Latest Illinois Headlines

All the headlines from our Illinois Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Illinois’ Pinnacle Actuarial Promotes Hillebrandt, Cortner

Feb 27 2019 // Pinnacle Actuarial Resources Inc. (Pinnacle), based in Bloomington, Illinois, has promoted Aaron N. Hillebrandt to director and consulting actuary and Christopher C. Cortner to consulting actuary.Hillebrandt is based in...

Flood Risk High in Missouri This Spring, Weather Service Says

Feb 27 2019 // Missouri towns along the Mississippi River and its tributaries should brace for the prospect of potentially serious flooding this spring, in large part because of an unusually snowy winter to the north.The National Weather...

Illinois EPA Shuts Medical Instrument Sterilization Facility Due to Pollution

Feb 22 2019 // A suburban Chicago plant that sterilizes medical instruments with a chemical believed to be cancer causing has been shut by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.The state EPA issued a seal order for Sterigenics...

Lotter Joins Policy Administration Systems Provider, Instec, in Illinois

Feb 21 2019 // Naperville, Illinois-based Instec, a provider of policy administration systems to insurance program and specialty markets, has hired CJ Lotter as senior solution architect. He joins Instec’s engagement management...

McChristian, Proksa to Lead Insurance, Risk Management Programs at Gies College of Business

Feb 21 2019 // The University of Illinois’ Gies College of Business has named Lynne McChristian and Corrie Proksa to lead its insurance and risk management programs.McChristian has been named director of the Office of Risk...

Insurer Hit With $102K Fine for Selling Illegal NRA-Branded Policies

Feb 20 2019 // Illinois Union Insurance Co. has paid a $102,000 fine after Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler ordered the company to cease underwriting self-defense policies branded by the National Rifle Association.After an...

Fire at Phillips 66 Illinois Refinery Leads to Shut Down of CDU

Feb 11 2019 // The second largest crude distillation unit (CDU) was shut by a fire on Sunday at Phillips 66’s 330,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) joint-venture Wood River, Illinois, refinery, a source familiar with plant operations...

Illinois FedEx Worker Died of Fall, Not Cold, Autopsy Shows

Feb 7 2019 // An autopsy found that a FedEx worker found dead outside in western Illinois amid record low temperatures died of a traumatic head injury. Rock Island County Coroner Brian Gustafson says 69-year-old William L....

Business Moves

Feb 4 2019 // China Re, Chaucer, HanoverChina Reinsurance (Group) Corp. has completed the 100 percent equity acquisition of Chaucer Holdings Ltd. – the major portion of Hanover Insurance Group’s Lloyd’s international...

Brown & Brown Subsidiary Acquires Illinois’ Izzo Insurance Services

Jan 17 2019 // Hull & Company LLC, a subsidiary of Brown & Brown Inc., has acquired substantially all the assets of Izzo Insurance Services Inc., based in Bloomingdale, Illinois. Founded in 1980 by Karen Izzo, Izzo Insurance...

Illinois’ Auffenberg Insurance Joins Valley Insurance Agency Alliance

Jan 10 2019 // Auffenberg Insurance Services in Belleville, Illinois, has joined Valley Insurance Agency Alliance (VIAA), a family of over 120 independent insurance agencies in Missouri and Illinois.Owned by Mike Auffenberg and Nathan...

Illinois’ Sheridan Road Financial Acquired by Hub International

Jan 10 2019 // Chicago-based, global insurance brokerage Hub International Limited (Hub) has acquired the assets of Sheridan Road Financial LLC (Sheridan Road), an institutional retirement consulting and private wealth firm, and certain...

People

Jan 7 2019 // Insurance broker Willis Towers Watson has appointed Bill Creedon as Construction Industry leader for North America within its Corporate Risk and Broking segment. Creedon, a 30-year insurance and construction risk industry...

Midwest Legislative Priorities Include No-Fault Auto, Distracted Driving, Contractor Fraud, Tort Reform

Jan 7 2019 // With some of the highest auto insurance rates in the nation, Michigan’s no-fault insurance laws — much maligned by the insurance industry and business interests — are sure to be a target for legislative...

States Surprised with Burst of Insurance Fraud-Related Legislation in 2018

Jan 7 2019 // Lawmakers Debated More Than 100 Fraud-Related Bills and Passed 33 into LawThe introduction of new bills slows down during years when legislators tend to be more concerned with reelection. That’s why 2018 was such a...

Recreational Pot Legalization Debate in Illinois Shifts from ‘When’ to ‘How’

Jan 4 2019 // Proposed plans for the legalization of recreational marijuana use in Illinois have shifted from “when” to “how.”Democratic Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker campaigned on the legalization issue and its...

Population in Illinois Declined by More than 45K Last Year

Jan 3 2019 // Illinois’ population decreased in 2018 by more than 45,100 residents, second largest statewide decline in the U.S., according to the Illinois Policy Institute.The figure is based on a U.S. Census Bureau report on...

Insurance Journal Midwest’s Top Stories for 2018: From Agent Fraud to Ruby Slippers

Dec 31 2018 // The most-read stories in Insurance Journal’s Midwest region in 2018 covered agent fraud, a fatal tourist boat sinking in Missouri, court cases and opinions, and even a pair of stolen — and returned — ruby red...

Missourians Urge FEMA Action Over Too-High Illinois Levee

Dec 27 2018 // Missouri landowners and environmentalists are urging a federal agency to sanction a levee district on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River, arguing that the earthen barrier has been built above its authorized height,...

People

Dec 17 2018 // Cincinnati, Ohio-based American Financial Group Inc. (AFG) hired Anthony W. Dunn as vice president, overseeing the internal audit function for the company and its subsidiaries.Dunn has 20 years of experience in the...