By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) − Gov. J.B. Pritzker has signed legislation that he says will protect workers, but a small business advocate says small towns and Main Streets will suffer.

The governor signed two bills Thursday morning at the Illinois AFL-CIO headquarters in Springfield.

Pritzker said Senate Bill 1976, also known as the Workers’ Rights and Workplace Safety Act, would preserve worker protections against federal rollbacks. He also signed House Bill 1189, which provides that workers are paid the state’s prevailing wage if it is higher than the federal prevailing wage for federal construction projects.

National Federation of Independent Business Illinois State Director Noah Finley said Senate Bill 1976 expands workplace liability and red tape.

“This is not the direction we need to go for Illinois if we want to create a prosperous future for our small towns and Main Streets across the state,” Finley said.

The NFIB sent a letter to the governor last week, urging him to veto SB 1976.

On Thursday, Pritzker dismissed concerns that the added regulations would hold small businesses back.

“Paying our workers properly does not hold Illinois back. It advances the cause of Illinois,” Pritzker said.

Finley says Illinois’ GDP and population growth trail the national averages.

“Right now we’re seeing a lot of developing countries, France, Britain, obviously we’re seeing regulatory relief coming from Washington, but Illinois is moving in the opposite direction. I would say we’re moving in the wrong direction on making Illinois viable, making it possible for small businesses to compete in the global economy,” Finley said.

Finley said he recently visited the Quad Cities and talked with small business owners on both sides of the Mississippi River.

“A common theme I heard is that it’s much harder to do business in Illinois, due to the administrative and regulatory environment here. This bill will double down on that, because as small businesses in Iowa, in Missouri and all across this country get regulatory relief from Washington from some of this cumbersome red tape, Illinois businesses will not receive that. That will put us further at a disadvantage grow our local economies and our Main Street businesses,” Finley said.

State Sen. Robert Peters, D-Chicago, introduced SB 1976 and joined Pritzker along with other elected officials and union leaders at the bill-signing ceremony.

Finley said the measure creates an opportunity for so-called “interested parties” to file lawsuits against employers.

“They don’t have to be representing employees at that business. They can just bring lawsuits, so it’s setting the table for bad-faith actors to bring shakedown lawsuits against small businesses,” Finley said.

House Bill 1189 was introduced by state Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Swansea. Critics said the bill could lead the federal government to choose projects in other states due to higher labor costs in Illinois.

Illinois AFL-CIO President Tim Drea praised the governor for signing SB 1976 and HB 1189.

“Like Gov. Pritzker, I am thankful to live in Illinois, where every day is Labor Day, and workers are protected by an administration and a legislature that cares about workers,” Drea said.

Labor unions have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Pritzker’s political campaigns, with the Illinois Education Association ranking as the governor’s largest union donor.

The AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education Treasury Fund donated more than $1,800 to the JB for Governor candidate committee in 2018.

Greg Bishop contributed to this report.