Rockford Sun

Illinois has a crisis on its hands with the rising price of business operations bulldozing the hopes of small business owners from Rockford to Carbondale. I would know; I sell them business insurance.

The state's significant increase in mandated insurance coverage is already negatively affecting the pocketbooks of mom-and-pop shops on Main Street. Companies now face higher prices to provide needed safety nets for their employees and protect consumers from faulty products.

It's no secret that compliance with the law comes at an additional cost to any business. But in Illinois, these costs have been made much more substantial by adding new worker compensation and product liability reforms.

By transforming worker's compensation into an "any time you want paid vacation," lawmakers in Springfield have made day-to-day operations for employers more complicated and made insuring them a greater financial liability.

Expanded consumer protection for faulty products is also a drain. By lowering the barrier to litigate an accusation without creating stronger protections for defendants, our state has transformed into a certified Judicial Hellhole that makes insuring businesses an extremely costly endeavor.

It doesn't take a University of Chicago economist to know that Main Street is looking at a formula for disaster. Expanding workers comp isn't going to bankrupt our state's small business community overnight. Nor will allowing extensive lawsuit abuse result in the sudden exodus of every company from our state's market.

But the burdensome laws are unquestionably degrading the ability of our state to attract new employers as well as grow and retain our own.

There is a reality where protecting employees can exist while ensuring small businesses run viable operations. While lawmakers aren't living in that reality yet, hopefully, they'll arrive before the damage ruins lives and crushes dreams.

Our state's future depends on it.

Owen Costanza is the owner of Flanders Insurance.