Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan recently vowed to fight debt collectors use of arrest warrants to pursue money they are owned on credit cards, auto loans and other bills—a practice that is flourishing statewide.
More than one-third of U.S. states allow borrowers who can't or won't pay to be jailed. Nationwide statistics aren't known because many courts don't keep track of warrants by alleged offense, but a tally of court filings in nine counties across the U.S. by the Wall Street Journal earlier this year showed that judges signed off on more than 5,000 such warrants since the start of 2010.