The Illinois House approved changes Thursday to a system where workers are compensated for on-the-job injuries.
Democrats, like Rep. Jay Hoffman from Swansea, say their latest proposal gets at one of the governor’s key issues -- like how to determine whether a specific employer caused an injury that might have been building for years.
“We believe that this, for the first time, is us trying to extend an olive branch to the governor’s office," Hoffman said, "saying we are going to address the issue of causation."
The measure passed on a vote of 63-39.
Gov. Bruce Rauner and his allies, like House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, say the Democratic proposal does not go far enough.
“We’re not making any movement,” Durkin said. “That’s why you have such a united opposition to this bill. Costs are not going to go down. I don’t believe this bill is a truly sincere effort by people who are advocating on behalf to make some meaningful change in Illinois."
A statement issued by Lance Trover, Director of Communications for Rauner, said the proposal puts the employer 100% on the hook for injuries that are primarily caused outside the workplace.
The proposal permits a current employer to seek to recover a “pro rata share” from previous employers, the statement says, but that fails to take into account where an employee is largely responsible for the injury. It forces employers to go back and bring a separate case for contribution against other employers.
Rauner’s office also complained that the proposal includes no cuts to the medical fee schedule, no changes to the use of the AMA guidelines and no mention of credits for person-as-whole injuries.
Illinois just enacted a big, bipartisan overhaul of workers’ comp a few years ago. But Rauner says costs are still too high, and that more changes are needed.
But Rauner, speaking a day earlier, already dismissed the proposal as “not real reform."
“It’s more of the same,” Rauner said. “More of a phony reform. More insignificant reform. And we’ve seen this movie before."
Democrats say the focus should be on balancing the state budget, not the governor’s policy agenda. Rauner, however, says he won’t discuss raising additional tax revenue until Democrats approve his agenda.
- Illinois Public Radio reporter Brian Mackey contributed to this report.
