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Chamber@Work | Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce

May 11, 2015

Springfield Legislative Update:

Illinois Supreme Court Rules SB1 Unconstitutional

On Friday, the Illinois Supreme Court affirmed a circuit court’s ruling that the State’s “pension reform” law from 2013 - SB1 - is unconstitutional.

The Court stated, “Obliging the government to control itself is what we are called upon to do today. The Constitution of Illinois and the precedent of our court admit of only one conclusion: the annuity reduction provisions of [SB1] violate article XIII, section five’s express prohibition against the diminishment of the benefits of membership in public retirement systems. The circuit court was therefore entirely correct when it declared those provisions void and unenforceable.”

In its opinion, the Court said that “based on historical experience…when it comes to retirement benefits for public employees, the legislature could not be trusted with more.” Further, that the “funding problems which developed were entirely foreseeable” by the legislature, and “the General Assembly itself is largely responsible” for the funding crisis.

The Court’s decision has major ramifications on budget negotiations and limits options for reforming the pension systems, which now stand at an estimated $110 billion in unfunded liabilities. This number is based on all public employees retiring at one time. The Court did not offer much guidance, other than suggesting the State can make “a new schedule for amortizing the unfunded liabilities,” increase taxes, and/or pass a constitutional amendment that does not violate the contracts clause.

Read the full decision here.

Workers’ Compensation: House Committee of the Whole

Speaker Madigan called a rare Committee of the Whole to discuss the issue of workers’ compensation in Illinois. The Chamber supports reasonable reforms, and participated in a press conference with many of our business allies prior to the Committee of the Whole hearing to share our concerns.

One of the much needed reforms is related to the issue of ‘causation.’ Currently under Illinois law, an employee’s injury does not have to occur primarily at work for an employer to be required to pay for the full cost of the injury and compensation. If 99 percent of the employee’s injury happens as a result of non-work activity, but one percent of that injury is aggravated or occurs at the workplace, the employer is fully liable for that injury.

The Chamber supports this reform, among others, in order to make the system more fair to both employees and employers. By requiring an employee’s injury to primarily occur at the workplace (more than 50 percent), it reduces costs for the employer while ensuring that legitimate claims from employees are not bogged down so that the employee can receive quality healthcare and return to work faster.

Read an article on the House Committee of the Whole’s workers’ compensation hearing here. The next Committee of the Whole is scheduled for May 12th, and will focus on “tort reform.”

House Votes on Governor Rauner’s Proposed Human Services Budget

The Illinois House voted on a version of Governor Rauner’s proposed Human Services budget on Wednesday, including additional, individual amendments dealing with specific areas of that budget.

It should be noted that the legislation was not “introduced” by Governor Rauner or any of the House Republican legislators. All Democrats voted “No," while Republicans voted “Present.” Speaker Madigan performed a similar exercise during the concealed carry debate in 2013, having members debate various individual pieces of the comprehensive proposal to educate House members on the issue.

The Speaker has also scheduled a vote on Governor Rauner’s ‘right to work’ legislation, though no legislation has been “introduced” by the Governor. You can read more here.

Chamber’s 2015 Legislative Principles and Resolution in Support of Governor Rauner’s ‘Turnaround Agenda’ Principles

The Chamber’s Board of Directors approved our updated 2015 legislative principles and a resolution that supports many of the items in Governor Rauner’s ‘Turnaround Agenda.’

Please view our updated 2015 legislative principles here and the Turnaround Agenda resolution here.

ComEd’s Future Energy Plan

The Chamber supports ComEd’s Future Energy Plan and efforts to leverage its Smart Grid infrastructure to increase integration of clean energy options, provide greater reliability, and savings to customers. Find out more here.

Updating Illinois’ Telecommunications Law

The Chamber supports efforts to update Illinois’ outdated telecommunications law. To find out more information and how you can help, click here. Read the press release here. To see a list of supporters, click here.

City Council Update:

Governor Bruce Rauner Addresses City Council

Governor Bruce Rauner addressed the City Council on Wednesday, May 6th. His address to City Council is unprecedented. He focused on his ‘Turnaround Agenda’ and urged the importance of working together to improve the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois. He also addressed right to work zones.

A public hearing was held on Tuesday, April 7th in the Committee on Workforce Development and Audit on a resolution sponsored by Mayor Emanuel and more than 35 aldermen regarding right to work zones. The resolution declared their opposition to the Governor’s proposal to create local right to work zones in Illinois.

Chicago 2015 Inauguration

The inauguration of Rahm Emanuel as Mayor of the City of Chicago, Susana A. Mendoza as Clerk of the City of Chicago, Kurt Summers as Treasurer of the City of Chicago, and members of the Chicago City Council will be held on Monday, May 18th at the Chicago Theatre. Tickets are required.

For more information on the 2015 Inauguration events and volunteer opportunities click here.

The next City Council meeting is on Wednesday, May 20, 2015 at 10 a.m.

The next Cook County Board of Commissioners meeting is on Wednesday, May 20, 2015 at 11 a.m.

Get Involved:

Host an International High School Exchange Student

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State

Would you like to have a cross-cultural experience in your community while contributing to improved relations between the United States and other countries?

If so, consider hosting an exchange student sponsored by the U.S. Department of State in your home or school. Learn more and fill out an interest form at hosting.state.gov or email youthprograms@state.gov.

We want to hear from you about any issues that may be of importance to you and your business. Please contact me directly with any questions or concerns at mreever@chicagolandchamber.org or 312-806-1508.