As the regularly scheduled spring legislative session came to a close on May 31, a number of pro-business groups labeled it “one of the worst for employers,” citing a number of anti-employer and anti-job growth measures that cleared the Legislature this year, as well as a lack of progress on major reforms like workers’ compensation reform and property tax relief.
Groups including the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, Illinois Retail Merchants Association, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, Illinois Chamber of Commerce and National Federation of Independent Businesses, pointed to legislation that they said would tax, over-regulate, mandate and constrict employers as contributing factors to a poor business climate in Illinois.
They contend that while the many of these measures may in theory be aimed at increasing pay and hiring more employees, they achieve the opposite effect by stifling the business community’s ability to provide jobs with competitive pay and generate revenue to address Illinois’ fiscal woes.