Review of Illinois Workers' Compensation

Thursday, January 28, 2010 | 0

By Michael Rusin

Around Springfield

This is an election year in Illinois. We elect our state’s governor in non-Presidential election years. This year the run for governor is a wide-open event. The current governor is Pat Quinn.

Quinn served as the lieutenant governor under former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was elected to the governor’s position in 2002 and in 2006. Former Gov. Blagojevich was impeached and removed from office almost a year ago on Jan. 29, 2009. Gov. Blagojevich is currently pending trial on charges of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, and solicitation of bribery. One of the main charges against him is that tried to sell the right to appoint the Senate seat vacated by the election of Sen. Barack Obama to the presidency. His trial date is currently scheduled to start on June 3, 2010.

Current Gov. Quinn faces a tough primary battle against Illinois Comptroller Daniel Hynes. Hynes is a popular statewide office holder. He has held the position of Illinois comptroller for the past 11 years.

On the Republican side, there are seven announced candidates. The front runner is Jim Ryan, a former Illinois attorney general and the 2002 Republican nominee for governor. He probably would have had a good chance to defeat Rod Blagojevich in 2002 but for the fact that the outgoing Republican governor, George Ryan, was a criminal and left a bad impression of Republican candidates by the time he left office. At this juncture, it appears that Mr. Ryan will have a good chance to repeat as the Republican candidate in 2010.

The gubernatorial race will be hotly contested and likely very close. Republicans should be encouraged by the fact that former Gov. Blagojevich’s trial will occur during the summer, shortly before the election. The trial should make many voters unhappy with Democratic leadership.

Former Gov. Blagojevich’s trial will undoubtedly result in a media circus. Staunchly proclaiming his innocence, former Gov. Blagojevich continues to be a faux celebrity. He continues to use his notoriety to garner public appearances. He was denied the right to travel to Costa Rica to participate in the show, “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Outta Here!” However, he will appear in Season 9 of the “Celebrity Apprentice” in Spring 2010. This will give me yet another reason to never watch reality TV shows, especially those involving men with big hair.

Around the Commission

All of the current commissioners and the acting chairman were appointed by Gov. Blagojevich prior to or during 2008. With the change in governor, it is expected that some of the commissioners will be replaced. Amy Masters has been acting chairwoman since November 2008. The chairwoman's term of office does not expire until January 2011. However, since Chairwoman Masters has never been submitted for Senate approval, a permanent replacement could be named at any time.

Furthermore, the following commissioners’ terms have already expired. Therefore, they could be replaced at any time: Employer Commissioners Mario Basurto and Nancy Lindsay, Public Commissioners James DeMunno and Paul Rink, and Employee Commissioner Barbara Sherman.

The terms of Commissioners Kevin Lamborn and Molly Mason expire in January 2011. The term of Commissioner Yolaine Dauphin expires in January 2013. I have heard many rumors as to which commissioners will be replaced and who the new chairman will be, but I don’t publish rumors. Political rumors tend to be very unreliable.

Benefit Rates

Maximum benefit rates in Illinois have increased every six months for more than 30 years. Incredibly, for the first time in state history, there is no increase in rates because the state’s average weekly wage actually decreased in 2009. Therefore, the rates in effect from July 15, 2009 through Jan. 14, 2010 will remain the same for the time period Jan. 15, 2010 to July 14, 2010.

Similarly, the maximum rate for permanent partial disability also remains the same for another year. The maximum PPD rate covering the period July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010 remains at $664.72.

Of course, many of you will ask why rates haven’t decreased since the state average weekly wage decreased. The answer is simple but frustrating. The Act provides that the maximum rates increase annually if there is an increase in the state’s average weekly wage. However, the statute does not correspondingly provide for a decrease in the maximums to the extent that there is a decrease in the state’s average weekly wage. Consequently, the maximums can only go up, but they can never go down without a statutory amendment.

The minimum TTD and PPD rates will undergo one further increase this summer as the state’s minimum hourly wage will increase for the last time from $8 an hour to $8.25 an hour. This increase will occur on July 1, 2010.

Conversely, the medical fee schedule rates have decreased slightly. Section 8.2(a) of the Act provides that, each year, fee schedule rates shall increase or decrease by the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index-U in the previous year. Because the CPI-U decreased 1.48% between August 2008 and August 2009, all scheduled medical fees decreased 1.48% for treatment on or
after Jan. 1, 2010. I am still trying to figure out why our medical insurance rates still went up.

Michael Rusin is a partner with Rusin Maciorowski Friedman, a defense law firm in Chicago. This column was reprinted with his permission from the law firm's client newsletter.