As a growing cost of doing business in Illinois, healthcare is an important consideration. It is estimated that health care benefits in Illinois cost approximately $25 billion annually. Controlling and/or reducing health care costs are therefore a priority for employers, as well as the accessibility to affordable health care.

NIBAC supports policies that will drive the health care debate in the General Assembly.

1. Allowing small businesses to pool their risk and harness their collective buying power will result in cost savings that will encourage employers to continue or begin to offer coverage to employees. We SUPPORT legislation that would allow small businesses to join together through association health plans.
2. The State of Illinois expects employers to contribute to health insurance coverage for their workers to help insure that individuals have access to affordable health care. We SUPPORT the recommendation by the Adequate Healthcare Task Force in their final report (Ja., 2007) to fund further studies to determine the impact of proposed employer parameters, in order to minimize the impact on small businesses and retain employers in the Illinois market.
3. The Adequate Health Care Task Force Final Report (Jan., 2007) advocates spreading risks broadly and stabilizing premiums in the health insurance market. We SUPPORT this goal by asking legislators to analyze whether other state's efforts to merge non-group and small group health insurance markets can be applied to Illinois.
4. Past actions to legislate additional mandates of coverage have contributed to the escalating costs of health insurance. We encourage legislators to resist the temptation to create additional mandates and SUPPORT legislation that would remove previous mandates to allow for a basic health care plan.
5. We SUPPORT additional improvements to HSA's (Health Savings Accounts) to make it easier for small business and individuals to participate.
6. Meaningful malpractice reform is a continued concern for Illinoisans interested in retaining high quality physicians at local healthcare facilities. We SUPPORT legislation addressing increasing premiums for medical liability/malpractice insurance, support limits on awards for non-economic damages, cap punitive damages against small businesses, and punish those who try to bring frivolous lawsuits into the court system.

Before the State can restore its fiscal integrity, it must address a true budget deficit estimated by the Comptroller at $11billion, and of a public pension system that is the worst funded in the nation.

1. We SUPPORT an independent review process for analyzing the cost to taxpayers of various local government pension and disability changes.
2. We SUPPORT the passage of a Capitol Budget that identifies a fair and equitable funding source and includes funding for important regional infrastructure projects.
3. We ENCOURAGE legislators to resist the temptation to add or expand unfunded social programs, such as Health Insurance and Universal pre-school, which will cause additional strain on an already overloaded State budget.
4. We SUPPORT a balanced budget that includes responsible fiscal restraint and a long term, equitable revenue strategy.
5. We SUPPORT repealing or rolling back anti-business taxes and fees. We OPPOSE both a gross receipts tax and a payroll tax because they will further drive business out of the state.
6. We OPPOSE legislation that would increase the corporate income tax on businesses. Of particular concern is the proposed tax on leased software, which will eliminate one of the few economic advantages Illinois possesses in attracting high technology employment.
7. We OPPOSE the renewed efforts to extend the three-year-old tax cap on residential property. Enacted only in Cook County, the cap has generated a tremendous property tax shift to both commercial/industrial and residential property owners that have not seen assessed values increase more than 7%.

Legislation considered in Springfield and Washington during the coming year may have significant impacts on local government, State lawmakers face difficult choices while trying to alleviate the fiscal crises in Illinois. Illinois has not passed an transportation infrastructure program since the first year of the Ryan administration.

Our state's critical infrastructure needs have been severely neglected. Our region’s mobility depends upon passage of a long needed capital bill that properly funds transportation infrastructure, transit operations and regional planning.

We believe that the cornerstone of the transportation investment program is sufficient funding to address the backlog of highways, major arterials, bridges and unmarked state routes currently in dire need of structural improvements to increase capacity.

A strategic expansion of the transportation system is needed to address existing congestion and to serve rapidly growing reverse commute and suburb-to-suburb travel patterns. We SUPPORT the following strategic expansions:

1. Metra STAR Line
   Connects rapidly growing population centers in the western suburbs to major employment centers along the Northwest Tollway.
2. Illinois Rt. 53 Extension/Illinois Rt. 120 Bypass
   Businesses seek relief from congestion along the overburdened local roads in central Lake County. This measure would provide a new expressway option.