Around 300 Illinois physicians gathered in the state capital Wednesday to protest rising liability insurance premiums. The doctors, who congregated in the Springfield capitol, lobbied lawmakers during the afternoon for immediate changes to the state's medical malpractice insurance program. Protesters stated that high-risk physicians, such as neurosurgeons and obstetricians, can pay as much as $200,000 in annual premiums and blamed rising jury awards in malpractice cases for high insurance rates. During the rally, physicians argued for the establishment of a data collection repository to identify certain patterns that may be affecting the insurance industry.