*** UPDATE 1 - 1:08 pm *** The House is taking up Rep. Bradley’s workers’ comp bill. The Republicans are arguing over a fiscal impact note that was requested by them today, but not yet received. The House voted 57-54-3 to declare that note inapplicable. Other impact notes will also be debated.
Listen or watch here.
*** UPDATE 2 - 1:17 pm *** The House voted 55-55 on whether the Judicial Impact Note was applicable. The motion by Rep. Bradley to rule it inapplicable therefore failed. The bill has now stalled until a note is received from the courts. But Bradley said as soon as the note arrives, he’ll push for passage of the bill, either today or tomorrow.
[ *** End Of Updates *** ]
* I’ve been telling subscribers about this development for a few days now…
After weeks of trying to come to terms on reforms to Illinois’ workers’ compensation system, a southern Illinois lawmaker now wants to tear it all down.
State Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion, introduced his legislation Wednesday morning. He’s been working with lawmakers, business groups, doctors and hospitals, labor unions, and lawyers. But the groups could not agree on changes. Bradley said if there is no room for agreement, there is no need to continue with the current workers’ comp system.
“Let’s get rid of the system that we know isn’t working. Let’s try something new. Let’s take this approach. … Let’s make a stand as legislators and say enough is enough,” Bradley said.
Changing the workers’ comp system is seen as gutsy by some lawmakers, but freshman State Rep. Dwight Kay, R-Glenn Carbon, said Bradley’s move may not be solve Illinois’ problems.
“This system, as I see it, could be fixed if we had the political will and the determination, and frankly, the guts to stand up and do it,” Kay said.
Yes, the system could be fixed, but right now there’s a major deadlock. The Medical Society has teamed up with organized labor and the trial lawyers to kill off just about everything that’s been tried.
More…
Despite fears of a backlog in cases, lawmakers moved legislation onto the House floor in the first step in transferring legal authority in the 60,000 workers’ compensation cases heard each year from the workers compensation system to local circuit courts. Increased costs associated with hearing the new cases in the courts would be covered by about 120-million-dollars that currently goes to administration of the workers compensation system.
* But businesses are caught in the middle of all this…
A spokesman for the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, who spoke against Bradley’s proposal, said he agreed the system is broken, but eliminating it entirely was not the way to go about fixing it.
“We don’t believe at this time that throwing out the baby with the bathwater is the right approach,” said Jay Shattuck.
More…
Illinois State Chamber of Commerce chief Doug Whitley calls Mr. Bradley’s abolishment bill “a shot across the bow. . . .We just want a decent standard of causation.”
But he agrees that it’s not a terribly propitious sign. We’ll have to see if Mr. Bradley and the Ds are bluffing, or if Republicans and biz can win a sweeter deal.
* And AFSCME doesn’t love Bradley’s bill, either…
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 also opposed the legislation.
“The workers’ compensation system is a bedrock of fairness for workers who are injured on the job,” said spokesman Anders Lindall. “The system ensures that a family isn’t bankrupted by medical bills or lost wages because of an injury suffered at work.”
* Meanwhile, in other business-related news, Illinois is vying with 24 other states for a big pot of federal high-speed rail money that was turned down by Florida…
If the Midwest states are successful in obtaining some of the $2.4 billion that Florida relinquished, the money would be used to buy new trains, accelerate plans to build track and signals for 110 mph passenger service and install railroad crossing upgrades on the Amtrak route between Chicago and St. Louis on the Union Pacific Railroad line, officials said.
A joint application totaling $806.8 million for new trains was submitted by Illinois, Michigan, Missouri and Wisconsin. Illinois would receive $262.8 million, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation. […]
llinois, meanwhile, is also seeking $186.4 million in federal funds, with a state match of $42.4 million and a railroad match of $19.7 million, for additional track, rail sidings, signaling and crossing upgrades on the Chicago-to-St. Louis route; and $800,000 in federal funds, with a $200,000 state matching grant, to conduct planning for a station in East St. Louis.
* Over 90 applications for that cash have been filed…
LaHood said the department’s Federal Railroad Administration will begin determining which of the 90 projects can quickly deliver benefits such sustained economic development, reduced energy consumption, and improved regional transportation efficiency.
* Related…
* Union Pacific is in Lincoln
* Illinois industry stands to gain from Colombia trade pact
* State dropping Health Alliance, Humana from employee insurance plan
- wordslinger - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 10:28 am:
All these “high-speed” (just faster, really) rail upgrades in Illinois are a pretty sweet deal for Union Pacific’s cargo business since Amtrak runs on and shares its freight line.
- Cincinnatus - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 10:36 am:
Since it seems that everyone hates the workers compensation plan, perhaps we’re on to something…
- Louis G. Atsaves - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 10:41 am:
Nice showboating move by Rep. Bradley. Solves nothing. Makes everything even more expensive, complicated and time consuming for all parties to the current system.
There are ways of fixing the system, despite what the special interest groups and the showboaters say. But the only ones being listened to are the usual faces who have spent years tinkering with the system, then get more and more annoyed with it.
Perhaps they ought to bring in a bunch of new faces who work with the system day in and day out and exclude the tinkerers if they are serious about reform?
- lincoln's beard - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 10:52 am:
“We love this no-fault system where every employee gets fairly compensated for on-the-job injuries, it’s just that we’d like to make a few minor changes: requiring proof of fault and no longer compensating every employee.”
- cassandra - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 10:52 am:
Is the governor part of this discussion. I thought he had a plan for w/c. Shouldn’t he try to get a full legislative consideration of his plan before we talk about more drastic options. Or was his plan simply a pr exercise.
- 47th Ward - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 11:01 am:
===Nice showboating move by Rep. Bradley. Solves nothing.===
Louis, there simply aren’t enough votes to make any reforms to Worker’s Comp. Bradley’s bill is less about showboating, more about letting all of the interested parties stare into the abyss of moving all of these cases to the circuit court.
Something needs to happen to break the impasse, and Bradley’s idea might be enough. Otherwise, the Med Society, ITLA and Labor are going to hold the Representatives they control and the status quo wins.
I’d love to hear your suggestions for specific reforms and learn the names of the fresh faces who can change votes in the General Assembly.
- Small Town Liberal - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 11:19 am:
- Shouldn’t he try to get a full legislative consideration of his plan before we talk about more drastic options. -
Do you have any understanding of the separation of powers between the governor and the GA? Or are your posts just simply PR excercises?
- train111 - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 11:30 am:
These upgrades are hardly a boon for UP’s cargo business, since they basicaly run nothing on the Chicago-St Louis line. (No through freight trains traverse the entire line except occasional intermodal equipment repositioning moves. I can’t think of a single high priority freight that UP routes that way)
That’s one of the big reasons that the Chicago-St.Louis line could be succsessful: Amtrak pretty much has it to itself and has little interference from UP freight trains.
Metra chipping in 50% of the costs for upgrading the UP West commuter line between Chicago and Elburn is a much bigger boon for UP’s freight business than this will ever be.
That being said, 100 mph running is only going to get you so much if you don’t fix the terminal problems in Chicago and St. Louis which contribute to most of the delays and have been harly touched in terms of being addressed. (CREATE in Chicago hasn’t put any serious money into fixing problems associated with this particular line as of yet.)
train111
- cassandra - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 11:32 am:
So why put out a plan? A pr exercise, as I said.
A full legislative consideration doesn’t mean he has to get it to the floor for a vote. It means he has to take a position, make some calls, twist some arms, use the bully pulpit. Has he done any of those things?
Illinois is not set up as a a weak executive state. But you wouldn’t know it from watching Governor Pat. Unless union interests are at stake, of course. They he’ll fight.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 11:36 am:
cassandra, you’re very close to being put back into the automatic moderation file.
He has had several meetings, has issued a position paper, and has used the bully pulpit.
Seriously, do a tiny bit of research before posting your repetitively inane comments here from now on. Kneejerk reactions are unwelcome, and most of your comments are just that.
- Jasper - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 11:42 am:
Bradley’s idea may actually cost insurers money.
Right now, a worker injured on the job can collect worker’s comp but cannot file suit in the circuit court.
Under worker’s comp, damages are limited. In circuit court, they are not. In a typical construction accident, an employer of a sub-contractor will sue his employer for WC and the general contractor/owner in the circuit court. Usually the circuit court recovery is about three times the amount of the WC claim.
Get rid of comp and the employee will be able to file suit directly against the employer. Although the employee will have to prove negligence, that’s usually not the difficult (”failed to provide a safe place to work.”).
The result is that although some claims will be tossed, most claims will have a greater value. And the premiums go through the roof.
- cassandra - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 11:48 am:
No problem. As I have always (and always politely)
acknowledged, it’s your blog and you have every right to exclude commenters.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 11:56 am:
Train, why does the Chicago-St. Louis line seem to be chronically delayed? The conductors always say there’s a freight up ahead. Is it just the condition of the tracks or is it the station problems you referenced?
- sheik - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 12:31 pm:
it does not cost 120 million dollars a year to administer the WC system. The Commission budget is closer to 12 million. This move would cause at least 100 new judges to be hired at a minimum salary of 172,000 per year, plus all the additional court personnel. The Commission does it with about thirty arbitrators making about 115 per year. The arbs have very minimal support staff.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 12:41 pm:
–The Commission does it with about thirty arbitrators making about 115 per year. The arbs have very minimal support staff.–
We might not be having this discussion if some of those arbitrators hadn’t filed multiple claims for themselves.
- DuPage Dave - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 12:49 pm:
When I was a kid in school we learned about the old days of child labor, sweatshops and injured workers being cast aside like garbage. We were informed that in our modern world such things were not allowed.
Sadly worker protections of all kinds are being turned aside- in Wisconsin and Ohio with collective bargaining rights, and in Maine with the proposal to bring back child labor. Do we really need to weaken protections for workers in Illinois?
Clean up the abuses but play fair with workers.
- Louis G. Atsaves - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 1:00 pm:
47th, it is a pure showboat move. Solves nothing. Makes everything more time consuming and more expensive for all parties.
I submitted proposals in January when this all started up. No one followed up with me. Others have done the same with the same results. I’ve been in this field of law for over 30 years as have many others.
I know the political reality. I’ve seen it in action for many years. I have watched individuals scream for reform on both sides, mostly for their own benefit, and not for the benefit of the general public.
In the meantime, some true legal issues in WC never get discussed or get bypassed.
Oh, well.
- Marcus Agrippa - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 1:02 pm:
This debate is all about premiums (which weren’t too bad a couple of years ago). Why haven’t we heard any factually based discussion of what makes up the premium dollar these days. Is it: medical inflation, benefits to employee and if so what type of benefit, lack of competition in the industry, litigation costs, losses in the stock market? All the discussion has been based upon anecdotal stories about this bad claim or that bad arbitrator. Can anyone here cite factual evidence about what has caused the premium to go up recently and what makes up the premium dollar?
- Marcus Agrippa - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 1:06 pm:
Louis - I made similar offers of assistance based on 30 plus years experience. Made to specific legislators and staff. No real response. Basically told that the designated spokesmen would have to handle it.
- phocion - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 1:16 pm:
Marcus Agrippa, by George, I think you got it. Yes, medical is too high and should be reduced - and there certainly needs to be a change to electronic billing. But in testimony last year it was demonstrated that even a 30% cut on the cap (with electronic billing) will lead to less than 2% in premium reductions. So, why just whack the docs? Seems kind of…partisan. Everyone, everyone needs to take a haircut on this deal. Yes, labor, that means you - and, no, that doesn’t mean just agreeing to eliminate intoxicated workers from protection under the program. If real change doesn’t happen, Quinn’s promise to the Catepillar CEO to fix workers comp will be as hollow as a bone.
- phocion - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 1:17 pm:
…or, more appropros and in keeping with the season…as hollow as a chocolate rabbit.
- BIG R. Ph - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 1:22 pm:
So if Florida turned down the railroad money why do the Feds insist on spending that money?
This is the thing that drives me more bonkers than anything. Congress appropriates money and that money HAS to be spent. If the agency doesn’t spend the money then they are breaking the law. If you don’t need it you don’t need it.
- Marcus Agrippa - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 1:52 pm:
phocion - so what percentage of one premium dollar is medical? Who testified that a 30% cut would only reduce premiums 2% - the docs, insurance companies? And why have premiums gone up so drastically in two years? What specific events have caused the to go up?
- It's Just Me - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 2:26 pm:
While it isgreat to get “free” money from the feds it usually comes with strings, such as a local match. Where does that match come from? Could that money be better spent fixing our roads, bridges, and broken mass transit sytem?
- phocion - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 2:29 pm:
M-A. The insurers came up with that number. Workers comp premiums are generally based upon experience. While some of the dollars spent are on medical and legal, a large portion are provided as settlement or awards to claimants. Some lump sum, some permanent, some partial. Workers should receive fair compensation for legitimate workplace injuries. Right now there hasn’t been much discussion from some quarters as to what is “fair” and what is “legitimate.”
- train111 - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 2:35 pm:
wordslinger
The “freight up ahead” is generally a freight on a line that has a grade crossing with the line Amtrak is running on. Coming into Chicago you have Tower UD in Joliet, Argo, LeMoyne, Brighton Park and 21st St as grade crossings all heavily used by other railroad’s trains. I don’t know the situation as well in St. Louis except that the same problems occur. UP itself runs very few trains over the line Amtrak uses. In fact they (Union Pacific) run trains with cars full of rock at night time between Bloomington and South Joliet to break the rust off the rails so that all of the highway signals function. (Amtrak trains must not be heavy enough) That alone speaks volumes on how much UP actually uses that line. (The line has never ever been much of a moneymaker even back to the Alton’s bankruptcy in the early 1900s. It has always been a neglected step child passed from ner-do-well railroad to ner-do-well railroad. Fascinating history)
Until you clear up the cross traffic, the 100mph running isn’t going to gain you a whole lot.
train111
- wordslinger - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 2:41 pm:
Train, very interesting, thanks.
- Annon - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 2:57 pm:
Train:
I thought UP’s new facilty in Joliet was going to rely on the Springfield line for some of its traffic or atleast that is what the local paper reports when discussing the relocation of Amtrak in Springfield.
It does seem like Amtrak runs the most traffic through Springfield.
- train111 - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 3:11 pm:
Annon
As of today, outside of a few moves to reposition empty intermodal equipment, UP’s new Global 4 facility just south of Joliet has gotten in exactly zero trains via this route.
That doesn’t mean that they wont use this route in the future, but the only way that I see them using it is if there is enough of an economic recovery that generates enough rail traffic to overcrowd the existing lines UP is using to get traffic to G4.
train111
- 47th Ward - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 3:48 pm:
Louis,
I totally respect your view on this because you are an expert on W/C and I am not. However, when you say:
===Makes everything more time consuming and more expensive for all parties.===
you prove my point that Bradley’s bill is designed in a way that might force the interested parties to compromise, since none wants to go the circuit court route.
That’s a good legislative tactic, in my opinion. I object to calling it showboating, but otherwise agree with you on what needs fixing. Without some kind of game changer, there aren’t enough votes to do something concrete to lower premiums for employers, protect employees and fairly compensate doctors.
It’s a gamble for sure. A gimmick perhaps, but I don’t think it’s showboating. Not when you get a bill like this to 3rd reading. The fiscal note fiasco is the first sign that some of the interested parties might finally understand the train is leaving the station.
- 47th Ward - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 3:50 pm:
Not the fiscal note fiasco, I meant the Judicial Impact note.
- reformer - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 3:59 pm:
If Republicans really want a fault system, then why not back Bradley’s bill? I don’t get it.
- Six Degrees of Separation - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 4:02 pm:
The coming Environmental Impact Statement for double tracking the Chicago-St. Louis corridor will address the increase in use of this line by freight trains. The addition of the second track (and some cases a third) will make it a more attractive alternative for running through freights in addition to the passenger trains. I agree, this line will probably never be a UP-West or BNSF-like freight-intense line.
- 47th Ward - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 4:08 pm:
===I don’t get it===
Because as bad as Illinois worker’s compensation system is, it is much better than going to actual court for each case. At least from the business perspective. The premiums now are too high, but you can budget for those. Who knows how a jury might respond to some of these injury claims? And the legal fees litigating these cases will make the premiums look like chump change.
On the other hand, those filing claims will have a higher burden of proof and also need to weigh the fickle nature of juries. Most jurors don’t see themselves as lottery agents. Big awards make headlines, but they are very rare.
And the plaintiff’s bar (ITLA), will lose out because of the extra time and expense of going to trial for each W/C case.
Bradley’s bill is the doomsday device, designed to force a compromise among the various parties. I hope it works and we can get every side to give a little, before it’s too late.
- jrm - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 4:20 pm:
47th Ward,
I think ITLA actually supports Bradley’s bill. I might be wrong.
- 47th Ward - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 4:24 pm:
You might be right jrm, certainly the defense bar likes it. The lawyers will find a way to win either way.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 5:03 pm:
47th Ward left out a couple of points.
Under the Worker’s Comp system, damages are EXTREMELY limited.
Let’s take the case of 23 year-old Emilio Gallardo, who was killed this December when a load of granite fell off a forklift, crushing him under 3 tons of stone. Leaving behind a young widow and three month old daughter.
If those three tons of stone had been dropped on a customer of the company, their family would be entitled to not just all future wages, but non-economic damages for the widow and child.
Under Illinois’ worker’s compensation system, there are no non-economic damages even in cases where the employer is clearly negligent and 100% responsible for the death of an employee.
I’m not saying the employer is 100% responsible here, but OSHA is expected to compete its investigation in June, and I hope we get a good explanation for why this company has two men working alone in a warehouse moving 6000 lb. loads with a forklift.
If it turns out in fact that the company was responsible, I don’t think it would be surprising to see this case go as high as $10 million…not an outrageous some considering there’s a young girl who was robbed of a lifetime of experiences with her father, and a young woman who will never grow old with her husband.
Some stats on forklifts, BTW:
- Approximately every 3 days, someone in the U.S is killed in a forklift-related accident
- Each year, an additional 94,750 injuries related to forklift accidents are reported
- One in Six of all workplace fatalities in this country are forklift-related
- According to OSHA, approximately 70% of all accidents reported could have been avoided with proper safety training and policy.
You’d think with someone being killed every three days in forklift mishaps, we’d have some new standards.
BTW, since Republicans are all about Indiana these days, I think its worth pointing out that Indiana has a lifetime cap on worker’s compensation benefits of $350,000 — meaning that if this case had happened just across the state line, the most that Mrs. Gallardo and her baby could collect for the loss of her husband is about $10,000 a year for what would have been his natural life.
- 47th Ward - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 5:19 pm:
Thanks YDD, that’s a tragic case.
I’m not an expert on W/C, far from it. I just think Bradley’s bill is a good way to get everybody back to the table. Business is demanding that premiums are addressed. Labor is demanding that workers get protection. Doctors want to get paid fairly.
And then of course we have the Belleville News telling us how prison guards are buying bass boats with carpal tunnel claims. Something has to be done, and no one seems ready to give.
What we have here is a big $&#* sandwich, and everybody needs to take a bite before we can fix it.
- Louis G. Atsaves - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 8:28 pm:
YDD, Illinois also has caps in the situation you described. Using a gimmick to get people to talk sanely about WC reforms is pure showboating.
I would like to see the Circuit Court of Cook County handle an emergency Petition hearing for payment of lost time benefits while someone is recuperating from surgery.
If the Democrats are truly the party of the working man and woman, this bill certainly proves that assertion to be a complete falsehood. I for one find it shocking that Democrats are playing such games with the WC Act and injured workers in this State right now through this bill, which some call a gimmick, and which I call irresponsible showboating.
The true colors of the Democrats have come out in force here. A lot of Democratic comp attorneys are looking glum in court right now. They should be. They were sold out by the same folks they blindly supported all these years.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Apr 7, 11 @ 9:05 pm:
Louis, do you really think it’s just Democrats?
To me, workmens’s comp stagnation comes from an Iron Triangle among the Docs, the Lawyers, and the Unions. That’s not your usual partisan lines, but the status quo is working fine for those groups.
You can make an argument that the lawyers and unions are with the Dems (although they have pals among the GOP, especially the trade unions), but the Docs are GOP all the way. And it seems to me, they think they have the most to lose if the status quo is messed with.
This is one of those Illinois issues where party means nothing and it comes down to money, money, money. Who gets, who gives.
As a local yokel with no skin in the game, there seems to be some obvious savings and reforms that would take a bite out of all parties but would retain the basic structure of the system without throwing everything into the courts, which would be expensive and insane.
I take Rep. Bradley’s bill as a Madigan-approved shot to get it done, or get ….
Good. Reasonable, less expensive reform has been held hostage by powerful factions in both parties, for way too long. That’s what CAT’s Oberhelman was takling about.