The Quad Cities span the Mississippi, and the industry never stopped at the river. On the Illinois bank, the Rock Island Arsenal — one of the largest military manufacturing complexes in the country — and the John Deere Harvester Works at East Moline anchored the metro, alongside the Rock Island Railroad locomotive shops. Arsenal, foundry, and rail work of this kind reportedly relied on asbestos insulation, gaskets, and materials for most of the twentieth century, and the region’s trades were reportedly exposed for full careers.
Illinois allows two years from a mesothelioma or asbestos-cancer diagnosis to file a personal-injury claim (735 ILCS 5/13-202), paired with a two-year wrongful-death deadline from the date of death (740 ILCS 180/2). Cases are filed in the county Circuit Court of proper venue.