Latest Illinois Headlines

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

Educator-Focused Meemic Insurance Expands into Illinois

Oct 15 2014 // Meemic Insurance Co., a Michigan-based insurance provider offering personal auto, homeowners, and umbrella coverages tailored exclusively to teachers and other educational employees, announced that the company will...

Arthur J. Gallagher Acquires Illinois’ Bennett & Shade Co.

Oct 14 2014 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired retail insurance broker Bennett & Shade Co. in Decatur, Ill. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 1906, Bennett & Shade provides commercial...

New Workers’ Comp Arbitrators Assigned in Illinois

Oct 13 2014 // The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission has made new arbitrator assignments.Effective Nov. 1, Arbitrator Stephen Friedman will take over the Chicago call formerly handled by Arbitrator Kelmanson, and Arbitrator...

Recovery Starts After Fire Destroys Part of Downtown Rock Island, Illinois

Oct 1 2014 // Rock Island residents have started the recovery process after a weekend fire ripped through the heart of downtown, destroying or damaging eight buildings in the western Illinois city.Tattoo shop owner Dan Bonowski said...

Lawmakers Question the Adequacy of Traffic Control After Fire Halts Flights

Sep 29 2014 // The havoc created by a suicidal technician at a Chicago-area flight-control center has some lawmakers asking how a single person armed with gasoline and knives could bring down part of the U.S. air-traffic system.Damage...

The Problem with Domestic Excess and Surplus Lines Insurers

Sep 22 2014 // It has been more than five years since states, beginning with Illinois, began to enact laws permitting the formation and licensing of domestic excess and surplus lines insurers. To date, these initiatives have gotten very...

The Problem with Domestic Excess & Surplus Lines Insurers

Sep 16 2014 // It has been more than five years since states, beginning with Illinois, began to enact laws permitting the formation and licensing of domestic excess and surplus lines insurers. To date, these initiatives have gotten very...

Illinois School District Awarded $10M in Collapsed Mine Case

Sep 12 2014 // An Illinois school district has been awarded nearly $10 million in a lawsuit against Union Pacific Railroad after claiming a collapsed mine left an elementary school damaged.Macoupin County Judge Patrick Londrigan awarded...

4 New Workers’ Comp Arbitrators Appointed in Illinois

Sep 9 2014 // Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn appointed four new arbitrators to the Workers’ Compensation Commission:Maria Bocanegra is an attorney at Katz Friedman, specializing in workers’ compensation. She previously worked as a...

CNA Appoints Earley as Illinois Branch Vice President

Sep 4 2014 // Chicago-based property/casualty insurer, CNA, has named Steve Earley as Illinois branch vice president. Steve Earley Earley has been with CNA for 27 years, most recently serving as vice president of the company’s...

Gov. Pat Quinn: No Speed Increase on Illinois Interstates

Aug 28 2014 // Gov. Pat Quinn has vetoed legislation aimed at increasing the speed limit from 65 to 70 miles per hour on interstate highways around Illinois.The Legislation was sponsored by Republican state Sen. Jim Oberweis. It follows...

Illinois Rideshare Bills Vetoed; Insurance Groups Urge Override

Aug 27 2014 // Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has vetoed legislation that would have imposed statewide regulations on commercial ridesharing companies, also known as transportation network companies (TNCs).Quinn said he vetoed House Bill 4075,...

J.M. Wilson Adds Barney as Transportation Underwriter in Illinois

Aug 22 2014 // Wholesale insurance provider J.M. Wilson has hired Erika Barney in its Arlington Heights, Ill., office as a transportation underwriter. Barney will be responsible for quoting new and renewal bobtail and transportation...

Workplace Penalties Mounting Up for Illinois Roofing Contractor

Aug 20 2014 // Roofing contractor Juan Manuel Antonio-Martinez has been cited for three willful safety violations for exposing workers to fall hazards at two separate residential home sites in Savoy, Ill., on March 26, 2014, and April 9,...

Kaprinay Named Workers’ Comp Practice Leader at IMPG in Illinois

Aug 7 2014 // St. Charles, Ill.-based Insurance Program Managers Group (IPMG) promoted Nathan Kaprinay practice leader of IPMG’s brokerage division for workers’ compensation. Kaprinay will coordinate marketing and production...

Illinois Becomes Third State to Provide Online Access to Insurer Filings

Aug 5 2014 // The Illinois Department of Insurance (DOI) is now providing online access for consumers to view insurance company records.Insurance product filings, such as rates and forms, filed with DOI are now available to the public...

People – Midwest

Aug 4 2014 // Timothy L. RauchTravis Schreiber Missouri-based Columbia Insurance Group (CIG) welcomed Kansas native Kelly Klug, as its new chief financial officer, senior vice president and treasurer.Klug has 30 years of experience as...

Chicago Business Owners See Little Impact from Obamacare, Minimum Wage Hike

Aug 1 2014 // The Business Owners Confidence survey for the first half of 2014 indicates that Chicago-area mid-sized business owners are taking Obamacare in stride and expect limited effects of national and state efforts to raise the...

Illinois Workers’ Comp Rate Set to Fall in 2015

Aug 1 2014 // Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn says the state’s workers’ compensation insurance rates will drop 5.5 percent next year.Quinn announced the cut in rates is being recommended by the National Council on Compensation...

Illinois Warns Insurers of Ban on Transgender Discrimination

Jul 31 2014 // The state of Illinois has cautioned insurers about discriminating against transgender people.The Illinois Department of Insurance bulletin issued to insurers this week details nondiscrimination provisions in the federal...