Latest Illinois Headlines
All the headlines from our Illinois Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Business Moves – Midwest
May 21 2012 // Neace Lukens, Matrix Benefits Neace Lukens has completed its acquisition of Matrix Benefits and Consulting Group, a Ft. Wayne, Ind.-based consulting firm. Matrix employees will report to the Neace Lukens Indianapolis...
Dysfunction in Illinois
May 21 2012 // Illinois’ troubled system for compensating injured state workers hands out money too readily, sometimes without medical evidence to back up a claim and occasionally paying benefits the hurt employee didn’t even...
Worker Death Leads to $473K Fine for Illinois Manufacturer
May 20 2012 // A manufacturing plant in Illinois faces a fine of $473,000 after a worker died from chemical burns. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Raani Corp. for failing to...
Illinois Governor Mulls Executive Order on Insurance Exchange
May 16 2012 // Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn may use an executive order to establish a health insurance exchange, a website where consumers could comparison shop for insurance that’s a key piece of President Barack Obama’s health...
Menard Guards Wrongly Paid Workers’ Compensation
May 3 2012 // In a little-noted appearance before the Illinois House Appropriations-Public Safety Committee, the director of the Department of Corrections said millions of dollars in workers’ compensation payments to Menard prison...
Western National Completes Purchase of American Freedom Insurance
May 3 2012 // Western National Mutual Insurance Co., based in Edina, Minn., has closed on the purchase of 100 percent of the stock of Arlington Heights, Ill.-based Dynamic Insurance Group, parent holding company of American Freedom...
Troubled Illinois Work Injury-Claim System Hit in Audit
Apr 27 2012 // Illinois’ troubled system for compensating injured state workers hands out money too readily, sometimes without medical evidence to back up a claim and occasionally paying benefits the hurt employee didn’t even...
$6M Awarded in Fatal Illinois Crash
Apr 24 2012 // An Illinois judge has awarded more than $6 million to the family of a 17-year-old Loves Park girl killed by a drunk driver. Judge Edward Prochaska awarded the money to the family of Amanda Kordich. She was a Harlem High...
Illinois Man Sues Nestle, Wal-Mart Over Dog’s Death from ‘Wholesome’ Treat
Apr 20 2012 // The death of a 9-year-old Pomeranian from eating a dog treat is hardly “what nature intended,” according to a lawsuit filed this week. An Illinois man has sued Nestle Purina Petcare Co. and Wal-Mart Stores...
NFP Property and Casualty Services Acquires Illinois’ Ameribonds Surety
Apr 11 2012 // National Financial Partners Corp. subsidiary, NFP Property and Casualty Services Inc. (NFP P&C), acquired Illinois-based Ameribonds Surety & Insurance Services (Ameribonds Surety), effective April 2, 2012, the...
Texas Bus Inspections Get Lax Oversight Despite Crashes
Apr 4 2012 // Months after their state-certified vehicle inspection station was cited by federal authorities for failing to notice defects in a bus that crashed in North Texas, killing 17 passengers, brothers Alam and Cesar Hernandez...
Bill Would Help Illinois Residents Hit by Storm Damage
Apr 2 2012 // Southern Illinois property owners trying to rebuild after tornadoes and storms that hit in March would get a tax break under a bill passed by the Illinois House. The (Springfield) State Journal-Register reports that the...
Feds Probe Defect in Buses Manufactured by Illinois Firm
Mar 28 2012 // Federal safety regulators have begun investigating buses made by Motor Coach Industries Inc. over the past 20 years because the drive shafts can fall out and cause drivers to lose control. The problem has led to two...
More Doubts Emerge About Illinois Prison Guard Comp Claims
Mar 22 2012 // Some Illinois prison guards who received workers’ compensation settlements had only mild carpal tunnel syndrome in their wrists or similar elbow injuries and might not have needed surgery, according to a newspaper...
New Members Appointed to Illinois Self Insurance Advisory Board
Mar 20 2012 // Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission Chairman Mitch Weisz has made two new appointments to the Illinois Self-Insurers Advisory Board: David Henwood of CCMSI, a risk management company in Danville, and Deborah...
Insurance Claims from Recent Tornadoes May Top $1B
Mar 19 2012 // March came in like a very large and powerful lion, spawning severe weather across the Midwest, South and southeastern United States. Insured losses from the tornadoes, hail and high winds that struck in late February and...
Illinois to Recalculate Storm Damage Cost for FEMA
Mar 16 2012 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency has given Illinois more time to recalculate the tornado damage to southern parts of the state to bolster its push to reverse the denial of aid, Sen. Dick Durbin said. FEMA...
Illinois Officials Dispute FEMA Denial of Tornado Aid
Mar 14 2012 // Looking at the destruction in his southern Illinois town, Harrisburg Mayor Eric Gregg couldn’t understand why federal officials turned down a plea to financially help local homeowners. Nearly a hundred homes are now...
Audit Questions $7B in Illinois Insurance Contracts
Mar 12 2012 // A new audit finds serious problems with the way Illinois awarded $7 billion in contracts last year for state employees’ health insurance. Auditor General William Holland said in a recently released report that...
Connecticut Urges Other States to Sue Credit Rating Agencies
Mar 8 2012 // Connecticut officials are encouraging other states to consider suing credit-rating agencies that gave high grades to risky mortgage-backed securities that plummeted in value when the housing market collapsed in...
