Illinois lawmakers-turned-lobbyists become big barrier to work

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.

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.

Occupational lobbies have historically advocated for regulations that make it harder for outsiders to enter their professions and opposed reforms to make it easier. For example, the Chicago Cosmetologists Association testified before the General Assembly in opposition to both bills easing license requirements for their profession. They want to reduce competition in the job market and boost wages for existing workers.

For-profit vocational schools also benefit from stricter occupational regulations because they force enrollment in the schools and keep students there for longer, boosting tuition revenue. The Illinois Association of Cosmetology Schools also testified in opposition to the cosmetology bills. Their own documents state it “would lead to a dramatic decrease in enrollment in cosmetology schools across Illinois” as a reason for their opposition. One of their lobbyists guided the Illinois House of Representatives’ floor operations and daily legislative agenda for 7 years, until December 2023.

There were more than 1,400 unfilled cosmetology jobs in Illinois during 2023. But getting one of those jobs requires a $38,658 investment between school costs and lost wages – for a job paying about $27,000.

Both occupational lobbies and for-profit vocational schools employ former legislators. They successfully advocate for these anti-competitive practices in front of their former colleagues. The problem is, they leave nearly 315,000 currently unemployed Illinoisans behind.

The deaths of these bills and the continued efforts to stop occupational licensing reform mean the ability of many ordinary Illinoisans to enter the workforce will continue to be thwarted. That’s unfair.

When former elected leaders pressure their former colleagues to make that happen, it’s also undemocratic. There’s a revolving door in Springfield that keeps elected officials in the Statehouse after they’re no longer in office. They often go to work against their former constituents.

If the Illinois General Assembly passes just one piece of legislation on occupational licenses, the best path forward is to join the 26 other states that have adopted universal license recognition policies. Workers who obtained licenses in other states should be allowed to do those jobs in Illinois.

Further, Illinois should reduce and eliminate license requirements where it can. It should emulate states that function with less stringent licenses or that don’t see the need to license many professions.

The eight bills outlined are still viable. Lawmakers should advance them when they reconvene.