Lawmaker to lobbyist is a well-worn path at the Illinois Statehouse. But the new job of some former state lawmakers is to get their former colleagues to make it harder for their former constituents to work.
By Larry Han | Illinois Policy Institute
Some former Illinois lawmakers are busy getting current state lawmakers to make it tougher to get jobs in a state ranking third-worst for unemployment.
At least 50 occupational lobbies or for-profit vocational schools for regulated jobs in Illinois were represented directly by former Illinois General Assembly members or by lobbying firms employing them. The lobbyists work to protect existing workers from competition or to protect trade school profits, creating barriers for nearly 315,000 unemployed Illinoisans.
As of April 2024, the lobbyist clients included:
- Tricoci University, a barber and cosmetology school
- Auto & Truck Recyclers of Illinois
- Illinois Physical Therapy Association
- Elevator Industry Work Preservation Fund
- Independent Accountants Association of Illinois
- Illinois Land Title Association
- Chicago Journeyman Plumbers
- Illinois State Medical Society
- Illinois Nurses Association
There were many more.
In 2024, the following bills were introduced that would have made it easier for Illinoisans to work. Lawmakers adjourned in late May without these bills ever escaping the House Rules Committee, where bills famously go to die:
- House Bill 4617: proposed a combination of online education and hands-on training for cosmetologists, as opposed to the current in-person education requirement.
- House Bill 4988: would have ratified the Nurse Licensure Compact, allowing nurses to practice in 42 other states that are part of the compact.
- House Bill 5006, House Bill 5147, House Bill 5148: proposed maximums on the fees required to obtain or renew a license.
- House Bill 5007: would have created a Licensure Reform Task Force.
- House Bill 5220: would have reduced the education hours required to become a barber, cosmetologist, esthetician, hair braider or nail technician. Even if it were enacted, nine states still would have had the same or less restrictive regulations.
- House Bill 5608: would have enacted universal licensure recognition, allowing those with occupational licenses in other states to automatically obtain one in Illinois. Some form of license recognition is practiced in 26 states.
These bills all would have allowed competition for occupations or led to decreased revenue at for-profit vocational schools that employ former legislators as lobbyists.
Read more here.
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