At the end of last month, Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed the Citizen Participation Act into law. It deals with SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) lawsuits.

The Act states that the rights of citizens and organization to participate freely in the process of government is a "fundamental philosophy of the American constitutional form of government." It says that such "participation must be encouraged and safeguarded with great diligence."

SLAPP lawsuits are on the rise.

"It is in the public interest and it is the purpose of this Act to strike a balance between the rights of persons to file lawsuits for injury and the constitutional rights of persons to petition, speak freely, associate freely, and otherwise participate in government; to protect and encourage public participation in government to the maximum extent permitted by law; to establish an efficient process for identification and adjudication of SLAPPs," according to the text of the legislation.

The law will require the courts to decide motions filed to discourage citizen participation within 90 days. The motion can be granted and the claim dismissed unless "clear and convincing evidence" can be produced. It also provides that attorney's fees and costs are to be awarded to the prevailing party. And, it is effective immediately.

One example of a SLAPP suit, used to stifle public comment and participation on issues was provided by the Citizen Advocacy Center, an Elmhurst-based non-profit community legal organization founded in 1993. The center cites a real estate developer eager to quash public debate on a new housing project.

The developer may allege that the community group's public comments in opposition to the project amounts to defamation, or interferes with the developer's economic interests.

And the center's legal staff ought to know. They defended a case where a developer sued a community association for $110 million by alleging 'a civil conspiracy' because the community association successfully petitioned the forest preserve, to preserve open space. The center won the case based on First Amendment grounds.

"The SLAPP suit represents a pernicious abuse of the legal system," the advocates say. Such suits often times silence public debate, can be costly to defend, deters political participation, and by trying to stifle the right to free speech, threatens a healthy democracy.

With its passage, Illinois joins several other states that have already passed anti-SLAPP legislation.

State Sen. John Cullerton, D-Chicago introduced the bill on Feb. 9. It unanimously passed the senate in April.