SPRINGFIELD (May 5, 2015) – Today, the entire Illinois House of Representatives will meet in a rare chamber-wide meeting to discuss workers’ compensation reform.

Economic experts at the Illinois Policy Institute are available to comment on the need for workers’ compensation reform, and to explain why the state’s broken workers’ compensation system puts Illinois at an economic disadvantage.

Facts on workers’ compensation reform:

• Companies must purchase workers’ compensation insurance to pay for medical costs and injury rewards for employees who are injured on the job. Workers’ compensation is regulated by state law.

• Illinois has the most expensive workers’ compensation costs in the Midwest, and among the most expensive in the nation. This burdensome regulation is especially prohibitive for entrepreneurs who lack an established safety record, and for the manufacturing and construction industries where workplace risks are more common.

• Workers’ compensation premiums for industrial jobs in Illinois are more than two times more expensive than in neighboring states.
  • Workers’ compensation premiums (per $100 of payroll) for steel fabricators:
    • Illinois: $12.57
    • Missouri: $11.11
    • Wisconsin: $6.89
    • Michigan: $6.84
    • Iowa: $5.81
    • Indiana: $4.74
    • Ohio: $4.69
    • Kentucky: $3.97

• Example: A steel company with 1,000 workers in Illinois would save $3.1 million annually in workers’ compensation costs alone by moving from Illinois to Indiana. The same company would save $3.4 million in workers’ compensation costs by moving to Kentucky, $2.7 million by moving to Iowa and $2.2 million by moving to Wisconsin.

FOR INTERVIEWS, CONTACT: Nathaniel Hamilton 312-346-5700 x202