A pillar of the Governors Turn Around Agenda has been reform to workers compensation. Lawmakers did that in 2011 and passed a bill.

For now that’s good enough according to the AFL-CIO.

Union President Mike Carrigan says that he and his members have no interest in tying more reform or changes to the system to a budget deal that could cause injured workers to deal with lesser benefits.

Carrigan says that if the Governor really wanted a compromise on more workers comp reforms he would have treated the process with greater care and consideration from the start.

The AFL-CIO says that costs for workers comp in Illinois have decreased faster than any other state since 2011. Critics point to a study that shows Illinois still has the 7th highest workers comp cost in the nation.