ILL. DIRECTOR CALLS IT QUITS:

Illinois Insurance Director J. Anthony Clark announced that he would step down from his post effective Feb. 13, according to the Associated Press. The constraints forced upon the insurance department by the state’s budget and the bother of commuting between Chicago and Springfield—a three-hour drive—were factors in the decision, Clark said. He was appointed to the job less than a year ago by Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich and was handcuffed by Illinois’ budget woes. Insurance industry lobbyists have complained steadily that Clark, a former life insurance counsel for Montgomery Ward, though hardly antagonistic toward or clueless about the insurance business was nonetheless quiescent with regard to the combination of department budget cuts and fees and taxes imposed on the industry last year. Clark did not oversee any major initiatives related to the property/casualty insurance industry in Illinois. The Illinois Insurance Department has 400 employees and the director receives $113,200 a year in salary. Gov. Blagojevich has not yet announced a replacement.