LETTERS

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HISTORY COMES ALIVE IS DEAD The Lincoln funeral procession has come and gone, and from my vantage point as curator of historic Edwards Place, it was a smashing success. So many people coming to town, so many high-quality events being offered, so many rave reviews about the experience. Katie Spindell, Jon Austin, Ted and Dawn Henry, and the rest of the organizers and coalition members are to be commended and congratulated for a stellar event.

It is my hope that Gov. Bruce Rauner, members of the Illinois legislature, and the citizens of this city and state at large took notice of just how many people came to town this weekend and realized that each of those people brought tourist dollars to Illinois. The governor’s office recently eliminated the grant that funded History Comes Alive in Springfield, and the fate of the historic sites currently under the jurisdiction of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency is uncertain as that agency seems doomed to dissolve.

But look what living history and historic sites just did for our state! They brought thousands of visitors who ate in our restaurants and stayed at our hotels and bought things in our stores and paid our sales tax. Beyond all the emotional, intellectual and cultural arguments for funding historic sites and interpretation (of which there are many), there is the simple fact that these sites and programs generate revenue for the state. Slicing their budgets and shutting their doors is a misguided attempt to trim the budget; instead, we should be investing in historic sites and programs so we can bolster our tourism economy. This weekend is vivid proof of just how much our historic sites and programming can do for our state. Erika Holst Springfield

WORKERS’ COMPETITION This publication recently printed an opinion piece by Jim Hightower (“Corporate thieves steal workers’ comp,” April 23) attacking our organization, the Association for Responsible Alternatives to Workers Compensation (ARAWC) and scoffing at the idea of freemarket competition to the cumbersome and bureaucratic workers’ comp system.

What ARAWC believes really should be discussed is how can we best care for injured workers in a way that makes sense for the employee and the employer. The goal of any occupational injury benefit plan, whether workers’ comp or an Option, should be to expedite benefits to the injured employee and get that person back to work quickly.

It takes an attorney to even understand workers’ comp benefits or how to access them. On the other hand, an Option, the workers’ comp alternative ARAWC advocates for, requires all employees to receive a document that details the exact benefits and the process for accessing them, in language understandable by the average worker. Data from the Texas Option proves that this increase in employee communication coupled with a faster, more streamlined benefit access process, results in faster recovery and fewer disputes, which we believe is better for the employee and the employer.

What about the benefit caps mentioned? Workers’ comp operates on this grand bargain from a hundred years ago, which removes all legal liability from an employer. We believe legal exposure forces the employer to have some skin in the game. This accountability results in safer workplaces and more responsiveness to employee injuries. In the extraordinarily rare instance where an employee reaches a medical benefits cap, the Option gives him or her the right to sue and receive funds above the cap to cover medical needs. Workers’ comp doesn’t do this. Option-covered employees that miss time from work also routinely receive more lost wage benefits than are paid by workers’ comp.

A recent survey by an Option claims administrator asked hundreds of injured workers covered under its workers’ comp alternative if they were satisfied with the response you received from your employer, and 90 percent said they were. Data tells us the Option works better for employees.

So while Mr. Hightower spends his time bashing jobcreating businesses and defending the broken workers’ comp system, we will spend our time advocating for a free-market Option alternative, which is just that, an option. Injured workers deserve better outcomes, not baseless hyperbole. Richard Evans Executive director of ARAWC