Rep. David Leitch (R-Peoria)

While state leaders continue to work on hammering out a budget agreement, Gov. Bruce Rauner wants workman’s compensation reform as part of the mix.

Rauner has said that reforming the rules pertaining to workers claiming on-the-job injuries need to be part of equation in order to get his support on any budget deal.

Better steps in figuring out just how the worker got injured – whether it was in his position on the shop floor or at his position on his recreation league softball team – is something businesses and many state Republicans are seeking.

“I would like to see important reform related to causation,” said state Rep. David Leitch (R-Peoria). “To what extent was an injury caused on the job? The last ‘reform’ in 2011 I voted against. I didn’t consider that real. It did not even address causation.”

Leitch estimated that causation is 70 percent of the problem with workman compensation issues that businesses have with current laws.

“In order to have meaningful reform, it is essential to have fraud out of the causation piece of workman’s compensation,” Leitch said. “Workman’s compensation costs have to be competitive … There has to be agreement from labor and business on how to do it. Labor has refused, so far, to deal with the causation issue at all. That makes all these financial talks so difficult.”

Leitch said he is not happy at all with the financial discussions going on in Springfield because the talks have not been a collaborative process with Republicans and Democrats working together.

“I was hopeful that the leaders of the Democrats would be more collaborative,” Leitch said. “Will they be more collaborative? I think that is the thousand-dollar question.”

House Speaker Michael J. Madigan (D-Chicago) did convene a committee of the whole earlier this month to discuss compensation for injured workers, but did not seem very interested in pushing the needle more toward business owners instead of workers.

“Proposals to change the compensation received by men and women injured at their workplaces will have a significant impact on the financial security of middle-class families throughout Illinois,” he said. “Changes that limit workers’ ability to provide for their families if they are hurt on the job will have an adverse ripple effect throughout our economy.”

He said the committee of the whole gave state lawmakers an opportunity to discuss how proposals would impact individuals who have been hurt and their ability to be fairly compensated for their injuries and lost wages.

Madigan contends that since the 2011 reforms were enacted, workman’s comp rates in Illinois have fallen, leading to a reduction in insurance premiums paid by businesses. He believes there needs to be a balance between working families and businesses.

“Numbers on paper alone can’t tell the full story of men and women who are hurt at work through no fault of their own and whose families must cope with lost wages and massive medical bills,” the House Speaker said. “These workers and their families are the reason we have an injured workers’ compensation system, and they deserve to have their voices heard.”

House Minority Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) said that more needs to be done to help businesses with workers’ comp costs.

“The high rate Illinois employers must pay for workers’ compensation coverage is costing us jobs,” Durkin said. “We believe changes are needed to bring rates down so that Illinois employers can better compete with other states while still protecting workers who are injured on the job. Certainly, there are two sides to every story.”

Rauner notes that changes are needed to keep firms in the Land of Lincoln.

“Illinois job creators are speaking out on the need for true workers’ compensation reform so Illinois can compete with our neighboring states,” Rauner said. “Illinois currently has the seventh highest workers’ compensation costs in the country, more than double neighboring Indiana.”