It’s not often that Illinois provides an example for the nation—other than lessons in what not to do—but Gov. Rauner’s “Cutting the Red Tape” program is an exception.
The initiative, launched by executive order in October 2016, instructs state agencies to review all existing rules and regulations and weed out any that are unclear, repetitive, out of date, unnecessary, and economically harmful. The program also includes a public online portal where citizens and businesses can report the regulations that are especially burdensome. Finally, the executive order also created the Illinois Competitiveness Council to oversee the regulatory review process and keep track of cost savings.
This program came at a good time because, according to a U.S. News & World Report op-ed from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, Illinois has more than twice as many restrictions in its administrative code (over 259,000) when compared with neighboring Kentucky (129,000) and Missouri (110,000). Mercatus found this by using computer programs to analyze the states’ codes and identify all instances of words like “shall,” “must,” “may not,” and “prohibited.” Mercatus also found that Illinois’ code as a whole was twice as big as that of the other two states.
U-Jung Choe, chair of the Illinois Competitiveness Council, spoke to a group of NFIB/IL members about the program’s progress recently. State agencies are already beginning to streamline operations. For example, the Illinois Liquor Control Commission is now:
- Using an online license renewal system instead of paper, and 70 percent of licensees are now renewing online
- Partnering with local police to enable officers to enforce state law
- More efficient in referring cases to the legal department—a previously 14-step process is now 4 steps, which has reduced caseload by nearly 70 percent and saves about 40 hours per month
Additionally, Gov. Rauner recently affirmed the importance of small business—and of reducing their regulatory burden to allow them to succeed—when he toured several central Illinois businesses during Small Business Week. During this, he noted that two out of every three jobs get created by small business and that their success and growth is key to Illinois’ success.
