This column by NFIB/Illinois State Director Kim Clarke Maisch originally ran June 19 in the Rockford Register Star:
Once again, legislative leaders have put partisan politics
ahead of what’s best for Illinois.
I can’t say I’m surprised, but I am disappointed, because I
thought we had a real shot at fixing Illinois’ broken economy, at becoming
competitive once again.
Instead, we got this:
Rather than debate the merits of Republican Governor Bruce Rauner’s
ambitious “turnaround agenda,” House Democrats essentially mocked the
administration. Here’s one example:
Governor Rauner campaigned on reforming our costly workers’
compensation system by making sure employers paid only for those injuries that
actually occurred at work and not on the softball field or some other unrelated
venue. Illinois has the 7th highest
workers’ compensation system in the nation, and it’s often cited by employers
as to why they don’t come to our state or, why they leave.
Instead of giving Rauner’s workers’ compensation plan a fair
hearing, House Speaker Michael Madigan held a lop-sided hearing mostly with injured
workers—some from out of state. He then introduced a measure he said was “like”
Governor Rauner’s—and promptly joined other Democrats in voting against it.
Later, he introduced his version of workers’ compensation
reform, which simply codified current case law and said he had “compromised”
with the governor. The governor and the
business community saw it for what it was and vehemently opposed his bill.
While these moves no doubt scored a few easy points with
Madigan’s buddies in organized labor, the move was as pointless as it was
cynical.
Meanwhile, the Senate has unveiled its so-called “economic
agenda” that not only ignores the state’s job creators, its small businesses,
but makes things worse by driving the state even deeper into debt. It passes a
budget with a $4 billion hole in it then turns around and calls for community
college to be free for two years? It’s that kind of bad judgment that has
landed Illinois in its current fiscal mess.
The Senate plan also includes two provisions that are deeply
troubling to the owners of small, family businesses. One is a proposed increase
in the state minimum wage, and the other is a requirement that all businesses
provide seven days of sick leave to full- and part-time employees.
It’s easy for politicians to give everyone a raise because
the extra money’s not coming out of their pockets. It’s easy for politicians to
spend other people’s money.
The truth, though, is that money’s going to have to come
from someplace.
If you’re a large corporation, the difference to your bottom
line between $8.25 an hour and $11 could amount to little more than a rounding
error on your annual report, but if you’re a small, family business, a
state-mandated increase in pay means you’re going to have to make some tough
decisions about work hours and even whether to reduce staff. Likewise, a lot of
small businesses simply can’t afford to pay someone who stays home sick and pay
someone else to cover for them.
These are the kinds of nuts-and-bolts decisions that are
best left to the small-business owners themselves, not to some politicians who
couldn’t care less about the cost as long as they can score a few easy
political points in the process.
The bottom line is that Illinois elected Bruce Rauner
because people are tired of politics as usual. We need a Legislature that’s
willing to make tough. We need legislators who will put politics aside and do
what’s best for Illinois.
