Bill Amendment: IL HB0170 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly

NOTE: For additional amemendments please see the Bill Drafting List

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Bill Title: PUBLIC EMPLOYEE BENEFITS-TECH

Status: 2021-03-27 - Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB0170 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2021-HB0170-House_Amendment_001.html

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Rep. Lawrence Walsh, Jr.

Filed: 3/23/2021

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AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 170
AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 170 by replacing
everything after the enacting clause with the following:
"Section 5. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by
changing Sections 7-109.3, 7-142.1, 7-150, and 7-156 as
follows:
(40 ILCS 5/7-109.3) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 7-109.3)
Sec. 7-109.3. "Sheriff's Law Enforcement Employees".
(a) "Sheriff's law enforcement employee" or "SLEP" means:
(1) A county sheriff and all deputies, other than
special deputies, employed on a full time basis in the
office of the sheriff.
(2) A person who has elected to participate in this
Fund under Section 3-109.1 of this Code, and who is
employed by a participating municipality to perform police
duties.

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(3) A law enforcement officer employed on a full time
basis by a Forest Preserve District, provided that such
officer shall be deemed a "sheriff's law enforcement
employee" for the purposes of this Article, and service in
that capacity shall be deemed to be service as a sheriff's
law enforcement employee, only if the board of
commissioners of the District have so elected by adoption
of an affirmative resolution. Such election, once made,
may not be rescinded.
(4) A person not eligible to participate in a fund
established under Article 3 of this Code who is employed
on a full-time basis by a participating municipality or
participating instrumentality to perform police duties at
an airport, but only if the governing authority of the
employer has approved sheriff's law enforcement employee
status for its airport police employees by adoption of an
affirmative resolution. Such approval, once given, may not
be rescinded.
(5) A person first hired on or after January 1, 2011
who (i) is employed by a participating municipality that
has both 30 or more full-time police officers and 50 or
more full-time firefighters and has not established a fund
under Article 3 or Article 4 of this Code and (ii) is
employed on a full-time basis by that participating
municipality to perform police duties or firefighting and
EMS duties; but only if the governing authority of that

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municipality has approved sheriff's law enforcement
employee status for its police officer or firefighter
employees by adoption of an affirmative resolution. The
resolution must specify that SLEP status shall be
applicable to such employment occurring on or after the
adoption of the resolution. Such resolution shall be
irrevocable, but shall automatically terminate upon the
establishment of an Article 3 or 4 fund by the
municipality.
(6) Any full-time firefighter or firefighter/paramedic
employed by a city, village, incorporated town, or
township that has a population of less than 5,000
inhabitants, is located in a county of more than 1,000,000
inhabitants, and employs 40 or more full-time paid
firefighters or firefighter/paramedics who are subject to
a collective bargaining agreement, provided that such a
person is not eligible to participate in a fund
established under Article 4 of this Code.
(b) An employee who is a sheriff's law enforcement
employee and is granted military leave or authorized leave of
absence shall receive service credit in that capacity.
Sheriff's law enforcement employees shall not be entitled to
out-of-State service credit under Section 7-139.
(Source: P.A. 100-354, eff. 8-25-17; 100-1097, eff. 8-26-18.)
(40 ILCS 5/7-142.1) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 7-142.1)

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Sec. 7-142.1. Sheriff's law enforcement employees.
(a) In lieu of the retirement annuity provided by
subparagraph 1 of paragraph (a) of Section 7-142:
Any sheriff's law enforcement employee who has 20 or more
years of service in that capacity and who terminates service
prior to January 1, 1988 shall be entitled at his option to
receive a monthly retirement annuity for his service as a
sheriff's law enforcement employee computed by multiplying 2%
for each year of such service up to 10 years, 2 1/4% for each
year of such service above 10 years and up to 20 years, and 2
1/2% for each year of such service above 20 years, by his
annual final rate of earnings and dividing by 12.
Any sheriff's law enforcement employee who has 20 or more
years of service in that capacity and who terminates service
on or after January 1, 1988 and before July 1, 2004 shall be
entitled at his option to receive a monthly retirement annuity
for his service as a sheriff's law enforcement employee
computed by multiplying 2.5% for each year of such service up
to 20 years, 2% for each year of such service above 20 years
and up to 30 years, and 1% for each year of such service above
30 years, by his annual final rate of earnings and dividing by
12.
Any sheriff's law enforcement employee who has 20 or more
years of service in that capacity and who terminates service
on or after July 1, 2004 shall be entitled at his or her option
to receive a monthly retirement annuity for service as a

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sheriff's law enforcement employee computed by multiplying
2.5% for each year of such service by his annual final rate of
earnings and dividing by 12.
If a sheriff's law enforcement employee has service in any
other capacity, his retirement annuity for service as a
sheriff's law enforcement employee may be computed under this
Section and the retirement annuity for his other service under
Section 7-142.
In no case shall the total monthly retirement annuity for
persons who retire before July 1, 2004 exceed 75% of the
monthly final rate of earnings. In no case shall the total
monthly retirement annuity for persons who retire on or after
July 1, 2004 exceed 80% of the monthly final rate of earnings.
(b) Whenever continued group insurance coverage is elected
in accordance with the provisions of Section 367h of the
Illinois Insurance Code, as now or hereafter amended, the
total monthly premium for such continued group insurance
coverage or such portion thereof as is not paid by the
municipality shall, upon request of the person electing such
continued group insurance coverage, be deducted from any
monthly pension benefit otherwise payable to such person
pursuant to this Section, to be remitted by the Fund to the
insurance company or other entity providing the group
insurance coverage.
(c) A sheriff's law enforcement employee who began service
in that capacity prior to the effective date of this

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amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly and who has
service in any other capacity may convert up to 10 years of
that service into service as a sheriff's law enforcement
employee by paying to the Fund an amount equal to (1) the
additional employee contribution required under Section
7-173.1, plus (2) the additional employer contribution
required under Section 7-172, plus (3) interest on items (1)
and (2) at the prescribed rate from the date of the service to
the date of payment. Application must be received by the Board
while the employee is an active participant in the Fund.
Payment must be received while the member is an active
participant, except that one payment will be permitted after
termination of participation.
(d) The changes to subsections (a) and (b) of this Section
made by this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly apply
only to persons in service on or after July 1, 2004. In the
case of such a person who begins to receive a retirement
annuity before the effective date of this amendatory Act of
the 94th General Assembly, the annuity shall be recalculated
prospectively to reflect those changes, with the resulting
increase beginning to accrue on the first annuity payment date
following the effective date of this amendatory Act.
(e) Any elected county officer who was entitled to receive
a stipend from the State on or after July 1, 2009 and on or
before June 30, 2010 may establish earnings credit for the
amount of stipend not received, if the elected county official

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applies in writing to the fund within 6 months after the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General
Assembly and pays to the fund an amount equal to (i) employee
contributions on the amount of stipend not received, (ii)
employer contributions determined by the Board equal to the
employer's normal cost of the benefit on the amount of stipend
not received, plus (iii) interest on items (i) and (ii) at the
actuarially assumed rate.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article,
the provisions of this subsection (f) apply to a person who
first becomes a sheriff's law enforcement employee under this
Article on or after January 1, 2011, except any person
employed as a firefighter or firefighter/paramedic before
January 1, 2011, who, after that date, first becomes a
sheriff's law enforcement employee under this Article by
operation of paragraph (6) of subsection (a) of Section
7-109.3.
A sheriff's law enforcement employee age 55 or more who
has 10 or more years of service in that capacity shall be
entitled at his option to receive a monthly retirement annuity
for his or her service as a sheriff's law enforcement employee
computed by multiplying 2.5% for each year of such service by
his or her final rate of earnings.
The retirement annuity of a sheriff's law enforcement
employee who is retiring after attaining age 50 with 10 or more
years of creditable service shall be reduced by one-half of 1%

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for each month that the sheriff's law enforcement employee's
age is under age 55.
The maximum retirement annuity under this subsection (f)
shall be 75% of final rate of earnings.
For the purposes of this subsection (f), "final rate of
earnings" means the average monthly earnings obtained by
dividing the total salary of the sheriff's law enforcement
employee during the 96 consecutive months of service within
the last 120 months of service in which the total earnings was
the highest by the number of months of service in that period.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article,
beginning on January 1, 2011, for all purposes under this Code
(including without limitation the calculation of benefits and
employee contributions), except with regard to any person
employed as a firefighter or firefighter/paramedic before
January 1, 2011, who, after that date, first becomes a
sheriff's law enforcement employee under this Article by
operation of paragraph (6) of subsection (a) of Section
7-109.3, the annual earnings of a sheriff's law enforcement
employee to whom this Section applies shall not include
overtime and shall not exceed $106,800; however, that amount
shall annually thereafter be increased by the lesser of (i) 3%
of that amount, including all previous adjustments, or (ii)
one-half the annual unadjusted percentage increase (but not
less than zero) in the consumer price index-u for the 12 months
ending with the September preceding each November 1, including

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all previous adjustments.
(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article,
the monthly annuity of a person who first becomes a sheriff's
law enforcement employee under this Article on or after
January 1, 2011, except any person employed as a firefighter
or firefighter/paramedic before January 1, 2011, who, after
that date, first becomes a sheriff's law enforcement employee
under this Article by operation of paragraph (6) of subsection
(a) of Section 7-109.3, shall be increased on the January 1
occurring either on or after the attainment of age 60 or the
first anniversary of the annuity start date, whichever is
later. Each annual increase shall be calculated at 3% or
one-half the annual unadjusted percentage increase (but not
less than zero) in the consumer price index-u for the 12 months
ending with the September preceding each November 1, whichever
is less, of the originally granted retirement annuity. If the
annual unadjusted percentage change in the consumer price
index-u for a 12-month period ending in September is zero or,
when compared with the preceding period, decreases, then the
annuity shall not be increased.
(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article,
for a person who first becomes a sheriff's law enforcement
employee under this Article on or after January 1, 2011,
except any person employed as a firefighter or
firefighter/paramedic before January 1, 2011, who, after that
date, first becomes a sheriff's law enforcement employee under

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this Article by operation of paragraph (6) of subsection (a)
of Section 7-109.3, the annuity to which the surviving spouse,
children, or parents are entitled under this subsection (h)
shall be in the amount of 66 2/3% of the sheriff's law
enforcement employee's earned annuity at the date of death.
(i) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article,
the monthly annuity of a survivor of a person who first becomes
a sheriff's law enforcement employee under this Article on or
after January 1, 2011, except any person employed as a
firefighter or firefighter/paramedic before January 1, 2011,
who, after that date, first becomes a sheriff's law
enforcement employee under this Article by operation of
paragraph (6) of subsection (a) of Section 7-109.3, shall be
increased on the January 1 after attainment of age 60 by the
recipient of the survivor's annuity and each January 1
thereafter by 3% or one-half the annual unadjusted percentage
increase in the consumer price index-u for the 12 months
ending with the September preceding each November 1, whichever
is less, of the originally granted pension. If the annual
unadjusted percentage change in the consumer price index-u for
a 12-month period ending in September is zero or, when
compared with the preceding period, decreases, then the
annuity shall not be increased.
(j) For the purposes of this Section, "consumer price
index-u" means the index published by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics of the United States Department of Labor that

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measures the average change in prices of goods and services
purchased by all urban consumers, United States city average,
all items, 1982-84 = 100. The new amount resulting from each
annual adjustment shall be determined by the Public Pension
Division of the Department of Insurance and made available to
the boards of the pension funds.
(Source: P.A. 100-148, eff. 8-18-17.)
(40 ILCS 5/7-150) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 7-150)
Sec. 7-150. Total and permanent disability benefits -
Eligibility. Total and permanent disability benefits shall be
payable to participating employees as hereinafter provided,
including those employees receiving disability benefit on July
1, 1962.
(a) A participating employee shall be considered totally
and permanently disabled if:
1. He is unable to engage in any gainful activity
because of any medically determinable physical or mental
impairment which can be expected to result in death or be
of a long continued and indefinite duration, other than as
a result of self-inflicted injury or addiction to narcotic
drugs;
2. The Board has received a written certification by
at least 1 licensed and practicing physician stating that
the employee meets the qualifications of subparagraph 1 of
this paragraph (a).

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(b) A totally and permanently disabled employee is
entitled to a permanent disability benefit provided:
1. He has exhausted his temporary disability benefits.
2. He:
(i) has at least one year of service immediately
preceding the date the disability was incurred and has
made contributions to the fund for at least the number
of months of service normally required in his position
during a 12 month period, or has at least 5 years of
service credit, the last year of which immediately
preceded the date the disability was incurred; or
(ii) had qualified under clause (i) above, but had
an interruption in service of not more than 3 months in
the 12 months preceding the date the temporary
disability was incurred and was not paid a separation
benefit; or
(iii) had qualified under clause (i) above, but
had an interruption after 20 or more years of
creditable service, was not paid a separation benefit,
and returned to service prior to the date the
disability was incurred.
Item (iii) of this subdivision shall apply to all
employees whose disabilities were incurred on or after
July 1, 1985, and any such employee who becomes eligible
for a disability benefit under item (iii) shall be
entitled to receive a lump sum payment of any accumulated

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disability benefits which may accrue from the date the
disability was incurred until the effective date of this
amendatory Act of 1987.
Periods of qualified leave granted in compliance with
the federal Family and Medical Leave Act shall be ignored
for purposes of determining the number of consecutive
months of employment under this subdivision (b)2.
3. He is receiving no earnings from a participating
municipality or instrumentality thereof or participating
instrumentality, except as allowed under subsection (f) of
Section 7-152.
4. He has not refused to submit to a reasonable
physical examination by a physician appointed by the
Board.
5. His disability is not the result of a mental or
physical condition which existed on the earliest date of
service from which he has uninterrupted service, including
prior service, at the date of his disability, provided
that this limitation shall not be applicable to a
participating employee who, without receiving a disability
benefit, receives 5 years of creditable service.
6. He is not separated from the service of his
employing participating municipality or instrumentality
thereof or participating instrumentality on the date his
temporary disability was incurred; for the purposes of
payment of total and permanent disability benefits, a

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participating employee, whose employment relationship is
terminated by his employing municipality, shall be deemed
not to be separated from the service of his employing
municipality or participating instrumentality if he
continues disabled by the same condition and so long as he
is otherwise entitled to such disability benefit.
7. He has not refused to apply for a disability
benefit under the Federal Social Security Act at the
request of the Board.
8. He has not failed or refused to consent to and sign
an authorization allowing the Board to receive copies of
or to examine his medical and hospital records.
9. He has not failed or refused to provide complete
information regarding any other employment for
compensation he has received since becoming disabled.
(c) A participating employee shall remain eligible and may
make application for a total and permanent disability benefit
within 90 days after the termination of his temporary
disability benefits or within such longer period terminating
at the end of the period during which his employing
municipality is prevented from employing him by reason of any
statutory prohibition.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, a
firefighter or firefighter/paramedic who participates under
this Article, has 5 or more years of creditable service, and is
found unable to perform his or her duties in the fire

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department by reason of heart disease, stroke, tuberculosis,
or any disease of the lungs or respiratory tract, resulting
from service as a firefighter, is entitled to an occupational
disease disability pension during any period of such
disability for which he or she has no right to receive salary.
Any active firefighter or firefighter/paramedic who
participates under this Article, has completed 5 or more years
of service, and is unable to perform his or her duties in the
fire department by reason of a disabling cancer, which
develops or manifests itself during a period while the
firefighter or firefighter/paramedic is in the service of the
fire department, shall be entitled to receive an occupational
disease disability benefit during any period of such
disability for which he or she does not have a right to receive
salary. In order to receive this occupational disease
disability benefit, (i) the type of cancer involved must be a
type that may be caused by exposure to heat, radiation, or a
known carcinogen, as defined by the International Agency for
Research on Cancer, and (ii) the cancer must (and is
rebuttably presumed to) arise as a result of service as a
firefighter.
A firefighter or firefighter/paramedic who participates
under this Article and who enters the service after August 27,
1971 shall be examined by one or more practicing physicians
appointed by the Board. If the examination discloses
impairment of the heart, lungs, or respiratory tract, or the

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existence of any cancer, the firefighter or
firefighter/paramedic who participates under this Article
shall not be entitled to the occupational disease disability
pension unless and until a subsequent examination reveals no
such impairment or cancer.
The occupational disease disability pension shall be equal
to the greater of (1) 65% of the salary attached to the rank
held by the firefighter in the fire service at the time of his
or her removal from the municipality's fire department payroll
or (2) the retirement pension that the firefighter or
firefighter/paramedic would be eligible to receive if he or
she retired (but not including any automatic annual increase
in that retirement pension).
The firefighter or firefighter/paramedic who participates
under this Article is also entitled to a child's disability
benefit of $20 a month for each natural or legally adopted
unmarried child less than age 18 who is dependent upon the
firefighter or firefighter/paramedic for support. The total
child's disability benefit when added to the occupational
disease disability pension shall not exceed 75% of the
firefighter's or firefighter/paramedic's salary at the time of
the grant of occupational disease disability pension.
The occupational disease disability pension is payable to
the firefighter or firefighter/paramedic during the period of
the disability. If the disability ceases before the death of
the firefighter or firefighter/paramedic, the disability

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pension payable under this Section shall also cease, and the
firefighter or firefighter/paramedic thereafter shall receive
such pension benefits as are provided in accordance with other
provisions of this Article.
If a firefighter or firefighter/paramedic who participates
under this Article dies while still disabled and receiving a
disability pension under this Section, the disability pension
shall continue to be paid to the firefighter's or
firefighter/paramedic's survivors. A pension previously
granted under this Section to a firefighter or
firefighter/paramedic who died while receiving a disability
pension under this Section shall be deemed to be a
continuation of the pension provided under this Section and
shall be deemed to be in the nature of worker's occupational
disease compensation payments. The changes to this Section
made by this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly are
intended to be retroactive and are not limited to persons in
service on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act
of the 102nd General Assembly.
The child's disability benefit shall terminate if the
disability ceases while the firefighter or
firefighter/paramedic is alive or when the child or children
attain age 18 or marry, whichever event occurs first, except
that benefits payable on account of a child under this Section
shall not be reduced or terminated by reason of the child's
attainment of age 18 if he or she is then dependent by reason

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of a physical or mental disability but shall continue to be
paid as long as such dependency continues. Individuals over
the age of 18 and adjudged as a disabled person pursuant to
Article XIa of the Probate Act of 1975, except for persons
receiving benefits under Article III of the Illinois Public
Aid Code, shall be eligible to receive benefits under this
Act.
(Source: P.A. 101-151, eff. 7-26-19.)
(40 ILCS 5/7-156) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 7-156)
Sec. 7-156. Surviving spouse annuities - amount.
(a) The amount of surviving spouse annuity shall be:
1. Upon the death of an employee annuitant or such person
entitled, upon application, to a retirement annuity at date of
death, (i) an amount equal to 1/2 of the retirement annuity
which was or would have been payable exclusive of the amount so
payable which was provided from additional credits, and
disregarding any election made under paragraph (b) of Section
7-142, plus (ii) an annuity which could be provided at the then
attained age of the surviving spouse and under actuarial
tables then in effect, from the excess of the additional
credits, (excluding any such credits used to create a
reversionary annuity) used to provide the annuity granted
pursuant to paragraph (a) (2) of Section 7-142 of this article
over the total annuity payments made pursuant thereto.
2. Upon the death of a participating employee on or after

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attainment of age 55, an amount equal to 1/2 of the retirement
annuity which he could have had as of the date of death had he
then retired and applied for annuity, exclusive of the portion
thereof which could have been provided from additional
credits, and disregarding paragraph (b) of Section 7-142, plus
an amount equal to the annuity which could be provided from the
total of his accumulated additional credits at date of death,
on the basis of the attained age of the surviving spouse on
such date.
3. Upon the death of a participating employee before age
55, an amount equal to 1/2 of the retirement annuity which he
could have had as of his attained age on the date of death, had
he then retired and applied for annuity, and the provisions of
this Article that no such annuity shall begin until the
employee has attained at least age 55 were not applicable,
exclusive of the portion thereof which could have been
provided from additional credits and disregarding paragraph
(b) of Section 7-142, plus an amount equal to the annuity which
could be provided from the total of his accumulated additional
credits at date of death, on the basis of the attained age of
the surviving spouse on such date.
In the case of the surviving spouse of a person who dies
before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th
General Assembly, if the surviving spouse is more than 5 years
younger than the deceased, that portion of the annuity which
is not based on additional credits shall be reduced in the

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ratio of the value of a life annuity of $1 per year at an age
of 5 years less than the attained age of the deceased, at the
earlier of the date of the death or the date his retirement
annuity begins, to the value of a life annuity of $1 per year
at the attained age of the surviving spouse on such date,
according to actuarial tables approved by the Board. This
reduction does not apply to the surviving spouse of a person
who dies on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act
of the 94th General Assembly.
In computing the amount of a surviving spouse annuity,
incremental increases of retirement annuities to the date of
death of the employee annuitant shall be considered.
(b) Each surviving spouse annuity payable on January 1,
1988 shall be increased on that date by 3% of the original
amount of the annuity. Each surviving spouse annuity that
begins after January 1, 1988 shall be increased on the January
1 next occurring after the annuity begins, by an amount equal
to (i) 3% of the original amount thereof if the deceased
employee was receiving a retirement annuity at the time of his
death; otherwise (ii) 0.167% of the original amount thereof
for each complete month which has elapsed since the date the
annuity began.
On each January 1 after the date of the initial increase
under this subsection, each surviving spouse annuity shall be
increased by 3% of the originally granted amount of the
annuity.

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(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article,
the pension of the surviving spouse of a firefighter who
qualifies as a sheriff's law enforcement employee under
paragraph (6) of subsection (a) of Section 7-109.3 and dies on
or after January 1, 1988 as a result of sickness, accident, or
injury incurred in or resulting from the performance of an act
of duty or from the cumulative effects of acts of duty shall
not be less than 100% of the salary attached to the rank held
by the deceased firefighter on the last day of service.
(Source: P.A. 94-712, eff. 6-1-06.)
Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding
Section 8.45 as follows:
(30 ILCS 805/8.45 new)
Sec. 8.45. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and
8 of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for
the implementation of any mandate created by this amendatory
Act of the 102nd General Assembly.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.".