Latest Illinois Headlines
All the headlines from our Illinois Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Business Moves
Nov 3 2014 // Marsh, Torrent Insurance broker Marsh has agreed to acquire Torrent Technologies Inc., which serves write-your-own insurers participating in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Torrent’s approximately 100...
State Farm Seeking Approval to Test Drones in Illinois
Nov 3 2014 // State Farm Insurance is seeking federal approval to test drones in evaluating property damage and responding to natural disasters. The (Bloomington) Pantagraph reported that the Bloomington, Ill.-based company has filed an...
Feds Charge Iowa Man in $2.7M Illinois Insurance Fraud Case
Oct 30 2014 // Federal authorities say an Iowa man has been charged with defrauding his former employer in Illinois of at least $2.7 million. U.S. Attorney Jim Lewis said 47-year-old Dominic Scodeller of Davenport, Iowa, was arrested on...
State Farm Seeks to Test Drone Use for Damage Response in Illinois
Oct 27 2014 // State Farm insurance company is seeking federal approval to test drones in evaluating property damage and responding to natural disasters. The (Bloomington) Pantagraph reported that the Bloomington-based company has filed...
The Horton Group Acquires BF&S Insurance
Oct 22 2014 // Orland Park, Ill.-based insurance brokerage, The Horton Group, announced the acquisition of certain assets of Boyle, Flagg and Seaman (BF&S) Insurance, located in Illinois and Michigan. BF&S’s Illinois retail...
Illinois Landowners Suing State over Fracking Permit Delay
Oct 20 2014 // Southern Illinois landowners are suing the state for failing to implement hydraulic fracturing, calling the long-running process for adopting rules governing the oil and gas extraction method tantamount to illegal...
County: Vacant Skyscraper in Illinois Town Raising Insurance Costs
Oct 16 2014 // Officials in Vermillion County in eastern Illinois say concerns about a vacant skyscraper makes it more expensive to insure an adjacent county building. The 12-story Bresee Tower in downtown Danville is the tallest...
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...
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...
