The Supreme Court of Illinois, by rule, may provide for mandatory arbitration of such civil actions as the Court deems appropriate in order to expedite in a less costly manner any litigation wherein a party asserts a claim not exceeding $75,000 or any lesser amount as authorized by the Supreme Court for a particular Circuit, or a judge of the circuit court, at a pretrial conference, determines that no greater amount than that authorized for the Circuit appears to be genuinely in controversy.
735 ILCS 5/2-1001A