Now that Illinois’ contentious primaries are over, state lawmakers have an opportunity to get back to business and tackle the litany of financial woes affecting the state. This year, Illinois ranked dead last on U.S. News & World Report’s list of the most fiscally stable states. Despite this ranking, some Illinois legislators continue to push bills that add undue stress…
A new trial date has been scheduled for the postal worker accused of racing motorcycles while receiving $94,000 in disability. Jerry French, 40, is scheduled to go to trial Aug. 27 in Dayton’s U.S. District Court on one count of false statements or fraud to obtain federal employees compensation. French was hired in 2004 as a letter carrier at the…
A Georgia elevator company is requesting a judge’s dismissal or jury trial for allegations Menards has made about moving walkways installed in a few of its Midwest stores. The Eau Claire-based home improvement retailer filed a lawsuit last month in Eau Claire County Court against ThyssenKrupp Elevator Corp., alleging the company didn’t live up to its warranty and other parts…
Steve Schneider, Midwest region vice president for the American Insurance Association (AIA), issued the following statement before testifying today before the Illinois Senate Executive Committee on SB 12, workers’ compensation reform legislation. Mr. Schneider will represent an industry group that includes: AIA, the Illinois Insurance Association (IIA), the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) and the Property and Casualty…
An Illinois appeals panel has upheld a Cook County judge’s ruling, which cleared Chicago police of causing the deaths of patrons by preventing them from leaving the E2 nightclub in Chicago during a stampede there in 2003 that took 21 lives and injured more than 50. The April 30 decision was authored by Justice Mary Mikva, with concurrence from Justices…
A woman who claimed she was injured when she fell from a shaky bleacher at the Monon Community Center in Carmel sued the proper parties too late for her claim to proceed, the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed Monday. Pamela Webb claimed that as she was walking down the bleachers, the bottom step slid, causing her to fall to the…
Illinois’ House of Representatives has passed a bill that would create a state-monitored insurance company with the intention of driving down workers’ compensation insurance costs in the state. The House voted 62-43 on a plan that would establish an independent underwriter with a $10 million state loan. It would act as an insurance company in the market and pay back…
Ohio in January became the 36th state to allow firefighters who are diagnosed with certain cancers to file for workers compensation, and so far two more states are seeing proposals for certain cancers suffered by firefighters to be compensable. With presumption laws in place, firefighters who suffer from certain cancers can claim workers comp if they meet certain requirements, which…
A woman who drove drunk into a mobile home causing significant damage lost her appeal Wednesday after arguing the state’s blood draw occurred outside the three-hour window under statute and thus did not prove her blood alcohol level at the time of the accident. Elberta N. Jackson was convicted of Class A misdemeanors operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration…
A trial court erred in ordering a new trial after a jury returned a general verdict in favor of the estate of an electrician who wired a barn where a teenager was electrocuted in 2010, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday. A Noble County jury ruled in favor of the estate of Gary Pfafman, who had years earlier assisted…
