Latest Illinois Headlines
All the headlines from our Illinois Topic Page, ordered by recency.
People – Midwest
Aug 22 2016 // POWERS Insurance and Benefits, headquartered in St. Louis, Mo., promoted Amy Simkins to commercial account manager. Simkins previously served as POWERS Insurance and Benefits’ accounting specialist. POWERS Insurance...
Illinois Contractor, in Default of $268K in Fines, Cited Again for Safety Hazards
Aug 18 2016 // Illinois contractor Robert Barringer III’s long history of putting his workers in danger of debilitating or fatal falls at his company’s job sites continues, this time at a residential home under construction...
Safety Officials: Higher Speeds Causing More Traffic Fatalities in Illinois
Aug 18 2016 // Safety and insurance industry experts say Illinois traffic fatalities are expected to pass 1,000 this year for the first time since 2008 because of higher speeds, more miles driven and an increase in the number of younger...
Illinois Treasurer Looking into How Life Insurance Companies Avoid Payouts
Aug 17 2016 // Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs is launching a series of public hearings to explore how life insurance companies avoid paying death benefits. The first hearing is set for this morning in the city council chambers in...
Feds Investigate Illinois Firm Fined for Exposing Staff to Asbestos
Aug 16 2016 // U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration proceedings against an Illinois construction company fined for allegedly importing Mexican workers to remove asbestos are on hold as federal officials look into possible...
Illinois Senator Says Blue Cross Could Reduce Costs, Be More Competitive
Aug 16 2016 // U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin is taking the rare step of weighing in on the state’s handling of a hefty health insurance rate increase request, asking Illinois regulators to press the state’s leading insurer of...
Business-Backed Group Pushes for Workers’ Comp Opt-Out in Illinois
Aug 8 2016 // An Illinois think tank has issued a report expressing support for a workers’ compensation opt-out system, stating that it would give employers the ability to lower costs and allow for a more flexible workforce. In...
License Revoked by 2 States but Northern Illinois Agency Stays Open
Aug 8 2016 // By taking advantage of legal appeals processes, an Illinois managing general agency has been able to continue operations for more than a year despite having its license revoked or non-renewed by two separate state...
Employment Services Provider to Pay $1.4M to Settle Illinois Discrimination Charges
Aug 5 2016 // A leading payroll processing and human resource management outsourcing provider will pay nearly $1.4 million to voluntarily resolve employment discrimination charges filed in Illinois with the U.S. Equal Employment...
Illinois Medical Marijuana Program Grows, Sales Climb
Aug 5 2016 // Illinois officials posted new forms this week for doctors and patients in the state’s medical marijuana program to reflect changes in the law, and announced that July retail sales reached a new high at $2.9...
Illinois Town Settles Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Mayor for $120K
Aug 4 2016 // The village of Alsip, Ill., has settled a lawsuit alleging its mayor made unwanted sexual advances toward the Chicago suburb’s treasurer. The Daily Southtown reports the village will pay former treasurer Elizabeth...
Premium Hikes of Up to 45% Sought by Illinois Health Insurers
Aug 3 2016 // Health insurance premiums for Illinois residents who buy coverage through the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace could increase by as much as 45 percent according to proposals submitted by insurers and made public on...
Illinois Governor Signs Law Extending Contraceptive Insurance Coverage
Aug 1 2016 // Insurance companies in Illinois have to provide coverage for nearly all contraceptives under a plan signed by Gov. Bruce Rauner. The new law takes effect in 2017. It extends coverage to almost all forms of contraception...
NTSB: Parts of Plane that Crashed in Illinois Scattered Nearly a Mile
Jul 29 2016 // A National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report says a plane that crashed southwest of Chicago killing the pilot and setting a house on fire, left nearly a mile-long trail of debris before crashing. The Piper...
Illinois Moves to Shut Down Health Insurance Co-Op
Jul 25 2016 // Illinois insurance regulators are seeking the rehabilitation of a failing health insurance co-op that the department previously attempted to rescue. Anne Melissa Dowling, Acting Director of the Illinois Department of...
Despite Having License Revoked by 2 States, Northern Illinois Agency Continues to Operate
Jul 20 2016 // By taking advantage of legal appeals processes, an Illinois managing general agency has been able to continue operations for more than a year despite having its license revoked or non-renewed by two separate state...
Illinois Emergency Medical Service Provider Fined $290K for Workplace Hazards
Jul 14 2016 // Federal safety and health investigators have cited Altamont Ambulance Service Inc. in Fairview Heights, Ill., for workplace safety and health violations and find the company $290,100. The federal Occupational Safety and...
Failing Illinois Health Insurance Co-Op to Be Shut Down
Jul 14 2016 // An Illinois health insurance co-op with 49,000 policyholders in the state has become the latest casualty among a dwindling group of nonprofit alternative insurers set up under the Affordable Care Act. Illinois regulators...
Illinois Stepping in to Help Struggling Insurance Co-Op
Jul 8 2016 // The state of Illinois has tried an unusual maneuver to save a health insurer with 49,000 Illinois policyholders from possible financial failure by blocking it from paying a $31.8 million bill to the federal...
Jury Awards $27M to Four Fired Allstate Employees in Illinois
Jul 5 2016 // A federal jury has awarded more than $27 million to four former Allstate employees who sued the insurer for defamation. The Chicago Tribune reported the employees worked for a now-defunct equity division of the Northbrook,...
