What Rhymes With Bloated Bureaucracy?

Wednesday, August 21, 2013 | 0

Last week, Gov. Pat Quinn announced the appointment of three new arbitrators who will join the 27 sitting Illinois workers' compensation arbitrators, bringing the total to 30.
 
As observers for Illinois business and with respect to these new workers, we don’t feel our state needs that many line administrators and would have preferred the monies had been saved and/or rebated to our clients and readers. As the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission is the only state agency funded solely by business, one would think the Illinois State Chamber, the Illinois Manufacturers or Illinois Self-Insurers Association would be kicking and screaming about their members’ costs rising for workers' compensation assessments. Is Keefe, Campbell, Biery & Associates the only statewide organization that cares about such issues?
 
We note the number of new Illinois workers' compensation claims continues to dramatically drop as workplaces get safer. Less than 50,000 new claims should be filed this year and many of them are pro se settlements. Companies large and small continue to react to the looming presence of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which is hitting employer after employer with hefty fines for any unsafe situation or severe injury. With 30 arbitrators and eight commissioners and our chairman, the total Workers' Compensation Commission payroll for administrators has to be one of the highest in the U.S. Along with a high current payroll, Illinois has the great habit of making taxpayers pay the lion’s share, currently 60% of post-employment pay for retired government workers that we misleadingly call “pensions” in this state.
 
How Does Hiring More Administrators Equate with Efficiency?
 
As the 2014 gubernatorial election is looming, our plucky governor couldn’t miss the chance to call the 2011 Illinois workers' compensation reforms “historic” and they assert this legislation “overhaul[ed] the system in Illinois.” The press release further highlights the “governor's commitment to making Illinois government more efficient, accountable and effective.” We counter to point out adding more Workers' Compensation Commission payroll doesn’t equate with efficient, accountable or effective — it is just more government workers.

One galling aspect of Illinois government is the continuing decision by even a “reform” governor to keep arbitrator positions purely political and secret. The WCC didn't openly advertise these new arbitrator or commissioner positions. You and I can’t apply for such positions; you have to know someone who knows someone to be considered.
 
We don’t agree that adding more arbitrators, albeit great candidates, is necessarily efficient. We also didn’t see any discussion or meeting minutes from any advisory board about a defined need to fill these positions. There are many other ways to infuse efficiencies into the Illinois workers' compensation system, such as putting hard deadlines on trial, settlement or dismissal. The Illinois Legislature did not conduct hearings and mandate there is a need for 20, 30 or 40 arbitrators to facilitate claim closure. As the number of new claims continues to drop, we hope Chairman Latz, the Commission itself and the Workers' Compensation Advisory Board openly weigh and consider precisely how many arbitrators and commissioners are truly required to fulfill the mission of our Workers' Compensation Commission. When they start to do that, we may start to see if they are being efficient, accountable and effective in doing so.
 
While we are on the buzzwords of efficient, accountable and effective, we note the IWCC continues to have four satellite offices across the state that are simply there to provide more "lifetime-salaried-political-plum” government jobs. The addresses of these controversial offices are listed on the IWCC’s first web page. You may note the IWCC’s Collinsville office isn’t staffed and the job isn’t posted for reasons known only to the secret powers-that-be. In our view, the value of satellite offices to Illinois business and taxpayers is virtually nonexistent and the money to operate them is wasted. The folks who are assigned to the satellite offices do very little work of any demonstrable value; the only task it appears they perform is to provide printed workers' compensation forms that are continuously available online and therefore don't need five full-time office-minders across our state to occasionally give them out. Again, the folks who run those offices have payroll that has to exceed $200,000, plus those pensions that you and I will be certain to eventually pay.

The three new arbitrators include an assistant attorney general, one of the state's top workers' compensation defense attorneys and a former Circuit Court judge!
 
Molly Dearing, J.D. – our research indicates she is a solid workers' compensation attorney who was licensed in 2007. She has a workers' compensation background working in Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office.
 
Jeffrey Huebsch, J.D. – Jeff was a very solid and knowledgeable workers' compensation defense attorney, licensed in 1984. He was one of the senior attorneys at a great west suburban-based defense firm and probably took a substantial pay cut to take this position. We are certain Jeff will bring strong workers' compensation expertise to his new job every day. If the stars were to align, at some future time, Arbitrator Huebsch could become IWCC Chairman Huebsch.
 
Ketki Steffen, J.D. – our research indicates she is a retired judge but also is a current judicial candidate. She was a Cook County prosecutor for 18 years before being appointed to the bench by our Supreme Court in 2010. There is no indication in her many online resumes and law firm website that she has any workers' compensation background, but she does appear to be a quick learner.

The governor appointed one new Commissioner and left the other vacancy open.
 
Michael Brennan, J.D. – Mike is a veteran and longtime workers' compensation lawyer who was with the storied Kane, Doy & Harrington firm for much of the middle of his career. Mike has written books and lectured about Illinois workers' compensation for years and is one of those brilliant and quiet folks who has forgotten more about workers’ comp than most folks may ever know. We salute this appointment as a great choice for the IWCC panel.
 
The governor reappointed these arbitrators: William Gallagher, J.D.; Carolyn Doherty, J.D.; Joshua Luskin, J.D.; Robert Williams J.D.; Barbara Flores, J.D.; Deborah Simpson, J.D.; Brian Cronin, M.B.A.; Kurt Carlson, J.D.; Gregory Dollison; Edward Lee, J.D.; Molly Mason, J.D., and Douglas McCarthy, J.D.

We feel every one of them represent the best of the Illinois workers' compensation legal community in terms of knowledge, honesty, training and professionalism. None of them like or will stand for workers' compensation phonies and frauds. We tell our readers they aren’t all conservative, but they show up on time, listen carefully and decide claims to the best of their ability. We don’t think you can ask for more than that and salute our governor for reappointing them.
 
Eugene Keefe is a founding partner of Keefe, Campbell, Biery & Associates, a Chicago workers' compensation defense firm. This column was reprinted with his permission from the firm's client newsletter.