ST. LOUIS — Johnson & Johnson is expected to appeal a $55 million jury verdict reached May 2 in St. Louis City Circuit Court in favor of a 62-year woman who claimed its talcum powder caused her ovarian cancer.

“The evidence presented to the jury misrepresented and distorted the science regarding talc and ovarian cancer,” Gene Williams, an attorney for J&J, told the Record. “The scientific reality is that cosmetic talc does not cause cancer.”

Carol Goodrich, a J&J spokeswoman, said in an emailed statement that the jury’s decision “goes against 30 years of studies by medical experts around the world that continue to support the safety of cosmetic talc.”

“We understand that women and families affected by ovarian cancer are searching for answers, and we deeply sympathize with all who have been affected by this devastating disease with no known cause,” Goodrich stated.

“Johnson & Johnson has always taken questions about the safety of our products extremely seriously. Multiple scientific and regulatory reviews have determined that talc is safe for use in cosmetic products and the labeling on Johnson’s Baby Powder is appropriate. For over 100 years, Johnson & Johnson has provided consumers with a safe choice for cosmetic powder products and we will continue to work hard to exceed consumer expectations and evolving product preferences. We will appeal the recent verdict and continue to defend the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder.”

More than 1,000 suits against the company have mounted in state and federal courts across the country. Multi-district litigation (MDL) has been discussed, but has not been established for the claims arising across the country.

The lawsuits claim J&J had in-depth knowledge of the link between ovarian cancer and their talc-based products for decades, as far back as the 1970s. Plaintiffs say the company did nothing in order to continue selling more products, even targeting the women who grew up using them.

Last week’s verdict for plaintiff Gloria Ristesund of South Dakota - awarded $50 million in punitive damages and $5 million in compensatory damages - came on the heels of a $72 million verdict in St. Louis in February for the family of Jacqueline Fox, a 62-year-old woman from Alabama who died of ovarian cancer last fall.

Just as Fox’s pathologist allegedly found talc particles in her ovaries, some studies from 1971 on have supported a link between talc and ovarian cancer. When dusted on genitals, underwear or sanitary products, the studies note that talc particles can travel up the reproductive tract where they can eventually become lodged in the ovaries, inflamed, and possibly lead to cancer.  

“It was a great win for a very deserving lady,” said plaintiff attorney David Dearing of Beasley Allen in Montgomery, Ala.

“She [Ristesund] went through a very traumatic and life-changing event and we couldn’t be happier for her. J&J has known for a long time — decades — that their talc products have been associated with ovarian cancer. We hope that these verdicts will force them to take note, do the right thing, and put a warning label on their products because women should know that they are at an increased risk for developing ovarian cancer if they use them.”

According to Beasley Allen founder Jere Beasley, Ristesund's case was slated as a "defense pick" after the plaintiffs first selected the Fox case to go to trial

"If they can't win that one, they can't win one,” Beasley said. “They're going to have to come to the table and start settling cases."

In a press release, Beasley is quoted as saying: “We are calling on the bosses at J&J to establish a compensation fund that will be adequate to compensate all of the thousands of victims who have suffered greatly because of Johnson & Johnson’s intentional wrongdoing. We are also calling on this company to either pull the talc products from the market or at the very least give an adequate warning to women so they can make an informed choice. If J&J refuses, our law firm and those other firms working with us are dedicated to continuing our mission, and that is to obtain total and complete justice for all of Johnson & Johnson’s victims. The ball is in their court and our hope is J&J will change its corporate culture and do the right thing.”

The first talc case went to trial in federal court in South Dakota in 2013 on the claims of plaintiff  Deane Berg of Sioux Falls. A physician’s assistant, Berg was diagnosed with stage III ovarian cancer at age 49 in 2006.

The jury did not award Berg monetary damages, but it did, however, declare that Johnson & Johnson had intentionally hidden facts about the risks of talcum powder use and cancer.

The next talcum powder case in Missouri is scheduled for September.

CARBONDALE – Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, discussed the nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court during a visit to the Southern Illinois University (SIU) School of Law last week.

“It has been 48 days since Chief Judge Merrick Garland was nominated to the Supreme Court  and 80 days since a vacancy on the court arose with the passing of Justice Antonin Scalia," Durbin told the audience at SIU. “It is the Senate’s constitutional obligation to provide advice and consent when the president submits a Supreme Court nomination, but the Republican-controlled Senate is refusing to do its job. There is no precedent for this type of obstruction of a Supreme Court nominee.”

Shortly after Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's passing on Feb. 13, 2016, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced that the Senate would not consider any nominee presented by President Barack Obama. 

“The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice,” McConnell's statement said. “Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.”

In March, 43 current and former deans of law schools, including SIU School of Law's Dean Cynthia Fountaine, sent a letter to the Senate urging the members to fulfill their constitutional duties. 

"Split 4-4 decisions would prevent the Supreme Court from fulfilling its role as final arbiter of federal law, permitting federal law to have different meanings in different parts of the country," the deans said. "Such conflict and ambiguity jeopardize respect for the rule of law." 

In spite of McConnell and other Senate Republicans' support for a nearly year-long delay in nominating a new Supreme Court Justice, Obama nominated Garland on March 16. Garland has served as the chief judge of the D.C Circuit Court Chief Judge for three years. Previously, he served on the D.C. appellate court. Former President Bill Clinton nominated Garland to the bench in 1997.

Durbin and other members of the Senate had the opportunity to meet with Garland in one-on-one meetings in March. 

"Judge Garland has spent decades in public service as a federal prosecutor and as a federal judge," Durbin said in his speech at SIU. "He has done his job, and done it extraordinarily well. He, and the American people, deserve a Senate that will do its job too."

Although Senate Republicans backed McConnell's statement, the Senate Judiciary Committee has never denied a nominee hearing in its century of existence, he said.

 "With a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court, Republican President Ronald Reagan nominated Anthony Kennedy and sent his name to a Democratic-controlled United States Senate, which gave him a unanimous vote and put him on the court in the last year of Ronald Reagan's presidency," Durbin said,

Durbin's continuing calls for a hearing and vote on Garland's nomination has garnered support from a few Republicans, including Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk, who is locked in a tough re-election battle against Democrat Tammy Duckworth.

Others who have broken ranks and agreed to at least meet with Garland include Sens.Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Rob Portman (R-OH), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH).

"We were honored to have Senator Durbin speak to students and faculty here at SIU last week," Fountaine told the Record. "The work of the Supreme Court is too critical to the effective functioning of our democracy to be unnecessarily delayed."

Durbin sits on the Senate Judiciary, Appropriations and Rules Committee. He has spent 18 years on the Senate Judiciary Committee and participated in the consideration of four current Supreme Court justices' nominations. He also sits on the Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution, which has jurisdiction over constitutional issues. He is the Ranking Member of that committee.

State employees lacking a contract ask St. Clair County Circuit Judge Robert LeChien to preserve provisions of their previous contract. 

Local 31 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees sued to enforce the old contract in chancery court, where LeChien presides. 

Melissa Auerbach of Chicago filed the suit on April 26, writing that the state falsely claimed that contract negotiations reached an impasse. 

Attorney C.J. Baricevic, son of Chief Judge John Baricevic, has been retained as local counsel.

The state must negotiate in good faith while the Labor Relations Board determines whether the state and the union reached an impasse, Auerbach wrote. 

The old contract, covering about 38,000 workers, expired last June 30. 

Auerbach wrote that since July 1, the state has refused to pay members according to a plan that moves them through steps on the anniversaries of their employment in their current title until they receive full scale. 

“The current plan has eleven steps,” she wrote. 

The state has refused to pay longevity increases to employees at the top step, she wrote. The state also has refused to fully compensate progression through levels of classification to jobs with increased responsibilities. 

On Sept. 15, Central Management Services posted a notice that it would hold payments on medical bills of 146,000 workers, dependents and retirees whose providers send bills directly to the state for reimbursement. 

While the state has procedures in place to pay interest to providers who are paid in an untimely manner, it has no procedures in place to pay interest to employees if they must pay cash and await reimbursement. 

“Providers are now either asking state employees to pay up front for medical services covered by their health insurance or closing due to lack of reimbursement from the state,” Auerbach wrote. 

She wrote that it was “virtually certain that some individuals who forego health care will become debilitated as a result of doing so. 

“The state has ceased paying travel expenses. This means that some employees have unpaid expenses which exceed $10,000.” 

“In order to remain current and preserve their credit, employees have had to obtain personal loans to pay these expenses.” 

She wrote that the state refused to significantly compromise on its proposals. 

“It has insisted on proposals that require the union to waive its right to bargain with respect to wages, health insurance and job security,” she wrote. 

“It has insisted on proposals that require that the union waive its right to act as the exclusive representative of the members it represents. 

“It has sought to deal directly with employees and circumvent the role of the union as the elected representatives of the employees. 

“It has insisted on proposals that require employees to waive their statutory and constitutional rights regarding retirement benefits.” 

Both Baricevics and LeChien, Democrats, face Republican opposition in the November election.

For C.J. Baricevic, his first run at public office is a high stakes position in Congress. He is up against freshman Rep. Mike Bost for the 12th Congressional District.

Judges Baricevic and LeChien have served in public office for decades. As circuit judges they took the unusual steps of resigning their positions effective at the end of their terms in December so that they could run for election rather than retention in November.

Their efforts are being challenged in court. 

Baricevic faces Belleville attorney Ron Duebbert and LeChien faces East St., Louis attorney Laninya Cason in November. 

Loren Klaus, 88, of Glen Carbon has sage advice for elected officials grappling with the state's fiscal crisis: When you don't have enough money to pay for things, you have to cut.

In a recent submission to the Record, Klaus, a retired public education administrator who prefers the title of "simple Illinois farmer," diagnosed 12 ailments afflicting the state. His published letter was one in a series that the prolific author penned to this newspaper.

All of his letters contain conservative themes as prescription for curing the state's ills:

"In my opinion, the solution is clear to most citizens who are tax payers. But, not to most tax consumers and the media. It's called get control of state and public spending at all levels. Spend less than your tax income."

He has a practical solution for lawmakers who can't abide by that principle:

"If you can't do that, retire from government service."

All of Klaus's letters are written from the position that good intentions of honorable people have wrecked the state.

"This doesn't mean that the person is an evil person. But, it does mean he should go back to making a living as a private citizen."

During an interview on Friday, Klaus described how he grew up on a farm in Macoupin County, and went "straight off the farm" to teaching the 6th grade in Elkhart, Ill. His capable disciplinary skills helped put him in line for a quick move up the ladder and into the role of school superintendent; in 1968, he was picked as the first president of Shawnee College, now named Shawnee Community College, in Ullin.

Through the years, Klaus has been a featured speaker at numerous events involving public education. At one such event, decades ago in Mount Vernon, he recalled that organizers of a public hearing seeking support for a tax increase "couldn't get him off the stage fast enough" when he proposed austerity instead of reaching into taxpayers' pockets for more.

In the following letter, Klaus laments Republicans in name only, also known as "RINOs," as he looks back at a time in history when citizen control of public education was lost to teacher unions. He likens current conditions in the state to "Third World." But, he also remains hopeful that a "self made wealthy" Gov. Bruce Rauner will "rescue" Illinois.

Dear Editor:

Illinois has become the Somalia of American politics. Reaching across the aisle, a coalition of far left Democrats and Republicans have atomized our once prosperous state.

A gaggle of hapless governors led by media favorite Big Jim Thompson, plus George Ryan, Rod Blagojevich and Pat Quinn birthed this continuing mess.

Two enablers, Ryan and Blagojevich, were sent to the Big House. However, the revered Thompson wreaked far more damage. He gave public employees both increased ironclad tenure and mandatory closed shop collective bargaining, creating out of control public debt.

Our once prosperous state has been ravaged by three decades of veto proof Democrat control of the state legislature. But RINOs campaigned as conservative. Once elected they reached across the aisle to swindle and savage helpless local tax payers like buzzards feasting on an almost dead wild beast - not a pretty picture.

Teacher unions already had ironclad tenure. Led by Marxist-oriented teacher unions they dominated the 1970 Constitution Convention. That convention voted to make education the chief priority of state government. They assumed the state legislature would give locally elected school boards exclusive authority to set funding policy, employment policy, curriculum development, etc. Citizen control of public schools was demanded. It didn't happen. The teachers union hijacked the law's implementation.

Local real estate taxes were bankrupting thousands of families. Republican Gov. Richard Ogilvie (1969-73) wanted to help them save their homes.

Ogilvie successfully campaigned to lower local real estate taxes by replacing them with a new state income tax. Both parties agreed with the plan to replace the local tax with the new state income tax.

Back-peddling Democrats slaughtered Ogilvie's brain child in its crib. In the last 30 years under the Democratic controlled legislature, both the state income tax and local taxes are rampaging out of control. Yet, public employee salaries have increased every year.

To say Illinois governors (except Rauner) for the last 50 years have been spending like drunken sailors is an insult to drunken sailors.

Big Jim Thompson is the most admired, competent and honored governor of the last century, as measured by news media and other elite thinkers. This simple Illinois farmer thinks, well maybe not.

In an incestuous love affair, Big Jim reached across the aisle to join the Marxist dominated NEA and Democrat-run legislature to create a bastard child called mandatory arbitration. This ends citizen control of public education. The law mandates automatic appointment of an un-elected person (arbitrator) when school boards and union leaders reach an impasse. The goal of the arbitrator is to reach agreement - just or unjust - by splitting the difference.

Striking teachers will never agree to any proposal. The arbitrator splits the difference meaning striking teachers win a salary increase. And, struggling tax payers pay the arbitrator fee plus the nice salary increase for all teachers.

Past and current Illinois governors (Rauner excluded) and legislatures made Illinois a Third World society.

Uninformed Illinois voters elected them. People usually get the government they deserve. I think our people are better than this.

Governor Rauner is our only hope. Good, but ill-informed voters are responsible for this mess. Rauner must lead this information program. And he is. That's why all Democrat legislators and some cross-over Republicans have moved to destroy him.

After reading the Hungarian George Soros-funded litany of evil things done by Rauner, it's easy to infer that Rauner probably runs over little kittens crossing the road. And, enjoys crushing baby children in his big hand.

Financed by billions of dollars of Soros' false front groups, a hate campaign of lies and slander is going on daily against Gov. Rauner. They claim Rauner is secretly backed by seven of the wealthiest billionaires in the country.

Rauner is a self-made wealthy man. He earned it. But, remember in all recent national elections, Democrats outspent Republicans from big donors' donations.

Billions of dollars in Democrat campaigns come from in-kind donations from wealthy, politically savvy teacher unions. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, with a good plan, told people how he would rescue the state from bankruptcy. And, he did it.

Walker also learned his plan terrified establishment Republican elites everywhere. They knew that if Walker was elected the good old "reach across the aisle" love fest with big spending Democrats was over. He did, and now Wisconsin is debt free.

Loren Klaus

Illinois farmer