CHICAGO – After reviewing House Speaker Mike Madigan's recent City Club of Chicago speech, Illinois Policy Institute analyst Michael Lucci doesn't mince words in his tough criticism of the speaker's defense of Illinois atrocious economic condition:
In short, Madigan showed little knowledge of economic issues, especially considering the myriad problems the state is facing:
- Illinois has suffered the nation’s worst recovery from the Great Recession in terms of putting people back to work, with 180,000 fewer people working today than before the recession began
- Illinois is experiencing record out-migration from the state, with 95,000 people lost on net in 2014, according to the U.S. Census Bureau
Illinois has a larger portion of its population on food stamps than any other state in the Midwest, and is the only state in the Midwest to put more people on food stamps than in jobs during the recession recovery. At the speech, Madigan also was asked about Illinois’ workers’ compensation system. When describing workers’ compensation in general and Illinois’ 2011 workers’ compensation bill in particular, Madigan said:
“The bill is working. Costs are coming down. That doesn’t mean that the Illinois costs are at a level with Indiana or Wisconsin because the system is predicated upon wage levels. If you’re injured on the job, and you prove your case, the award is a percentage of your wage. So the wage levels in Illinois are higher than they are in Indiana and Wisconsin. And so if you want to bring down the cost, some people would say, ‘Bring down the wage levels.’ I don’t sign up for that program.”
Madigan’s answer reveals that he doesn’t have a strong understanding of the workers’ compensation system, nor about how wage level differences affect the rating rankings between states.
Ouch. Lucci's gutsy admonishment is sure to stir more discussion as the governor and the legislative leaders plan to meet yet once again to edge towards a badly-needed budget agreement.
The rest of Lucci's comments is HERE.
