South Central Reporter

State Rep. Blaine Wilhour (R-Beecher City) is urging employers across the 107th District to be prepared to take advantage of an Illinois Chamber of Commerce worker’s compensation seminar next month in Springfield.

“I encourage employers to learn all they can about the workers’ compensation system in Illinois to help them know all of the tools available to them,” Wilhour said. “The program is to help take care of workers who are actually hurt on the job and not be abused by false claims by people who actually hurt themselves at home on their own time or even made up injuries that we hear about too often and they try to push the medical costs on to the business owner.”

The three-hour seminar set for Aug. 8 will be hosted by Michael Bantz of Inman & Fitzgibbons Ltd. beginning at 8:30 a.m. The focus of the gathering will delve into the various options that employers have for challenging workers’ compensation claims as well as the pros and cons of each option.

The rate for chamber members is $249 and non-members is $299. For more information, individuals can contact Kristen Constant at the Illinois Chamber of Commerce at 217-522-5512 or by email at: kconstant@ilchamber.org.

Wilhour has long been a critic of what he sees as all Springfield’s over-regulations.

“We’re probably already the most-regulated and licensed state when you combine the two,” he told the South Central Reporter. “The key to getting the economy going again is to bring investment back and we’re not going to get anywhere near doing that if we’re charging businesses more while still hitting them with more restrictions.”

In the end, Wilhour laments it all comes down to what too much of Springfield has come to stand for.

“It comes down to the same thing as everything else here in Illinois and that’s the problem of influence peddling,” he said. “The kinds of reforms that need to be done can’t be done because there’s too much big, special-interest money flowing.”