2017

September 5, 2017 — Drug companies Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen must act to address the heroin and opioid epidemic or face potential financial consequences in their stock prices, state treasurers from Illinois, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and California said today. In letters sent to both companies, the coalition of state treasurers urged the nation’s second and third largest drug distributors to take concrete steps to alleviate the heroin and opioid epidemic. Should no action be taken, each treasurer’s office would re-evaluate its financial position in the companies and strongly encourage other…

CHICAGO — Governor Bruce Rauner’s amendatory veto of the Life Insurance Reform Act guarantees life insurance companies will pocket millions of dollars rather than pay death benefits to grieving families, Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs said today. Freri chs called upon the General Assembly to override the veto because paying death benefits should not be a partisan issue. “Governor Rauner chose special interests over real people,” Frerichs said. “Common sense says that when a loved one dies the family should be paid.” Currently, some life insurance companies do not pay…

SPRINGFIELD — Bidders from across the state and country spent more than $117,000 in this past weekend’s live auction at the Illinois State Fair, Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs said today. This was the second consecutive year for the live auction at the Illinois State Fair, which had previously taken a 10-year hiatus. Noteworthy items at this year’s auction included a lot with a 1983 Ryne Sandberg baseball card ($450); 1893 Chicago World’s Fair souvenir medallions ($206); Spanish shipwreck coins from the 1622 shipwreck of the Atocha ($2,400); 22K earrings…

CHICAGO — A historic south side hospital that cares for the poor and indigent in the middle of a healthcare desert will receive a $4 million loan through the office of Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs. Roseland Community Hospital will use the money to refinance debt so it can continue to serve as the area’s only option for emergency and health care. The 92-year-old safety-net hospital qualifies for the loan because it has taken dramatic steps to stabilize its finances after poor record- keeping and questionable leadership threatened to close…

SPRINGFIELD — Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs today called for an override of Governor Bruce Rauner’s veto of House Bill 3419 that would prohibit companies that engage in schemes to establish ownership outside the United States specifically to avoid state and federal taxes from doing business with state agencies. These companies are often referred to as expatriated entities or corporate inversions. “Governor Rauner’s veto sends the wrong message to American corporations that engage in off- shore tax avoidance schemes,” Frerichs said. “Companies that use these unfair tactics to shift taxes onto…