With the 2010 election year upon us, Inman & Fitzgibbons wants to keep its clients informed of positions taken by the various candidates on workers’ compensation reform and other policies that impact our clients’ businesses. It is not the intention of Inman and Fitzgibbons to endorse any candidacy through these posts, but rather to keep our clients and readers informed on issues of interest.

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Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady recently said he is partly in the race for governor for his own survival – or at least the survival of his business.

“The cost of doing business in Illinois has become so high it is driving out small and mid-sized business, who are seeking greener pastures,” Brady told a small audience in Shawneetown during a series of campaign stops.

“Job growth,” Brady said, “is key to the state’s economic future. Despite our natural, potential economic and geographic resources, Illinois is the worst job-producing state in the nation.”

“The tax and regulatory structure in the state means it’s easier to do business in nearby states like Indiana,” Brady said. Brady cited workers compensation costs as an example of one of the burdens facing Illinois employers. He said, “Illinois businesses on average spend $2.70 per $100 of payroll for worker’s compensation insurance; in Indiana businesses only spend $1.30 per $100 in payroll.”

Brady said, “In some businesses $1.40 per $100 payroll is the difference between making it and not making it.”

Thanks to the archives at DailyRegister.com for making this information available.

We note that Brady’s current plan is a bit light on specifics, but when discussing his plan to bring jobs back to Illinois and keep more jobs from leaving the state in October of 2009, he said, “We need a clean break from the anti-business mentality of the past. We need to reduce the cost of doing business in Illinois and make Illinois competitive again.”

We will continue to keep our readers updated as candidates expand on their positions in the coming weeks and months.