How did you Illinois House member vote Friday on State Rep. John Bradley's (D-Marion) bid to completely dismantle Illinois workers' comp system and turn it all over to the courts? Bradley's SB 1933 will make Illinois the first state in the nation to pull the plug on the system of boards, negotiators and appeals, to dump an average of 50,000 worker's comp cases straight into the circuit court system, bolstering the trial attorney industry, as in the court system, caps and causation requirements differ. Businesses and workers will be involved in hiring attorneys, defense and court costs.
On the other hand, reform efforts of the workers' comp system has stalled, Rep. Bradley said in House floor discussion, and the movement of SB 1933 may be used as an opportunity to get the business and labor communities to return to serious negotiations. In other words, SB 1933 may be used as a political ploy.
The vote on SB 1933 was not along party lines. Three Republicans - JoAnn Osmond, Dennis Reboletti and Jil Tracy - voted yes while two Democrats - Jehan Gordon and Charles Jefferson voted no. The bill will now return to the Senate. The roll call is below:
