Workers’ compensation is a significant cost to Illinois taxpayers and drains scarce tax dollars from government coffers. Political and business leaders often view workers’ compensation as a costly regulation that affects private-sector investment and employment in Illinois.[1] This description is accurate yet incomplete. The same heavy costs imposed on private-sector employers[2] are also imposed on...

The regulatory cost of doing business in Illinois remains the highest in the Midwest for workers’ compensation, according to the 2016 Oregon Workers’ Compensation Premium Rate Ranking study.[1] Illinois’ out-of-balance workers’ compensation laws contribute to the Land of Lincoln’s loss of industrial investment and blue-collar job opportunities. Illinois manufacturing firms often cite workers’ compensation as...

This blog is the fifth part of a series that explores Illinois’ workers’ compensation system, the state’s inadequate reforms, and opportunities policymakers should seize now to make the system less costly and more effective for employers and workers alike.

The Illinois Chamber of Commerce seems to hold contradictory opinions when it comes to economic opportunity.