Illinois to pay game lawsuit fees

After much delay (and a little judicial pressure), governor Blagojevich outlines plan to pay $520,000 in fees from lost game-restriction suit.

Legal wars can carry huge losses for the loser, as the state of Illinois found out.

Late last year, the State of Illinois failed in an attempt to pass laws that would restrict the sale and rental to minors of games with violent or explicit content. Retailers found guilty of violating the laws would have been subject to fines of $1,000 per infraction.

However, the Entertainment Software Association filed suit to have them overturned, and the laws never went into effect, because a federal judge deemed them unconstitutional. The ESA then won a ruling to have the state of Illinois pay legal fees incurred by the organization.

Now, months after being told to pick up the trade group's legal tab, Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich finally outlined a plan to pay off the $520,000 debt after a US District Judge ordered him to pay up, according to the Associated Press.

Lawyers for the governor allegedly said that the debts will be paid from unspent money from other agencies under the guidance of Blagojevich. The judge will hear the proposal and rule on whether it is acceptable on Wednesday.

129 Comments

  • HellWithoutSin

    Posted Dec 29, 2006 5:01 am PT

    puppiemaster
    "America, what must the rest of the world think about you!!!"

    The rest of the world must be green with envy at America's freedom to play such controversial games and lack of censorship (and the failure of those who would try to put an end to these games). In countries like Germany and Italy, the only games they're allowed to play is wooden ball in a cup.

  • puppiemaster

    Posted Dec 28, 2006 4:02 am PT

    America, what must the rest of the world think about you!!!

  • theKSMM

    Posted Dec 21, 2006 6:00 pm PT

    I feel bad for the good citizens of Illinois whose political leaders took them way off course with this crusade. I hope that other states considering such poppycock legislation will consider this outcome, but I'm not optimistic about that.

  • anamnawshad

    Posted Dec 21, 2006 10:02 am PT

    Nelson says "HA HAA"!!!

  • UnrealPro

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 11:22 pm PT

    Good God I live in Illinois too. My own state has to disgrace itself by having to pay up over half a million dollars due to pure ignorance wtf is this crap? I can rightfully say our voters in Illinois who voted Rod Blagojevich back in office are supreme idiots. I hope my state has learned its lessons for trying to screw around with video games and not concentrating on the real issues like OUR TAX DOLLARS!

  • lord-azrael

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 10:53 pm PT

    LOL,only in America

  • DesRed

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 5:44 pm PT

    I do hope that they have learnt the lesson of never passing laws that are bound to get trashed. Lost so much money over something so pointless.

  • kamicolo

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 2:31 pm PT

    get that money son

  • Runningflame570

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 1:26 pm PT

    jonfigs....its more like ESA 1000 Anti-gaming forces 5 (they have won a few minor battles).

  • jonfigs

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 12:07 pm PT

    ESA 1, Illinois 0

  • Lord_Bafford

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 11:11 am PT

    ohhohoo now thats classic

  • baelrrogg

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 10:31 am PT

    Suckers need to pay up!!!

  • Enterprise-E

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 10:08 am PT

    HAHAHHAHA Good for them.

  • frostybubbler

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 10:01 am PT

    Rod Blagojevich is an idiot. Stupid politicians being blindly led into a losing battle by overzealous video games watch dog groups are the best.

    Although, parents should really pay attention to what their kids are playing. Things have changed, but not that much.

  • Lelio316

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 9:49 am PT

    "So the ESA succeeding in increasing Illinois taxes by $520,000 (because ultimately it will be its citizens to pay)."

    No sorry, the State is responsible. This court fight was necessary due to their attempt to pas an UNCONSTITUTIONAL law. They caused this mess and associated fees.

  • mylsd

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 9:34 am PT

    as Nelson would say "HA HAAA"

  • KoRn_Eddy_88

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 9:29 am PT

    i better not have to pay for this dumbarses mistakes with my tax money!!

  • Expane

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 9:25 am PT

    Attention whoring lawmakers focussing on nonsense instead of the needs of the people = PWNED

  • dhjohns

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 9:23 am PT

    Zkeptic
    U are obviously not a lawyer. You can recover fees is the other side is extra litigious or fradulent in the process. These laws vary by state. I could cite some code sections for you, but I think this would fly over your head. The lesson here: Don't speak about something you have no clue about.

  • MasterMidget

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 9:16 am PT

    Atleast we don't have the stupid M game law.

  • Zkeptik

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 9:12 am PT

    So the ESA is suing the State of Illinois for "attempting" to pass a law.

    In other words Illinois tried to pass a law and the ESA is suing them for trying. So the ESA succeeding in increasing Illinois taxes by $520,000 (because ultimately it will be its citizens to pay).

    And all for something that did not happen?

    Thanks again ESA.

  • VanGriffin

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 9:05 am PT

    cjcr: I live in the USA,sometimes wish i didn't.

    I wont get into ridiculous laws, parental control, etc.

    Games are Games.

  • cjcr_alexandru

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 8:34 am PT

    Sometimes I'm happy that I don't live in USA.

  • makemeweak

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 8:04 am PT

    Serves them right for drafting a ridiculous law.

  • XxBenjamin09xX

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 8:00 am PT

    juststev, actually many studies have shown that we are working less and less these days.

    Thanks to all our gadgets and advances.

  • juststev

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 7:23 am PT

    520K, i wonder what the governor spent on planning for this... probably makes 520K look like pocket change. i'm gonna branch our even further.... I don't know to much about the world, so i'll just give my opinion on North America but we're all in need of a goal society can get behind. wether you know it or not i think we're all bored with all the wars, jobs, the always slow moving governments that say it all takes time and more money and the ever painful "we're butting into your lives a little more because you elected us to..." the 7 til 6 (or more) work hours a day! whatever happened to the 9 to 5 myth? it seems everyone works a lot more to get a lot less not talking about money but time spent raising families and hanging out with friends. i'm not saying morality was any better during the periods where the world had new territories to explore but it all gave us something better to focus on. i think we're coming to the longest period of us doing nothing than ever before, the only advancements i see that have huge impacts (aren't huge at all) are the devices and ideas that make our 'hard day' easier, when really its just giving us more hollow things to keep us occupied because we've got nothing profound and meaningful to do on a grand scale. and i'll stop there for now.

    no worries about the money your IRS will get it back and more when they start taxing your online personas for the virtual goods you own.. unbelievabe that they'd even talk about it. they must be bored too.

  • Cloud737

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 7:22 am PT

    Hahahahaha, lol, hahahaha... That`s the outcome every state that came up with a game banning law will eventually have.
    I hope those f@t @$$ politicians will soon realize that those laws won`t pass, and can even get them into trouble. Maybe they will finally act accordingly, and focus on more important problems like the crime rate...Yeah,right!

  • deadone1000

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 7:21 am PT

    SpiderFreak said:
    I've found that, in reality, it's the people who are exposed to bad influences as children that are most immature.

    Dont you thing it would make more sense that people who are exposed to "bad influences" tend to be the most mature since they have seen the uglier side of life in comparison to your views of shlettering children which would only lead to immature spoilled brats that are probably more rebelios then your average teenager. And when i sayd be exposed to the bad side of life i dont mean serial killers and rapists, since those people suffer from mental instabilities and tend to come from very over protected families. But i do reffer to young people who happen to land themselves in bad situation like for example gangs. Yes you may say that they ended up here becouse of hiphop and NWA lyrics but do you really think hiphop made gang wars or that gang wars led to mature people realsing what was going on n finding a medium to express themselves and inform the world about the lack of social stability, police brutality and poverty. I think that if you actually stopped to thnik about what you are saying you would realise that people that go through bad experiences (that you think are a result of media and entertainment) are really the most mature out of all of us.

  • Gamewako

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 7:18 am PT

    I believe Nelson said it best - "ha ha"

  • thebill1979

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 7:17 am PT

    Well, Rod has to get the money for his "free child health care program" somewhere. As an Illinois citizen, I can tell you that this guy is all about trying to not look bad to the voters by screwing someone else and then trying to make it look like it's the best thing for them. This is just another thing to add to the list.

  • flashtek

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 7:09 am PT

    Thats right finally a judge with common sense.

  • datniccah187

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 6:59 am PT

    Thats right, pay up.

  • Nostradennis

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 6:59 am PT

    I believe all state employees in the judicial branch should pay a special tax to cover these reckless lawsuits initiated by state legislators. The pool of tax money collected would then be used to pay legal fees when the government looses instead of being paid from unspent money from other agencies under a governor.

  • Darkstrauss

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 6:31 am PT

    I -could- read all the long winded novellas about this piece of news. but I won't. a 1k fine for trying to buy an M rated game? that in itself is pathetic. more so the fact that they spent 520k on it. It pains me to see that these days (and in the past as well, remember MortalKombat) more and more people blame video games for all the badness happening. Legislation like this is useless and would only hurt the industry. alchohol is forbidden to people under a certain age. does that stop them? no. sneaking into movies is also a pasttime. and you can watch any amount of R and M rated stuff on TV every day and night; it's not like most kids don't have their own TV in the room. It's simply a politician who wants to score; demonising games is a means to an end, and the man spent 520k in trying to further his own career. The parents who actively support people like this are even sadder though; take care of your own kids, it is NOT government business to do so.

  • Autolycus

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 6:11 am PT

    doesnt this, right here, prove that are legal system is horribly flawed? So unless im a wealthy millionaire with 500k to spend, there is no point in fighting for my legal rights? otherwise i'll end up with a worse debt then if i was involved in a horrible car accident and was sent to the ICU without insurance(yes this happened to me, and it was 350k, not 500k)

  • HellWithoutSin

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 5:41 am PT

    jazreal is absoulutely right! I got AIDS after buying gears of war!

    free love(60's), drug boom(70's) rebelion(80's) and disconection(90's) the cause af all these problems have been traced and proved by the government (so you know it's good for you) to be from the sale of violent video games.

    How many conservatives complain about violent kids and guns in schools and turn around and vote for conservative representatives that the NRA pump money into so those same kids can have guns in their hands so they can go out and kill people after playing their xbox?

    Our society has been declining dramatically, in 10 years we will all be living in caves and eating dinosaurs for dinner.

  • Sanguis_Malus

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 5:36 am PT

    Shame, money wasted, once again the only true winners are the Lawyers !

    Damn, I'm so happy to be doing my second degree in Law !

  • balaoing

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 5:12 am PT

    Being from Illinois, I'm glad that kids would be able to 'responsibly' enjoy such games as Grand Theft Auto and Gears of War, but sad that we've lost so much public money in the process.

  • DFalcon999

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 5:08 am PT

    Speed- R-ratings DON'T keep kids out. All they need is an adult with them (most theaters don't care if it's not a relative, it just has to be an adult) and they get right in. The only rating that does expressly prohibit kids is NC-17. And almost no theater airs NC-17 movies.

    The M-rating is no different. A lot of cashiers check to see if the parent is with the kid. If the kid is alone, most retailers worth their salt (and usually the managers even tell them to do this!) will tell them to come back with their parent or legal guardian (or again, any adult).

    In both cases, the adult is the one responsible, if it's a parent, they should be ashmed of accusing others of corrupting children.

    And in the even an unrelated adult bought a kid something, even more shame on the parents for not keeping better tabs on their kid's choice of company.

  • iaag784

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 5:05 am PT

    Violence in a game won't make me wanna kill people.....

  • ssvegeta555

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 4:53 am PT

    Well said, Max_Hydrogen. Well said. *claps*

  • speedracer216

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 4:31 am PT

    like it or not, spiderfreak is the closest of anyone to getting this right.

    basically it comes down to, why keep kids out of R movies but not M games? what is the rating system for then? it's not like kids pay attention to the rating, so it's obviously for the adults. but if they dont' enforce it in anyway then it's pointless.

  • darfvader

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 4:18 am PT

    SpiderFreak the problem is that you think that you have the right to define what immoral. You said: "If you are interested in relationships and true love, then you're a freak". in the context of what you said you meant it to be that true love is something better then a pure physical relationship, well i don't belive in true love and i wouldn't want to try and sell my kid this idea. Also I'm from Israel and if children were in any way grown sheltered here they wouldn't survive to be 18 cause guess what? they are all thrown into reality right at that age when they are drafted into the militairy.

    If a kid in here would be grown sheltered how can he be prepared to the idea that one day a kasam rocket might fall on his house and kill his family? or that a bus would blow up with his friend in it? or that a madman that is building a nuclear arsenal over there in iran is planning to wipe out everyone dear to him?

  • lobobizarro

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 4:16 am PT

    SpiderFreak, WTF you talking about? Only narrow minded people would believe any of that. The world has changed, males are not gods anymore as they thought themselves to be in the past. You better start opening your mind to a bigger picture of what the world is. Or do what I do, don't watch any TV and just game. TV is full of so much BS that I could live w/o. And anything that's worth to be watched, can be downloaded.

    As for the News Post, only one things comes to mind and that is...

    R O F L

    Gov't ... they will never learn.

  • Poshkidney

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 4:00 am PT

    hahahahahahahahahahah ! HA !

  • iMuffins

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 3:48 am PT

    Serves the bastards right.

  • OfficialBed

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 3:23 am PT

    haha!

  • the_9th_wonder

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 3:14 am PT

    Take that potatoheads!

  • Doolum

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 2:21 am PT

    good lesson taught.i hope it teaches others what can happens if you wanna teach gamers bureaucratic crap.

  • Sam_Lowery

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 1:25 am PT

    That's right Illinois, time to bend over cause gamers won't stand for this.

    We're trained killers, haven't you heard.

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