Illinois Compiled Statutes 215 ILCS 5/155.41 – Slave era policies
Current as of: 2024 | Check for updates
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(a) The General Assembly finds and declares all of the following:
(1) Insurance policies from the slavery era have been
(1) Insurance policies from the slavery era have been
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discovered in the archives of several insurance companies, documenting insurance coverage for slaveholders for damage to or death of their slaves, issued by a predecessor insurance firm. These documents provide the first evidence of ill-gotten profits from slavery, which profits in part capitalized insurers whose successors remain in existence today.
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(2) Legislation has been introduced in Congress for
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the past 10 years demanding an inquiry into slavery and its continuing legacies.
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(3) The Director of Insurance and the Department of
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Insurance are entitled to seek information from the files of insurers licensed and doing business in this State, including licensed Illinois subsidiaries of international insurance corporations, regarding insurance policies issued to slaveholders by predecessor corporations. The people of Illinois are entitled to significant historical information of this nature.
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(b) The Department shall request and obtain information from insurers licensed and doing business in this State regarding any records of slaveholder insurance policies issued by any predecessor corporation during the slavery era.
(c) The Department shall obtain the names of any slaveholders or slaves described in those insurance records, and shall make the information available to the public and the General Assembly.
(d) Any insurer licensed and doing business in this State shall research and report to the Department with respect to any records within the insurer’s possession or knowledge relating to insurance policies issued to slaveholders that provided coverage for damage to or death of their slaves.
(e) Descendants of slaves, whose ancestors were defined as private property, dehumanized, divided from their families, forced to perform labor without appropriate compensation or benefits, and whose ancestors’ owners were compensated for damages by insurers, are entitled to full disclosure.
Terms Used In Illinois Compiled Statutes 215 ILCS 5/155.41
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- State: when applied to different parts of the United States, may be construed to include the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" may be construed to include the said district and territories. See Illinois Compiled Statutes 5 ILCS 70/1.14
(c) The Department shall obtain the names of any slaveholders or slaves described in those insurance records, and shall make the information available to the public and the General Assembly.
(d) Any insurer licensed and doing business in this State shall research and report to the Department with respect to any records within the insurer’s possession or knowledge relating to insurance policies issued to slaveholders that provided coverage for damage to or death of their slaves.
(e) Descendants of slaves, whose ancestors were defined as private property, dehumanized, divided from their families, forced to perform labor without appropriate compensation or benefits, and whose ancestors’ owners were compensated for damages by insurers, are entitled to full disclosure.