With Few Investigators, Agency Struggles to Prosecute Fraud, Report Shows

In 2011, the Illinois legislature made some changes that officials hoped would lead to more prosecution of workers’ compensation fraud in a state that has long been seen as lagging in the number of investigators and inquiries. But the Illinois Insurance Department’s Fraud Unit Annual Report, released in August, shows that little has changed. While the number of complaints and tips about suspected fraud has risen sharply in recent years, prosecutions have not. In 2017, the unit received 370 complaints, up from 100 in 2014. But most of those did not warrant investigation becau...