Government

Spring Session began on January 28th and will run through the end of May. There will be one major difference from previous years as Senate President John Cullerton has retired. The Senate convened on Sunday, January 19th to formally elect a new Senate President. On a vote of 37-12, Senator Don Harmon will now lead the Senate as its 39th Senate President.

While, 2019 was certainly a tumultuous year in Illinois politics it was one of the most historic legislative years on record. Governor J.B. Pritzker had by all means one of the most successful first years of any Governor in Illinois in terms of legislative accomplishments. Lawmakers approved Gov. Pritzker’s biggest campaign promise by asking Illinois voters to approve a graduated income tax via a referendum

By Evan Manning on the November 2020 ballot. Lawmakers also passed an equity-focused recreational cannabis measure, sports wagering, a budget and capital bill, pension consolidation, and a graduated increase to minimum wage to $15 an hour.

IIA of IL’s Government Relations Committee recently met and his in the process of firming up our legislative and regulatory agenda for this year. Be on the lookout for an update in the next issue and in our e-Weekly newsletter.

Evan Manning is Director of Government Relations for the IIA of IL. He can be reached at emanning@iiaofil.org or (217) 321-3002.

IIA of IL is the LOUDEST VOICE for independent insurance agents and brokers in the state. IIA of IL is constantly in communication and discussions on both the State and Federal level. One of our association’s biggest resources for this communication line is our State Political Action Committee known as IIAPAC. IIAPAC supports candidates for and members of the General Assembly who support the legislative agenda of independent agents. IIAPAC is a bi-partisan committee, making significant contributions to both Republican and Democrat legislators and candidates. IIAPAC took tremendous strides over the last year and exceeded our fundraising goals with the help of our VIP Contributors and the many donors to our Silent Auction that was featured at CONVO. IIAPAC Independent Insurance Agents Political Action Committee

I want to sincerely thank all of the many generous donors listed on the next page. Supporting IIAPAC sends a powerful message to legislators and candidates about issues that are important to our members. While it is difficult to quantify legislative and regulatory victories into improved marketplace conditions, I guarantee you that without our combined efforts Illinois would be in a much worse condition for agents, brokers, and our company partners. Evan Manning is Director of Government Relations for the IIA of IL. He can be reached at emanning@iiaofil.org or (217) 321-3002. INVESTMENT An YOUR BUSINESS in

By Evan Manning

We strive to

INFLUENCE LEGISLATION to provide a better product for

the consumer and protecting those who sell insurance.

2019 IIAPac Contributors Thank you to these agencies for their investment in IIAPac. INSIGHT | government

$3,000 - $5,000 Contributions Alliant Insurance Services, Inc The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. IIA of IL - Region 1

$1,000 - $2,999 Contributions DuPage IIA IIA of Northeastern IL (IIA of NEI) The Plexus Groupe, LLC Luke Praxmarer, Corkill Insurance Agency, Inc. Michael Wojcik, The Horton Group, Inc.

$500 and Below Contributions A F I Insurance Agency, Inc A. Fazio, Inc. Acrisure, LLC dba Presidio Affiliated Insurance Agencies Allegiance Ins. Services, Inc. Arial Insurance Group Assurance Brokers, Ltd. Atlas Insurance Brokerage Bair Insurance Agency Banterra Insurance Services Bean Insurance Agency Beck Insurance Agency Beil & Stromberg Insurance Benhoff Insurance Agency, Inc. Bernard E. Pedersen & Associates, Inc. Beth & Rudnicki Insurance Agency, Inc. Better Business Planning BGS Insurance Agency, Inc. Biglow & Company, Inc. Blank’s Insurance Agency Bob Korvas Agency, Inc. Burnham & Flower Agency Buttrey-Wulff-Mamminga Agency, Inc. C & G Insurance Agency, Inc. C F & H Insurance Agency, Inc. Callender & Company Chapman-Henricks Ins. Agency, Inc. Chartwell Insurance Services, Inc. Chicagoland IIA Clark Carroll Insurance Agency, Inc. Clemens & Associates, Inc. Clennon Insurance Agency Combined Services, Inc. Compass Insurance Partners Concklin Insurance Agency, Inc. Connor & Gallagher Ins. Services, Inc. Corkill Insurance Agency, Inc. Cornerstone Agency, Inc. Coulter Insurance Agency Crossroads Insurance Services Crum-Halsted Agency, Inc. Danielle Duerr & Associates Dasco Insurance Agency, Inc. Draper Insurance Agency Dykstra & Law Insurance Agency, Inc. Eccher & Associates Insurance Agency Erland Insurance Agency Feese Insurance Agency Fergurson Insurance Agency, Inc. First Insurance Group, LLC dba First Insurance Group of IL First National Insurance Services, Inc First State Insurance Forest Agency, Inc. Freiburg Insurance Agency Frisbie & Lohmeyer, Inc. Frost Group Inc. George Ryan, Jr. Insurance Group, Inc. Gillmore-Allen Insurance Agency Graves Financial Services, Inc. GTPS Insurance Agency Hartauer Insurance Agency Hecht-Stout Insurance Agency

Henderson-Weir Agency Inc. Heneghan-White-Cutting & Rice Insurance Hepner Insurance Agency, Inc. Hi-Way Insurance Agency, Inc. Holman-Dahms, Inc. Houghtaling Insurance Agency, Inc. Howell Insurance Agency, Inc. I I P Insurance Agency, Inc. Imming Insurance Agency Inner-City Underwriting Agency, Inc. Insurance Planning & Management, Inc. Insurance Providers Group of Illinois, LLC InsureChampaign Jackson & Gray Co., Inc. James R Favor & Company, LLC James T. Shanahan Agency, Inc. James Unland & Co., Inc. Jim Lyons Insurance Agency Jim Simpson Insurance & Investments John E. Horn & Associates, Inc. Johnson Agency Kensington Insurance Kevin S. Dougherty Insurance Agency, LTD Kiesewetter Insurance Agency, LLC Lagestee Ins. Agency, Ltd. Lakeview Insurance Agency, Ltd Lamb Little Company Lane Insurance Group, Ltd. Langlois Insurance Agency Leezer Insurance Agency, Inc. Leffelman & Associates, Inc. Chris Leming, Troxell Leonardi Insurance Agency Libertyville Insurance Agency LiFonti Insurance Services, Ltd. Lincoln Insurance Agency Lincoln Logan/May Enterprise Ins. Agcy Lohman Companies Lundstrom Insurance Agency, Inc. Lutz Agency, Inc. M & M Insurance Agency, Inc. Mahomet Insurance Centre, Inc. MAS Insurance Consultants, Inc McCutcheon Insurance Agency, Ltd. McKellar, Robertson, McCarty & Click Insurance Agency McMillan Insurance Services, Inc. Meyer-Jochums Agency, Inc. Midwestern Insurance Associates Agency Minton Insurance & Associates, LLC Musso Insurance Agency Nichols Insurance Agency, Inc. Nixon Insurance Agency, Inc. Nold-Hamann Agency North Wayne Insurance Agency, Inc. Northern Illinois Insurance Clinic,Inc dba Marvin Uecker Insurance Agency Northwest Insurance Services, ISU Northwest Ins. Services, Arlington Financial Nowacki Insurance Agency Ogden Insurance Agency, Inc. Oliver & Associates, LLC Olsick & Company Insurance

P.A.R. Insurance Services P/L/R Insurance Services Partners Insurance Agency, Inc. Paul T. Price & Son, Inc. Paul W. Kaiser & Associates, Inc. North Shore Insurance Agency, Inc. Peak Insurance Agency, Inc. Pelz Agency Peterson Insurance Services, Inc. Porter-Hay Insurance Agency Premier Ag Partners, LLC Prime Insurance Agency, Ltd. Quantum Insurance Group, Inc. R. C. Keller & Company R.W. Gipson Agency, Inc. Ramey Insurance Agency, Inc. Ramsey Financial Services Inc. Reese Insurance Group Inc. Resource Insurance Advisors, Inc. Richard E. Bechtold Agency, Inc. Riordan & Scully Insurance Service, LLC Risk Management Solutions of America, Inc. Rosenthal Brothers, Inc. RWC Insurance Group S.C.D. Rea & Sons Insurance Agency S.T. Neswold & Associates, Inc. Saliba-Yewell Insurance Services, Inc. SC Crop Insurance Inc Schmale Insurance Agency, Inc. Schulz - Brundage Inc. Schwaller Insurance Agency, Inc. Seibt Insurance Siegert-Lees Insurance Services, LLC Smart Risk Insurance LLC Smeltzer Insurance Agency Snyder & Snyder Agency, Inc. Spicer Insurance Service, Inc. Squier Insurance Agency, Inc. Stateline Insurance Services, Inc. Stoutenborough Insurance Agency The Daniel & Henry Co. The David Agency Insurance, Inc. The Horton Group, Inc. The Liddle Agency, Inc. The Nolan Agency, Inc. The Owens Group, Inc. The Whitworth-Horn-Goetten Ins. Agency The Williamson Agency Thomas J. Masterson and Company Thompson Insurance Troxell Turner-Vermost Agency, Inc. TW Group Inc. Ulrich Insurance Agency VanDenBerghe Agency Waterman-Neely Ins. Professionals Waters Agency, Inc. Wehling Insurance Agency West Central Insurance Agency, Inc. Winters, LLP Wirth Agency Wirtz Insurance Agency, Inc. Yingling & Nuessen Agency

18 Years and Counting

Unlike many other carriers, West Bend believes in the value of long-term relationships. That’s why many of our personal lines underwriters, like Sarah, have worked with their agents for so long. Sarah’s agents trust her knowledge, making it easier for them to do business with West Bend. And that makes the relationships that much stronger.