty significant.
Berkowitz: Do you know how much they were?
Tully: Off the top of my head, I don’t know. But when we look through- as every candidate does, I am sure they look through mine. They were pretty significant. [See, below, in this blog entry, for a transcript of additional portions of the show]
***************************************
Paul Tully, recorded on Sep. 4, 2004 and as will be cablecast on "Public Affairs," in the 24 suburbs referenced above, tomorrow night, Sunday, Oct. 3 at 6:30 pm on Comcast Cable Ch. 19 or Ch. 35.
***************************************
Paul Tully debates and discusses with show host and legal recruiter Jeff Berkowitz of JB Consulting Group, Inc. [JBCG] various state legislative and public policy issues, including real estate tax assessment caps, state taxes on business and jobs, education, abortion, jobs, how to promote an environment conducive to job growth in Illinois, medical malpractice reform, doctors leaving the state and other important public policy issues.
*******************************
State Rep. Ryg [who won her race in 2002 by a margin of 107 votes] was invited to join the taping with Paul Tully or to appear separately on “Public Affairs,” but she has declined to do so, as she has since becoming a state representative two years ago.
***************************************
This coming Monday night’s guest on the City of Chicago edition of “Public Affairs,” [8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21] will be Cong. Henry Hyde [R- Addison, 6th Cong. Dist.]. Hyde is opposed in that race by the Democrat candidate Christine Cegelis, who also was a guest on our show recently.
***************************************
See, below, for partial transcripts from the Public Affairs show with 59th Dist. Republican State Rep. Candidate Paul Tully [R- Riverwoods] previously published on this blog:
**************************************************
Jeff Berkowitz: If you had to say the one or two key issues that are most important in the race between you and your opponent as to how you might differ and have a differing impact what would that issue be?
Paul Tully: I think the number one issue, I guess I would call it tied for number one if you want to go that way, one of them is medical malpractice reform. It is a huge issue. A lot of people don’t realize that there is a crisis downstate and it is not just downstate anymore, it has moved into Will County, which is right in our backyard and it is moving here to Lake County into my District. Right behind it, I think, is the jobs and economic crisis that is going on in the State right now.
Berkowitz: In Illinois?
Tully: In Illinois.
Berkowitz: And, in your district?
Tully: Absolutely. We have a lot of soft manufacturing in my district. We have a lot of soft R&D in my District and we can get into some of the key differences between myself and my opponent as to how the state has been treating R&D facilities, the soft R&D and soft manufacturing—
Berkowitz: Those are the two key issues?
Tully: Those are the two big—
Berkowitz: Jobs and tort reform
Tully: Jobs and tort reform, I think those are very important. I think there is the—I guess you would call it a close second, always in Lake County- transportation is a big issue…the transportation gridlock in Lake County has gotten worse, it certainly hasn’t gotten better in the last two years.
Berkowitz: Okay. Let’s talk issues. Medical Malpractice tort reform. You favor capping damage awards…
Tully: I do, but I want to give you a caveat to that. I have a proposal that goes beyond just simple caps. It seems like such a black and white issue to a lot of people. I call my plan a Tully safety net when it comes to medical malpractice reform. I think that statistics through-out the United States show that [for those] states that have caps on non-economic damages- insurance premiums are much lower, doctors stay in the state, patient care goes up, there is no doubt about it. Doctors can afford to stay in business. So we do need some sort of cap in medical malpractice reform. I am not sure if that number, in terms of non-economic damages—I don’t know if that number is $250,000—I personally believe that number is a little bit low. I don’t know if that number is $500,000 or a million dollars, but we need some sort of cap.
Berkowitz: On non-economic damages?
Tully: Non-economic damages.
Berkowitz: We should tell people what you mean by that.
Tully: Well, it used to be called pain and suffering type damages. These are non-compensatory damages that often occur—
Berkowitz: So…lost earnings…all of that would …not be capped at all by the kind of legislation you are talking about—
Tully: Right.
Berkowitz: So, lost earnings you get and also, medical expenses--
Tully: Yes.
Berkowitz: All of that would not be capped, not affected.
Tully: Anything that you can put a dollar value on in terms of lost wages, lost pay, damage to yourself—
Berkowitz: That’s what people mean by economic damages—
Tully: Exactly.
Berkowitz: So, you are capping non-economic damages and that’s things like, well, pain and suffering—it is hard to describe the pain—
Tully: It is and it is a very subjective term and it is an issue that a jury decides…
********************************************
Paul Tully, recorded on Sep. 4, 2004 and as will be cablecast on "Public Affairs," tomorrow night, Sunday, Oct. 3 at 6:30 pm on Comcast Cable Ch. 19 or Ch. 35: on Comcast Cable Channel 19 in Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove Village, Hoffman Estates, Lincolnwood, Morton Grove, Niles, Northfield, Palatine, Rolling Meadows and Wilmette and on Comcast Cable Channel 35 in Arlington Heights, Bartlett, Glenview, Golf, Des Plaines, Hanover Park, Mt. Prospect, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Prospect Heights, Schaumburg, Skokie, Streamwood and Wheeling.
*********************************************
For more on the Tully-Ryg race, see the blog entry, below, dated Sep. 20 at 9:45 pm, as well as upcoming blog entries on this site.
*******************************************
The City edition of Public Affairs airs throughout the City of Chicago every Monday night at 8:30 on Cable Ch. 21 [CANTV].
*******************************************************
Jeff Berkowitz, host and producer of “Public Affairs,” can be reached at JBCG@aol.com
******************************************************
Special Airing in the Suburbs of Public Affairs with Paul Tully on Sunday night.
The "Public Affairs," program featuring State Rep. candidate Paul Tully [R- Riverwoods, 59th Dist.], who is providing a strong challenge to the incumbent in that district, Kathy Ryg (D- Vernon Hills), will air in a special time slot, this Sunday, Oct. 3 at 6:30 pm on Comcast Cable in the following suburbs on Comcast Cable Ch. 19 or Ch. 35: on Comcast Cable Channel 19 in Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove Village, Hoffman Estates, Lincolnwood, Morton Grove, Niles, Northfield, Palatine, Rolling Meadows and Wilmette and on Comcast Cable Channel 35 in Arlington Heights, Bartlett, Glenview, Golf, Des Plaines, Hanover Park, Mt. Prospect, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Prospect Heights, Schaumburg, Skokie, Streamwood and Wheeling.
*******************************************
Jeff Berkowitz: Okay. Let’s talk issues. Medical Malpractice tort reform. You favor capping damage awards...
Paul Tully [R- Riverwoods]: I do, but I want to give you a caveat to that...
************************************************
Tully: …Under my plan, the Tully safety net I think we would all agree that under the example you gave—you harm a child for life and you do something that is grossly negligent, I think you and I would probably both agree that a cap on non-economic damages [Pain and Suffering] of $250,000 just isn’t reasonable.
Berkowitz: So, you should have a differential, a higher level for those damages in those cases?
Tully: Well, exactly. My proposal is this, let’s put a cap in place that deals with your run of the mill negligence claim- 99% of the cases. Maybe that number is $500,000; maybe that number is $750,000, but let’s get that under control. What that will do is that that will stabilize medical malpractice insurance costs; it will stabilize doctors from leaving this state; it will bring some of our Ob-gyns back; it will keep our neuro-surgeons here.
Berkowitz: But, don’t touch those high damage awards in those other cases? Is that what you are saying?
Tully: Then, what I think we need to do is we put an exception in which deals with the [Illinois] Supreme Court and basically what it says is that if you prove up a gross negligence standard in a court of law—which is a very high level of proof, as you know as a former practicing attorney- there is a big difference between negligence and gross negligence, the standard of proof is much higher. I think if you get into that realm, I think what we need to do is explore two things: One, a very high cap for those types of situations, maybe two million dollars, perhaps maybe no cap at all. I think it is something we need to explore. I think that is a good compromise. I think it takes care of the situation that people on the other side of the aisle [Democrats], maybe my opponent, I don’t know.
Berkowitz: What do you think Kathy Ryg would say? She is the state representative. She is a Democrat. She represents the 59th.
What do you think her view would be?
Tully: Well, I’d take a look at her, I’d take a look at the 2002 election and I’d look at her contribution reports, as everybody does. Everybody looks at mine. I look at hers.
Berkowitz: These are D- 2s?
Tully: These are D-2s, yeah. And, I would look at and I would look at the amount of money that came in from trial lawyers and I think I know what her position might be. I think it might be tough to have a position opposite of that.
Berkowitz: You are saying that she [Ryg] took substantial contributions from trial lawyers?
Tully: Yeah, they were pretty significant.
Berkowitz: Do you know how much they were?
Tully: Off the top of my head, I don’t know. But when we look through- as every candidate does, I am sure they look through mine. They were pretty significant. [See, below, in this blog entry, for a transcript of additional portions of the show]
***************************************
Paul Tully, recorded on Sep. 4, 2004 and as will be cablecast on "Public Affairs," in the 24 suburbs referenced above, tomorrow night, Sunday, Oct. 3 at 6:30 pm on Comcast Cable Ch. 19 or Ch. 35.
***************************************
Paul Tully debates and discusses with show host and legal recruiter Jeff Berkowitz of JB Consulting Group, Inc. [JBCG] various state legislative and public policy issues, including real estate tax assessment caps, state taxes on business and jobs, education, abortion, jobs, how to promote an environment conducive to job growth in Illinois, medical malpractice reform, doctors leaving the state and other important public policy issues.
*******************************
State Rep. Ryg [who won her race in 2002 by a margin of 107 votes] was invited to join the taping with Paul Tully or to appear separately on “Public Affairs,” but she has declined to do so, as she has since becoming a state representative two years ago.
***************************************
This coming Monday night’s guest on the City of Chicago edition of “Public Affairs,” [8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21] will be Cong. Henry Hyde [R- Addison, 6th Cong. Dist.]. Hyde is opposed in that race by the Democrat candidate Christine Cegelis, who also was a guest on our show recently.
***************************************
See, below, for partial transcripts from the Public Affairs show with 59th Dist. Republican State Rep. Candidate Paul Tully [R- Riverwoods] previously published on this blog:
**************************************************
Jeff Berkowitz: If you had to say the one or two key issues that are most important in the race between you and your opponent as to how you might differ and have a differing impact what would that issue be?
Paul Tully: I think the number one issue, I guess I would call it tied for number one if you want to go that way, one of them is medical malpractice reform. It is a huge issue. A lot of people don’t realize that there is a crisis downstate and it is not just downstate anymore, it has moved into Will County, which is right in our backyard and it is moving here to Lake County into my District. Right behind it, I think, is the jobs and economic crisis that is going on in the State right now.
Berkowitz: In Illinois?
Tully: In Illinois.
Berkowitz: And, in your district?
Tully: Absolutely. We have a lot of soft manufacturing in my district. We have a lot of soft R&D in my District and we can get into some of the key differences between myself and my opponent as to how the state has been treating R&D facilities, the soft R&D and soft manufacturing—
Berkowitz: Those are the two key issues?
Tully: Those are the two big—
Berkowitz: Jobs and tort reform
Tully: Jobs and tort reform, I think those are very important. I think there is the—I guess you would call it a close second, always in Lake County- transportation is a big issue…the transportation gridlock in Lake County has gotten worse, it certainly hasn’t gotten better in the last two years.
Berkowitz: Okay. Let’s talk issues. Medical Malpractice tort reform. You favor capping damage awards…
Tully: I do, but I want to give you a caveat to that. I have a proposal that goes beyond just simple caps. It seems like such a black and white issue to a lot of people. I call my plan a Tully safety net when it comes to medical malpractice reform. I think that statistics through-out the United States show that [for those] states that have caps on non-economic damages- insurance premiums are much lower, doctors stay in the state, patient care goes up, there is no doubt about it. Doctors can afford to stay in business. So we do need some sort of cap in medical malpractice reform. I am not sure if that number, in terms of non-economic damages—I don’t know if that number is $250,000—I personally believe that number is a little bit low. I don’t know if that number is $500,000 or a million dollars, but we need some sort of cap.
Berkowitz: On non-economic damages?
Tully: Non-economic damages.
Berkowitz: We should tell people what you mean by that.
Tully: Well, it used to be called pain and suffering type damages. These are non-compensatory damages that often occur—
Berkowitz: So…lost earnings…all of that would …not be capped at all by the kind of legislation you are talking about—
Tully: Right.
Berkowitz: So, lost earnings you get and also, medical expenses--
Tully: Yes.
Berkowitz: All of that would not be capped, not affected.
Tully: Anything that you can put a dollar value on in terms of lost wages, lost pay, damage to yourself—
Berkowitz: That’s what people mean by economic damages—
Tully: Exactly.
Berkowitz: So, you are capping non-economic damages and that’s things like, well, pain and suffering—it is hard to describe the pain—
Tully: It is and it is a very subjective term and it is an issue that a jury decides…
********************************************
Paul Tully, recorded on Sep. 4, 2004 and as will be cablecast on "Public Affairs," tomorrow night, Sunday, Oct. 3 at 6:30 pm on Comcast Cable Ch. 19 or Ch. 35: on Comcast Cable Channel 19 in Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove Village, Hoffman Estates, Lincolnwood, Morton Grove, Niles, Northfield, Palatine, Rolling Meadows and Wilmette and on Comcast Cable Channel 35 in Arlington Heights, Bartlett, Glenview, Golf, Des Plaines, Hanover Park, Mt. Prospect, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Prospect Heights, Schaumburg, Skokie, Streamwood and Wheeling.
*********************************************
For more on the Tully-Ryg race, see the blog entry, below, dated Sep. 20 at 9:45 pm, as well as upcoming blog entries on this site.
*******************************************
The City edition of Public Affairs airs throughout the City of Chicago every Monday night at 8:30 on Cable Ch. 21 [CANTV].
*******************************************************
Jeff Berkowitz, host and producer of “Public Affairs,” can be reached at JBCG@aol.com
******************************************************
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