11 Nov 2014: A BANNER YEAR FOR RESPONDENTS IN ILLINOIS? ONLY TIME WILL TELL
By Daniel S. Orenstein – Managing Partner, Orenstein & Associates, P.C. With the recent midterm elections behind us and business mogul Bruce Rauner becoming the Governor-Elect, many businesses in Illinois are beginning to wonder whether a Republican in the Governor’s mansion will a catalyst towards swinging the Illinois Workers’ Compensation pendulum back to the favor of business. By the time Governor-Elect Rauner is sworn in, a Democrat will have been sitting behind the Governor’s desk 12 years. During that time, the pendulum at the Commission has swung wildly in favor or labor and injured workers, with only lip service and cosmetic concessions given to business. In the Tri-State area of Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin; Illinois is by far the most anti-business in terms of workers’ compensation laws. So the questions becomes will a Rauner Administration make any difference? The answer is… only time will tell. We do not yet know a lot about Governor-Elect Rauner’s position on the issue of Workers’ Compensation . A look at his campaign website indicates that Mr. Rauner wants to “reform the workers’ compensation system to make Illinois competitive with neighboring states”. Not much in the way of specifics there. Prior to election day progressives were spouting gloom...