In Illinois, every employer must have Workers’ Compensation Insurance. You can check the Workers’ Compensation Commission website to determine if your employer carries the insurance. If you are injured and your employer does not have the proper insurance, you should report it to the Commission immediately. Employers who do not have Workers Compensation insurance can be fined and in some cases face criminal charges. If the employer is solvent, it may be able to pay the claim.
In addition, you can file a claim against your employer and the State Treasurer. The State of Illinois has a new fund which may be used in certain circumstances to pay injured workers whose Employer’s do not carry workers comp insurance. The fund usually will pay only a percentage of the award, but the alternative is usually not recovering anything if the employer is insolvent or has disappeared.