SPRINGFIELD - The leader of the state Senate said Tuesday he will consider caps on noneconomic damages for medical malpractice lawsuits as a part of a reform package.

The decision mirrors new legislation filed last week by the Illinois House, marking a dramatic change in Democrats' stand against limits on pain and suffering awards.

"Our (Senate) amendment will include a patients' right to know. Our amendment will include reforms in the insurance industry as related to malpractice," Jones said. "We may be apart on certain issues, but we will have caps as well."

Last week Democratic representatives introduced House Bill 4074, which would place a $250,000 limit on noneconomic awards from doctors and $500,000 from hospitals.

Republicans have been pushing to reform the legal system they say is causing high insurance premiums that drive doctors out of the state. But Democrats argue the insurance companies are to blame.

Trial lawyers and the AFL-CIO are still campaigning against caps.

"We have realized that allies we thought we could count on have joined the other side," said Margaret Blackshere, president of the Illinois AFL-CIO. "In this building, you don't get upset, you just get busy."

Blackshere was joined at a news conference Tuesday by Robert Clifford, past president of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, and Molly Akers, a victim of medical malpractice.

Clifford filed suit this morning on Akers behalf after she was mistakenly given mastectomy surgery.

"If we didn't sue, you'd never know about it," Clifford said.

"We have a right to a trial. That cannot be taken away from us," Blackshere said.

The Illinois State Medical Society is not yet taking a side on either proposal.

Shelby Sebens can be reached at shelby.sebens@;lee.net or 789-0865.