Latest Illinois Headlines

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

Security Video Shows Hoverboard Catching Fire in Illinois Home

Feb 29 2016 // A security camera inside a suburban Chicago home recorded a hoverboard catching fire shortly after a child left the house, which was extensively damaged by the blaze.Homeowner Dan Perper says the video shows his...

Illinois County Seeks Insurance Recovery for Employee Fraud Loss

Feb 22 2016 // A northern Illinois county purchasing director allegedly spent more than $60,000 on personal items, according to a draft of an insurance claim Winnebago County plans to file. The Rockford Register Star reports the claim...

Demotech Affirms Ratings of Midwest Public Entity Pools

Feb 17 2016 // Ohio-based Demotech Inc. recently affirmed the financial stability ratings (FSRs) assigned to six self-funded public entity pools in the Midwest.Demotech reviews and rates more than 415 insurers, writing every line of...

Midwest Group Challenges Peabody Energy’s Plan to Self-Bond Mines

Feb 16 2016 // A Midwestern environmental group has followed through on its promise to formally challenge Peabody Energy’s ability to guarantee it has enough money for future cleanup of its Illinois and Indiana coal mines.The...

NTSB Blames Poor Oversight in Deadly Illinois Truck Crash

Feb 11 2016 // Failed safety oversight was partly to blame for a deadly crash near Chicago in which a truck driver for a company already flagged as high-risk fell asleep and plowed into emergency vehicles, a federal accident...

Illinois County Seeks Insurance Recovery for Employee Fraud Loss

Feb 9 2016 // A northern Illinois county purchasing director allegedly spent more than $60,000 on personal items, according to a draft of an insurance claim Winnebago County plans to file. The Rockford Register Star reports the claim...

Illinois-Based The Insurance House Adds Edwards

Feb 5 2016 // The Insurance House, located in Marion, Ill., has hired Meagan Edwards as a customer service representative. Edwards has been a licensed insurance agent for nearly 10 years.Founded in 1936, The Insurance House handles a...

Hub International Acquires Illinois-Based Columbian Agency

Feb 2 2016 // Insurance brokerage Hub International Limited (Hub) has acquired operations assets of the Columbian Agency (Columbian), based in New Lenox, Ill. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Columbian operations specialize...

American Family Insurance Piloting Point-Based Reward System in Illinois

Jan 26 2016 // Madison, Wis.-based American Family Insurance is introducing DreamKeep Rewards in Illinois, an insurance loyalty program designed to recognize and reward members every day for making smart decisions that protect their...

Missouri Joins Other States in Barring Insurers’ Use of Price Optimization

Jan 25 2016 // In mid-January, the Missouri Department of Insurance issued a bulletin to insurers reminding them that the rating practice generally known as “price optimization” is prohibited in the state.“Price...

Business Moves

Jan 25 2016 // Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, IHC RiskSwiss Re Corporate Solutions has agreed to buy IHC Risk Solutions and its direct employer stop loss (ESL) business from Independence Holding Co. for $152.5 million in cash. The...

Accused of Defrauding State Farm, County Exec in Illinois Quits

Jan 14 2016 // The in central Illinois has resigned in the wake of his indictment on federal fraud charges.Republican Matt Sorensen submitted a resignation letter to an executive committee meeting, The Pantagraph in Bloomington reported....

Obama Nominates 4 to NARAB National Producer Licensing Governing Board

Jan 12 2016 // President Barack Obama has nominated four individuals to sit on the 13-member governing board of a new national insurance producer licensing system. They are state insurance regulators from South Carolina and Minnesota and...

DSP Insurance Services Acquires Assets of Willis of Illinois’ Schaumburg Office

Jan 7 2016 // DSP Insurance Services announced it has purchased another group of assets of Willis of Illinois’ Schaumburg office. The acquisition was finalized on Dec. 31, 2015.Nancy Vatch and key staff personnel lead the team of...

County Chairman in Illinois Accused of Defrauding State Farm

Jan 7 2016 // Federal prosecutors in Chicago have indicted the chairman of the McLean County Board for defrauding State Farm and a consulting firm of more than $400,000 in unearned consulting fees.Matt Sorensen and co-defendant Navdeep...

Mississippi Floodwaters Head South; Officials Weigh Options

Jan 6 2016 // As floodwaters move south along the Mississippi River, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers is weighing steps it could take to prevent widespread flooding from southern Missouri down to the Gulf Coast.In Louisiana, the Corps...

Cleanup Begins in Illinois, Missouri after Massive Flooding

Jan 4 2016 // The Mississippi River and many of its tributaries on Jan. 3 continued their retreat from historic and deadly winter flooding, leaving amid the silt a massive cleanup and recovery effort likely to take weeks if not...

Deadly Floods Disrupting Agriculture, Commercial Operations in U.S. Midwest

Jan 3 2016 // Deadly flooding across the U.S. Midwest is disrupting everything from oil to agriculture, forcing pipelines, terminals and grain elevators to close.The floods have killed at least 30 people and shut hundreds of roads...

Texas Tornadoes, Midwest Flooding Leave at Least 24 Dead

Dec 29 2015 // At least 11 people died and dozens were injured in strong tornadoes that swept through the Dallas area and caused substantial damage this weekend, while 13 people died in flooding in the Midwest.It was the latest of a...

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Acquires The Hawk Agency in Illinois

Dec 22 2015 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired The Hawk Agency Inc. in Peoria, Ill.Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Thomas D. Fliege and his associates at The Hawk Agency will continue to operate in their current location...