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According to the recently released 2008 report from the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC), total claims inched up slightly from prior year totals by 1.5 percent.

Among the report’s highlights:

· Illinois’ Insurance Compliance unit gathered $1.8 million in fines in FY2008 from 66 uninsured employers with 900 workers that officials say were operating without workers’ comp insurance. State rules mandate that if an employer knowingly and willfully does not obtain coverage, they can be fined up to $500 for every day of noncompliance, with a minimum fine of $10,000. Corporate officers may be held personally liable if the employer does not pay the fine. An employer can also face criminal charges and/or a work-stop order for failing to obtain workers' comp coverage.

· Chicago and counties with hub cities located no more than an hour or so from the Windy City make up nearly 60% of all the state’s work injury claims. In breaking down the injuries, back and neck claims resulted in the biggest sector of reported injuries, accounting for 20% of all injuries last year.

· Nearly 1,200 formal Review Decisions were processed in FY2008 accounting for 2% of all claim closures. Dismissals made up 9% of cases disposed of while settlements accounted for 86% of all case closures. Total claims disposed of last year totaled 59,533 between settlements, decisions and dismissals. Actual formal Arbitration Decisions were issued in nearly 3,600 cases representing a ratio of 6% of total claim dispositions.

· The number of cases pending at the Commission has declined from a peak of 119,000 cases at the end of FY95 to 97,300 cases at the end of FY08.

To view the full report, visit: http://www.state.il.us/agency/IIC/annualreport.htm