A Chicago lawyer describes a workers' compensation bill presented by Rep. Laura Fine (D-Glenview) as a “silly concept” he was glad to see Gov. Bruce Rauner veto in August.
In his blog, Eugene Keefe, a partner with Keefe, Campbell, Biery and Associates, characterized House Bill 2622 as a piece of legislation that “uses employer and insurer tax dollars to capitalize the creation of a state-established, mutual workers’ comp insurance company to compete with the over 300 insurers that already provide hotly competitive workers' compensation coverage.”
HB2622 would create a state-funded insurance company that would operate as the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. The bill would appropriate $10 million in start-up funds in the form of a loan that would later be paid back by the state-owned company.
Eugene Keefe.
The General Assembly is expected to consider an override of the veto. Keefe also argued that if that happens, it will place the state in a financial bind that reflects on “the laughingly poor management proclivities of Illinois’ government leadership.”
“The whole silly concept is based on an ITLA-driven theory that all the major U.S. insurance carriers somehow 'hide' box-car profits but only in this single state,” Keefe said.
It will take 71 votes in the House of Representatives and 36 in the Senate to override the veto. There are currently 67 Democrats and 51 Republicans in the House and 37 Democrats and 22 Republicans in the Senate.
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