Update legal code to help small businesses

Small businesses in Illinois were among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 crisis. The stringent lockdowns mandated by lawmakers in Springfield crippled countless otherwise-healthy companies, forcing many to shut down permanently.

Through it all, the small business community showed incredible resilience.

Now that the worst of the pandemic seems to be behind us, it is time for our representatives in the Illinois General Assembly to get to work on behalf of our state's hardworking entrepreneurs.

Many of the same policy issues that plagued Illinois small businesses before the pandemic are back in the spotlight.

These barriers to growth - such as the state's high minimum wage, burdensome regulatory code and broken legal system - drive up costs for smaller companies that are barely scraping to get by.

Systemic lawsuit abuse often pits vulnerable small businesses against massive law firms that recruit disgruntled plaintiffs to make frivolous claims in pursuit of fake damages.

These court battles force companies to raise prices on their customers to compensate for the high costs associated with lengthy litigation.

This must end. Lawmakers in Springfield must come together to protect small businesses and their workers from these "stacked costs," which add up to create a terrible business environment for Illinois. One place to start is to reform our state's outdated legal code, which makes it far too easy for trial lawyers to file bad faith claims against honest small businesses.

Daniel Ostrander

Lake Villa