Representatives McLaughlin (Left in photo) and Weber (Center) Visit TMA Member HM Manufacturing (Nicole Wolter – Right)
WAUCONDA, IL – With state legislators on summer break from session, state representatives Martin McLaughlin and Tom Weber made a visit to Technology & Manufacturing Association (TMA) member HM Manufacturing for a discussion on tort reform and the struggles facing small businesses.
Following the discussion, the lawmakers had a guided tour with company president and CEO Nicole Wolter to learn more about the products they produce.
The TMA-organized visit was in partnership with Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse-Illinois (CALA-IL) on the same day they released their 2024 Economic Report on how tort lawsuits are impacting small businesses financially. The visit was also organized for the state representatives to get a hands-on tour of the various industry processes offered at HM Manufacturing and to meet the precision manufacturers employed in their districts.
Representative McLaughlin (HD52), Representative Weber (HD64), Executive Director for CALA-IL Phillipe Melin, and TMA’s Advocacy Team participated in the tour and discussion, guided by Nicole Wolter.
“It’s great to see local businesses providing employment for people in the region and giving them lifelong careers,” said Representative McLaughlin. “Whenever you have high tort costs, it immediately goes to your bottom line and insurance companies notice that. We have to take a look at the cost that tort expense and Illinois trial lawyers are placing on Illinois businesses, and really take that into account when we’re trying to figure out how to grow and keep businesses in Illinois.”
“It’s important to have our state representatives visit so they understand what we do and what we face in terms of taxes, increases in energy, material, and wage costs, and the more we can get them to understand firsthand, the better legislation and governing can be done for all of Illinois,” said Nicole Wolter. “Like other manufacturing owners, I’m focused on running my business and getting high-quality products out the door, and continuous lawsuits from trial lawyers take away from the production we would rather add to our state’s economy.”
“It’s pretty amazing to see what type of work that takes place in our district while they are experiencing high energy and wage costs, and other roadblocks,” said Representative Weber. “Most of the companies in our region are small businesses, so hearing from these owners provides us a perspective that we can bring back to Springfield to make sure our legislators doing everything we can to help them, and not make it harder to do business.”
Read more about CALA-IL’s Tort Reform Economic Impact Report here.
About TMA: Founded in 1925, TMA is an independent trade association exclusively funded by industry and solely focused on small and midsize manufacturers. TMA has nearly 900 members representing approximately 39,000 manufacturing employees and more than 27 million square feet of manufacturing plant.
