Latest Illinois Headlines

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

Illinois Roofing Contractor Barringer Fined Again for Fall Hazards

Jan 10 2017 // An Illinois roofing contractor has once again been cited and fined by federal safety officials for exposing workers to fall hazards.Proposed Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) penalties total $214,782....

Illinois Approves Large Workers’ Comp Deductible Rules

Jan 9 2017 // The Illinois Department of Insurance has posted in the Illinois Register a second notice of the approval by the Illinois Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (IJCAR) of rules concerning size limits on large deductibles...

Midwest Regulation Report Card: States’ Grades Range from A to D

Jan 9 2017 // Grades assigned to the insurance regulatory systems in the Midwest states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin range from A to D in a...

Hammer to Replace Dowling as Head of Illinois Insurance Department

Jan 5 2017 // Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner will appoint Jennifer Hammer as head of the Illinois Department of Insurance to replace Anne Melissa Dowling, who is returning to the private sector.Hammer has extensive experience in healthcare...

24 Independent Insurance, Benefits Agencies Form National Brokerage, Alera Group

Jan 4 2017 // There is a new national independent insurance brokerage and wealth management firm that opens its doors with more than 20,00 clients, $158 million in annual revenues and 750 employees in 40 offices across 15 states.The new...

Jury Awards $250K in Illinois Costco Sexual Harassment Case

Jan 3 2017 // A federal jury has awarded $250,000 in compensatory damages to a former employee of Costco Wholesale Inc. who was harassed and stalked by a Costco customer, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)...

Illinois Governor Names New Insurance Director, Budget Chief

Dec 27 2016 // Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has announced changes at the top of two key state offices, naming new directors of the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Insurance.The Republican governor...

Midwest Regulation Report Card: States’ Grades Range from A to D

Dec 22 2016 // Grades assigned to the insurance regulatory systems in the Midwest states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin range from A to D in a...

Wal-Mart to Pay $75K to Settle Illinois Disability Discrimination Lawsuit

Dec 22 2016 // Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will pay a former employee $75,000 to settle a federal disability discrimination lawsuit filed over the company’s alleged actions in regard to an employee at a store Hodgkins, Ill.The lawsuit...

Illinois Large Workers’ Comp Deductible Rules Approved

Dec 19 2016 // The Illinois Department of Insurance has posted in the Illinois Register a second notice of the approval by the Illinois Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (IJCAR) of rules concerning size limits on large deductibles...

Pardridge Insurance Agency Adds Ruvalcaba in Illinois

Dec 14 2016 // Maria Ruvalcaba has joined the Pardridge Insurance Agency in Sycamore, Ill. Ruvalcaba comes to the independent insurance agency after 20 years working for various direct writers including State Farm and American Family....

Illinois Sees Year-over-Year Increase in Obamacare Sign-Ups

Dec 2 2016 // Officials say more than 68,000 Illinoisans have selected health plans using the Affordable Care Act’s insurance marketplace, up nearly 1,400 compared to the same time last year.The sign-ups are happening as...

Use of Medical Marijuana in Illinois Grows Slowly in First Year

Nov 14 2016 // Illinois is marking its first year of medical marijuana sales as more states voted on Election Day to allow legal use of the drug.Despite anecdotes of medical marijuana’s positive influence on patients, broader data...

Illinois Company Recalls Overdose Antidote Device

Nov 7 2016 // Ohio’s addictions agency has issued an awareness alert after a company recalled a device used to deliver the drug overdose antidote naloxone.The Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services said the recall by...

12K Illinois Patients Approved for Medical Marijuana in Program’s 1st Year

Nov 4 2016 // Next week brings the anniversary of legal medical marijuana sales in Illinois and the program is growing steadily. Patients with state approval to buy marijuana now number about 12,000.The state released new monthly...

Tennessee Man Gets 4-Year Sentence in Illinois for Cyberattacks

Nov 4 2016 // A Tennessee man has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison for a series of cyberattacks on businesses, universities and governments. Federal prosecutors in Chicago say 22-year-old Timothy Justen French of...

Facebook, Google Amassing of ‘Faceprints’ Facing Legal Challenges

Oct 26 2016 // Facebook Inc.’s software knows your face almost as well as your mother does. And like mom, it isn’t asking your permission to do what it wants with old photos.While millions of internet users embrace the...

Illinois School Sued in Connection to Teen’s Suicide

Oct 24 2016 // The family of a 14-year-old Illinois high school student who killed herself last year is suing the local school district, arguing that it neglected to follow protocols that could have prevented the teenager’s...

Arsons Increase in Rockford, Illinois; Some Occurring Simultaneously

Oct 17 2016 // Firefighters in Rockford, Illinois, are alarmed by a rise in arsons this year and urging city residents to be wary and report any suspicious activity.According to the Rockford Register Star, 35 fires in the city were set...

Illinois Plumbing Contractor Fined $275.7K for Trenching Hazards

Oct 14 2016 // Federal safety officials say that less than three weeks after being cited for exposing workers to unsafe trenches, investigators saw a Chicago plumbing contractor exposing the same four-man crew to trenching hazards as...