An affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has released a report ranking Alabama among the worst court systems in the country.

“The 2019 Lawsuit Climate Survey: Ranking the States” was released Tuesday by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, an Affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The survey was conducted by The Harris Poll firm and questioned senior business executives about the fairness and reasonableness of state court systems, according to a news release.

Delaware’s legal system was ranked number one, or the best in the country, while Illinois was ranked 50th-- the worst. Also included in the report was that 89 percent of senior business executives believe their state’s lawsuit climate affects company decisions, like where to do business or where to have offices.

The report shows Alabama ranked 42nd, among the ten worst legal systems in the country. This year’s ranking is slightly higher than the 2017 survey, which showed Alabama in the 43rd slot.

The Institute for Legal Reform “seeks to promote legal reform through legislative, political, judicial, and educational activities at the national, state, and local levels,” according to its website. They conduct research and advocate with national and state governments and are a separately incorporated affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Harold Kim, chief operating officer of the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, said in a statement the report should be a “wake-up call to policymakers that their state’s economic growth and prosperity depend in large part on the fairness and predictability of its legal system.”

The survey results are broken down into several separate categories, like overall treatment of tort and contract litigation, damages, and trial judge’s impartiality. In the majority of the 10 categories, Alabama ranked among the worst ten.

Alabama’s best score was 34th in the “treatment of class action suits and mass consolidation suits.” The state’s worst was in the “trial judges’ competency” category with a ranking of 45th.

According to a news release, the survey was conducted online and by phone between March 28 and June 24, and the Harris Poll has conducted the survey since 2002. The final results published in the report “are based on interviews with a national sample of 1,307 in-house general counsel, senior litigators or attorneys, and other senior executives with recent litigation experience (in the past 5 years) in each state ranked who are knowledgeable about litigation matters at public and private companies with annual revenue of at least $100 million,” according to the institute.