Response to Chicago Tribune's 6/23/12 Editorial on "Repetitive Walking"

The Chicago Tribune recently published an editorial blaming workers injured on the job for the  rising cost of workers’ compensation insurance and hampering Illinois businesses. As a member of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA), we feel this continued assault on innocent injured workers in the name of creating a better business climate in the State of Illinois is reform gone a muck.  We urge the citizens of Illinois, our elected officials, and congress persons to reconsider placing the burden of reform on the backs of workers with legitimate and devastating injuries. To this end, ITLA drafted a response to the editorial staff at The Chicago Tribune, which the Tribune chose NOT to run.  We felt it was important to share with the public this response and we have copied it below:

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Here’s the link to the editorial:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-workcomp-0623-jm-20120623,0,6852389.story

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Dear Editor,

Worker safety and well-being should drive any discussion about reforms to the Illinois workers’ compensation system. Sadly, the Tribune’s recent editorial (“Repetitive Walking,” June 23, 2012) blamed workers injured on the job for the cost of workers’ comp, and demanded further curtailment of workers’ already limited rights.

The insurance industry, whose premiums dictate the price of our workers’ comp system, enjoyed a pass from the Tribune’s analysis of last year’s bipartisan workers’ comp reform law. Insurers are profiting from that new law, yet any consideration of the exorbitant premiums their industry slaps on Illinois employers is conspicuously absent from the editorial.

As to the standard that injured workers must meet, the editorial surmises “work doesn’t have to be the primary cause of an injury for an employee to collect a payoff,” and that employees have “no requirement to connect the injury to work.”  A simple review of existing law makes clear that a worker’s injury must occur in the course of employment. Injuries that don’t occur on the job are not covered by the Workers’ Compensation Act and never have been. 

We agree that any type of fraud in the system - either by employers or employees - needs to stop. Any fraud within the Illinois workers’ comp system is an unfair drain on employers and taxpayers and it needs to be eliminated to reduce costs. We support more oversight and empowering the appropriate authorities to crack down on abusers. Reform should not be at the expense of those injured on the job.

The goal of last year’s overhaul was to protect workers’ rights while reducing costs for employers, and many employers supported passage of that law.  In any rewrite of the law, Illinois lawmakers should look closely at the insurance industry’s lack of regulation. Insurance reform, not further diminishment of injured workers’ rights, is the key to further reducing employers’ workers’ comp costs.

Gregory L. Shevlin
President – Illinois Trial Lawyers Association

4th of July Celebration in Bolingbrook

Bolingbrook 4th of July Festivities

Celebrate Independence Day in Bolingbrook with hours of entertainment, food and drink. Admission to the celebration at the Bolingbrook Golf Club, 2001 Rodeo Dr., is free.

Fireworks will follow the singing of the National Anthem at 9:15 p.m. by Jim Cornelison from the Chicago Blackhawks.

More information can be found at: http://www.bolingbrook.com//info/pdf/BB4thofJuly2012.pdf

Jason A. Marker, Esq. named "Rising Star" by SuperLawyers magazine.

QMM partner, Jason A. Marker, was recently selected by SuperLawyers Magazine as a "Rising Star." The magazine just released its 2012 edition, in which it selects attorneys using a rigorous, multiphase process in which peer nominations and evaluations are combined with independent research. Each year, the magazine's attorney-led research staff searches for lawyers who have attained honors or results. The researchers evaluate candidates in 12 different areas of peer recognition and professional achievement. Candidates are grouped into their primary practice areas and those who receive the highest points totals are asked to serve on a review panel. Attorneys with the highest totals from each category are selected.

In order to be selected as a "Rising Star," a candidate must be (1) either 40 years old or younger or in practice for ten years or less; (2) candidates for Rising Stars do not go through step three above—peer evaluation by practice area. While up to five percent of the lawyers in the state are named to Super Lawyers, no more than 2.5 percent are named to the Rising Stars list.

Congratulations to Mr. Marker on his this selection and his achievements. Mr. Marker represents people who have sustained significant injuries in the workplace, via automobile collisions, or slip and falls. He offers a free half hour consultation on all matters.