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'Backbone' of Ill. insurance department Etta Mae Credi dead at age 80

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Etta Mae Credi, former deputy director of the financial corporate regulation division of the Illinois Department of Insurance in Springfield, Ill., died this month at age 80.

Ms. Credi served the Illinois Department of Insurance for 59 years, beginning her career as a clerk in 1954, making $225 a month.

She served under 11 Illinois governors, numerous state insurance directors, and was a frequent speaker and dedicated member of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Christopher Johnson, director of risk management at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., said Ms. Credi was the “backbone of that entire operation.”

Ms. Credi was the primary contact for Northwestern’s insurance captive, Rubicon Insurance Co., the only captive domiciled in the state, which was formed in 1990, Mr. Johnson said.

“She was the most knowledgeable person in the department,” he said.

“Etta Mae's passing is a great loss to the insurance community,” said Damian V. Sepanik, Schaumburg, Ill.-based chief compliance officer for Zurich North America, in an email.

“She was the person who you went to when you had no idea where to start,” Mr. Sepanik said. “Etta Mae will truly be missed.”

Ms. Credi died Feb. 7. Memorials can be made to Taylorville Schools Foundation, 512 W. Spresser, Taylorville, Ill., 62568.