Rock Island Today

Rep. Tony McCombie recently discussed Senate Bill 208 in a Facebook post on Feb. 9. 

"We all want a great working environment with an equitable work-life balance, however SB 208 fails to address the concerns of those providing that work environment," McCombie said. "This mandated benefit expansion comes at a high cost to those who are taking risks to create jobs in an already unfriendly business climate."

Senate Bill 208 will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2024, and requires that employers provide 40 hours of paid leave during a 12-month period for workers in the state. Employers would be required to roll over 40 hours of unused sick time, and employees would be able to use that time for any reason. Employees would have access to that time after 90 days, according to the Illinois General Assembly.

In addition, McCombie shared a link to a The Center Square article in her Facebook post that looked at the downside of additional leave benefits to Illinois residents.

"SB 208 could have a detrimental effect on small employers, especially those businesses that are not-for-profit, have less than 20 employees or who only have part-time staff," she said. "While seemingly a caring benefit expansion, many will be adversely impacted at the very time we need to grow our tax base to accommodate the federal pandemic relief funds ending.”

McCombie has been of service to the state of Illinois during the majority of her career. She, among colleagues, shares a mutual perspective on Senate Bill 208.

Elected to represent the individuals living in the 71st District in 2016, McCombie is a lifelong resident of Savanna, Illinois, and earned a Bachelor of Arts from Western Illinois University. She owns and operates Blue Appraisals and is a real estate broker with MelFoster Company. Her previous political experience includes time as the mayor of Savanna, Illinois, and as a councilor on the Savanna City Council. 

Chris Davis, the Illinois state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, is deterred by the new bill, according to The Center Square.  

“It's really disheartening that the General Assembly would even consider proposing additional leave benefits after they just passed mandated paid leave a little more than a month ago," Davis said. "Not only pay an employee while they’re out not working for a business but in addition, potentially have to pay an employee temporarily to fill in that gap."

On the contrary, Gov. J.B. Pritzker is in full support of SB 208 since he believes it will assist workers during difficult times.

As reported in a press release, Pritzker issued a statement on Jan. 11 regarding the Passage of the Paid Leave for All Workers Act.

"Every working Illinoisan knows that sometimes unavoidable circumstances prevent you from doing your job," Pritzker said. "However, for too long we have refused to accept this inevitability and penalized workers for dealing with family emergencies, broken down cars or any of the other life complications we all face."

Furthermore, The National Law Review notes that this law does not apply to "most Chicago employers or to other employers whose municipality or county has an existing paid sick leave law." In addition, employees do not have to give a reason for use of this time, as long as they use the normal processes to request the leave.

"Now, I'm proud to say that the General Assembly has recognized that struggle and passed a bill guaranteeing five days of paid leave for all employees in our state," Pritzker said. "Working families face enough challenges without the concern of losing a day's pay when life gets in the way. I'm looking forward to signing this legislation and giving a safety net to hardworking Illinoisans. Thank you to all the legislators and advocates who championed this legislation and made this law possible, particularly Leader Gordon-Booth and Leader Lightford who have been on the forefront of this issue."