Bill Text: IL SB1243 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the State Universities Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that if a police officer, as the result of sickness, accident, or injury incurred in or resulting from the performance of an act of duty, is found to be physically or mentally disabled for service as a police officer so as to render necessary his or her suspension or retirement from the police service or is found to be unable to perform his or her duties as a police officer by reason of heart disease, stroke, tuberculosis, or any disease of the lungs or respiratory tract, resulting from service as a police officer, then the police officer shall be entitled to a line of duty disability annuity equal to the greater of: (1) 65% of the salary attached to the rank on the police force held by the officer at the date of suspension of duty or retirement; or (2) the retirement annuity that the police officer would be eligible to receive if he or she retired (but not including any automatic annual increase in that retirement annuity). Provides that a police officer shall be considered to be in the performance of an act of duty while on any assignment approved by the police officer's chief, whether the assignment is on or off the employer's property. Provides that if a police officer who receives a line of duty disability annuity under the provisions dies while still disabled, the line of duty disability retirement annuity shall continue to be paid to his or her survivors. Provides that any benefit increase that results from the amendatory Act is excluded from the definition of "new benefit increase". Contains provisions concerning annual increases; verification of disability; and applicability. Makes conforming and other changes.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced) 2023-03-02 - Added as Chief Co-Sponsor Sen. Michael W. Halpin [SB1243 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SB1243-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 SB1243 Introduced 2/2/2023, by Sen. Chapin Rose SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
40 ILCS 5/15-103.1
40 ILCS 5/15-103.2
40 ILCS 5/15-103.3
40 ILCS 5/15-107 from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-107
40 ILCS 5/15-153.3 from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-153.3
40 ILCS 5/15-153.4 new
40 ILCS 5/15-198
Amends the State Universities Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that if a police officer, as the result of sickness, accident, or injury incurred in or resulting from the performance of an act of duty, is found to be physically or mentally disabled for service as a police officer so as to render necessary his or her suspension or retirement from the police service or is found to be unable to perform his or her duties as a police officer by reason of heart disease, stroke, tuberculosis, or any disease of the lungs or respiratory tract, resulting from service as a police officer, then the police officer shall be entitled to a line of duty disability annuity equal to the greater of: (1) 65% of the salary attached to the rank on the police force held by the officer at the date of suspension of duty or retirement; or (2) the retirement annuity that the police officer would be eligible to receive if he or she retired (but not including any automatic annual increase in that retirement annuity). Provides that a police officer shall be considered to be in the performance of an act of duty while on any assignment approved by the police officer's chief, whether the assignment is on or off the employer's property. Provides that if a police officer who receives a line of duty disability annuity under the provisions dies while still disabled, the line of duty disability retirement annuity shall continue to be paid to his or her survivors. Provides that any benefit increase that results from the amendatory Act is excluded from the definition of "new benefit increase". Contains provisions concerning annual increases; verification of disability; and applicability. Makes conforming and other changes.
LRB103 25723 RPS 52072 b
A BILL FOR
SB1243 LRB103 25723 RPS 52072 b
AN ACT concerning public employee benefits.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by
changing Sections 15-103.1, 15-103.2, 15-103.3, 15-107,
15-153.3, and 15-198 and by adding Section 15-153.4 as
follows:
(40 ILCS 5/15-103.1)
Sec. 15-103.1. Traditional Benefit Package. "Traditional
benefit package": The defined benefit retirement program
maintained under the System which includes retirement
annuities payable directly from the System as provided in
Sections 15-135 through 15-140 (but disregarding Section
15-136.4), disability retirement annuities payable under
Section 15-153.2, line of duty disability annuities under
Section 15-153.4, death benefits payable directly from the
System as provided in Sections 15-141 through 15-144,
survivors insurance benefits payable directly from the System
as provided in Sections 15-145 through 15-149, and
contribution refunds as provided in Section 15-154. The
traditional benefit package also includes disability benefits
as provided in Sections 15-150 through 15-153.3.
(Source: P.A. 90-766, eff. 8-14-98.)

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(40 ILCS 5/15-103.2)
Sec. 15-103.2. Portable Benefit Package. "Portable benefit
package": The defined benefit retirement program maintained
under the System which includes retirement annuities payable
directly from the System as provided in Sections 15-135
through 15-139 (specifically including Section 15-136.4),
disability retirement annuities payable under Section
15-153.2, line of duty disability annuities under Section
15-153.4, death benefits payable directly from the System as
provided in Sections 15-141 through 15-144, and contribution
refunds as provided in Section 15-154. The portable benefit
package also includes disability benefits as provided in
Sections 15-150 through 15-153.3. The portable benefit package
does not include the survivors insurance benefits payable
directly from the System as provided in Sections 15-145
through 15-149.
(Source: P.A. 90-766, eff. 8-14-98.)
(40 ILCS 5/15-103.3)
Sec. 15-103.3. Self-Managed Plan. "Self-managed plan": The
defined contribution retirement program maintained under the
System as described in Section 15-158.2. The self-managed plan
also includes disability benefits as provided in Sections
15-150 through 15-153.3 (but disregarding disability
retirement annuities under Section 15-153.2) and line of duty

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disability annuities under Section 15-153.4. The self-managed
plan does not include retirement annuities, death benefits, or
survivors insurance benefits payable directly from the System
as provided in Sections 15-135 through 15-149 and Section
15-153.2, or refunds determined under Section 15-154.
(Source: P.A. 90-766, eff. 8-14-98.)
(40 ILCS 5/15-107) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-107)
Sec. 15-107. Employee.
(a) "Employee" means any member of the educational,
administrative, secretarial, clerical, mechanical, labor or
other staff of an employer whose employment is permanent and
continuous or who is employed in a position in which services
are expected to be rendered on a continuous basis for at least
4 months or one academic term, whichever is less, who (A)
receives payment for personal services on a warrant issued
pursuant to a payroll voucher certified by an employer and
drawn by the State Comptroller upon the State Treasurer or by
an employer upon trust, federal or other funds, or (B) is on a
leave of absence without pay. Employment which is irregular,
intermittent or temporary shall not be considered continuous
for purposes of this paragraph.
However, a person is not an "employee" if he or she:
(1) is a student enrolled in and regularly attending
classes in a college or university which is an employer,
and is employed on a temporary basis at less than full

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time;
(2) is currently receiving a retirement annuity or a
disability retirement annuity under Section 15-153.2 from
this System;
(3) is on a military leave of absence;
(4) is eligible to participate in the Federal Civil
Service Retirement System and is currently making
contributions to that system based upon earnings paid by
an employer;
(5) is on leave of absence without pay for more than 60
days immediately following termination of disability
benefits under this Article;
(6) is hired after June 30, 1979 as a public service
employment program participant under the Federal
Comprehensive Employment and Training Act and receives
earnings in whole or in part from funds provided under
that Act; or
(7) is employed on or after July 1, 1991 to perform
services that are excluded by subdivision (a)(7)(f) or
(a)(19) of Section 210 of the federal Social Security Act
from the definition of employment given in that Section
(42 U.S.C. 410); or .
(8) receives a line of duty disability annuity under
Section 15-153.4.
(b) Any employer may, by filing a written notice with the
board, exclude from the definition of "employee" all persons

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employed pursuant to a federally funded contract entered into
after July 1, 1982 with a federal military department in a
program providing training in military courses to federal
military personnel on a military site owned by the United
States Government, if this exclusion is not prohibited by the
federally funded contract or federal laws or rules governing
the administration of the contract.
(c) Any person appointed by the Governor under the Civil
Administrative Code of Illinois is an employee, if he or she is
a participant in this system on the effective date of the
appointment.
(d) A participant on lay-off status under civil service
rules is considered an employee for not more than 120 days from
the date of the lay-off.
(e) A participant is considered an employee during (1) the
first 60 days of disability leave, (2) the period, not to
exceed one year, in which his or her eligibility for
disability benefits is being considered by the board or
reviewed by the courts, and (3) the period he or she receives
disability benefits under the provisions of Section 15-152,
workers' compensation or occupational disease benefits, or
disability income under an insurance contract financed wholly
or partially by the employer.
(f) Absences without pay, other than formal leaves of
absence, of less than 30 calendar days, are not considered as
an interruption of a person's status as an employee. If such

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absences during any period of 12 months exceed 30 work days,
the employee status of the person is considered as interrupted
as of the 31st work day.
(g) A staff member whose employment contract requires
services during an academic term is to be considered an
employee during the summer and other vacation periods, unless
he or she declines an employment contract for the succeeding
academic term or his or her employment status is otherwise
terminated, and he or she receives no earnings during these
periods.
(h) An individual who was a participating employee
employed in the fire department of the University of
Illinois's Champaign-Urbana campus immediately prior to the
elimination of that fire department and who immediately after
the elimination of that fire department became employed by the
fire department of the City of Urbana or the City of Champaign
shall continue to be considered as an employee for purposes of
this Article for so long as the individual remains employed as
a firefighter by the City of Urbana or the City of Champaign.
The individual shall cease to be considered an employee under
this subsection (h) upon the first termination of the
individual's employment as a firefighter by the City of Urbana
or the City of Champaign.
(i) An individual who is employed on a full-time basis as
an officer or employee of a statewide teacher organization
that serves System participants or an officer of a national

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teacher organization that serves System participants may
participate in the System and shall be deemed an employee,
provided that (1) the individual has previously earned
creditable service under this Article, (2) the individual
files with the System an irrevocable election to become a
participant before January 5, 2012 (the effective date of
Public Act 97-651), (3) the individual does not receive credit
for that employment under any other Article of this Code, and
(4) the individual first became a full-time employee of the
teacher organization and becomes a participant before January
5, 2012 (the effective date of Public Act 97-651). An employee
under this subsection (i) is responsible for paying to the
System both (A) employee contributions based on the actual
compensation received for service with the teacher
organization and (B) employer contributions equal to the
normal costs (as defined in Section 15-155) resulting from
that service; all or any part of these contributions may be
paid on the employee's behalf or picked up for tax purposes (if
authorized under federal law) by the teacher organization.
A person who is an employee as defined in this subsection
(i) may establish service credit for similar employment prior
to becoming an employee under this subsection by paying to the
System for that employment the contributions specified in this
subsection, plus interest at the effective rate from the date
of service to the date of payment. However, credit shall not be
granted under this subsection for any such prior employment

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for which the applicant received credit under any other
provision of this Code, or during which the applicant was on a
leave of absence under Section 15-113.2.
(j) A person employed by the State Board of Higher
Education in a position with the Illinois Century Network as
of June 30, 2004 shall be considered to be an employee for so
long as he or she remains continuously employed after that
date by the Department of Central Management Services in a
position with the Illinois Century Network, the Bureau of
Communication and Computer Services, or, if applicable, any
successor bureau or the Department of Innovation and
Technology and meets the requirements of subsection (a).
(k) The Board shall promulgate rules with respect to
determining whether any person is an employee within the
meaning of this Section. In the case of doubt as to whether any
person is an employee within the meaning of this Section or any
rule adopted by the Board, the decision of the Board shall be
final.
(Source: P.A. 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; 101-321, eff. 8-9-19.)
(40 ILCS 5/15-153.3) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-153.3)
Sec. 15-153.3. Automatic increase in disability benefit.
Each disability benefit payable under Section 15-150 and
calculated under Section 15-153 or 15-153.2 and each line of
duty disability annuity under Section 15-153.4 that has not
yet received an initial increase under this Section shall be

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increased by 0.25% of the monthly disability benefit
multiplied by the number of full months that have elapsed
since the benefit began on January 1, 2002 or the January 1
next following the granting of the benefit, whichever occurs
later.
On each January 1 following the initial increase under
this Section, the disability benefit shall be increased by 3%
of the current amount of the benefit, including prior
increases under this Article.
The changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of
the 92nd General Assembly apply without regard to whether the
benefit recipient was in service on or after the effective
date of this amendatory Act.
(Source: P.A. 92-749, eff. 8-2-02.)
(40 ILCS 5/15-153.4 new)
Sec. 15-153.4. Line of duty disability annuity.
(a) This Section applies only to police officers, and the
annuities provided under this Section are in lieu of the
benefits under Section 15-150, disability retirement
annuities, and retirement annuities. If a police officer, as
the result of sickness, accident, or injury incurred in or
resulting from the performance of an act of duty, is found to
be physically or mentally disabled for service as a police
officer so as to render necessary his or her suspension or
retirement from the police service or is found to be unable to

SB1243 - 10 - LRB103 25723 RPS 52072 b
perform his or her duties as a police officer by reason of
heart disease, stroke, tuberculosis, or any disease of the
lungs or respiratory tract, resulting from service as a police
officer, then the police officer shall be entitled to a line of
duty disability annuity under this Section equal to the
greater of: (1) 65% of the salary attached to the rank on the
police force held by the officer at the date of suspension of
duty or retirement; or (2) the retirement annuity that the
police officer would be eligible to receive if he or she
retired (but not including any automatic annual increase in
that retirement annuity). The amount of the benefit shall be
subject to the reductions specified in Section 15-153.1.
Any police officer who suffers a heart attack or stroke as
a result of the performance and discharge of police duty shall
be considered to have been injured in the performance of an act
of duty and shall be eligible for the benefits provided under
this Section.
A police officer shall be considered to be in the
performance of an act of duty while on any assignment approved
by the police officer's chief, whether the assignment is on or
off the employer's property.
(b) A line of duty disability annuity shall not be paid
unless there is filed with the Board certificates of the
police officer's disability, subscribed and sworn to by the
police officer if he or she is not under legal disability, or
by a representative if the police officer is under legal

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disability, and by the police surgeon (if there is one) and 3
practicing physicians selected by the Board. The Board may
require other evidence of disability. Medical examination of a
police officer receiving a line of duty disability annuity
shall be made at least once each year prior to attainment of
age 50, as verification of the continuance of disability for
service as a police officer. No examination shall be required
after age 50.
(c) The System may take appropriate steps to verify the
applicant's disability and earnings status and, for this
purpose, may request from the Department of Revenue a
certified copy of the applicant's Illinois income tax return
for any year for which an annuity under this Section is payable
or has been paid.
(d) A disabled police officer who (1) is receiving a line
of duty disability annuity, (2) annually files with the
System, while the line of duty disability annuity remains
payable, a written application for the benefits of this
subsection, including an affidavit stating that the applicant
has not earned any income from gainful employment during the
most recently concluded tax year and a copy of his or her most
recent Illinois income tax return, (3) has service credit
under this Article for at least 7 years of active duty, and (4)
has been receiving the annuity under this Section for a period
that, when added to the officer's total service credit under
this Article, equals at least 20 years, shall be eligible to

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receive an annual noncompounded increase in his or her annuity
under this Section, equal to 3% of the original annuity. The
annual increase shall accrue on each anniversary of the
initial payment date of the line of duty disability annuity
under this Section for so long as the annuity remains payable
to the disabled police officer and the required annual
application is made, except that the annual increases under
this Section shall cease if the disabled police officer earns
income from gainful employment. Within 60 days after accepting
an initial application under this Section, the System shall
pay to the disabled police officer, in a lump sum without
interest, the amounts resulting from the annual increases that
have accrued retroactively.
(e) This Section is not limited to persons in active
service on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act
of the 103rd General Assembly, but it applies only to an
annuity that is payable under this Section to a disabled
police officer (rather than a survivor). Upon the death of the
disabled police officer, the line of duty disability annuity
payable under this Section to his or her survivors shall
include any annual increases previously received, but no
additional increases shall accrue under this subsection.
(f) If a police officer who receives a line of duty
disability annuity under this Section dies while still
disabled, the line of duty disability annuity under this
Section shall continue to be paid to his or her survivors in

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the sequence provided in Section 15-145 in lieu of the
survivors insurance benefits provided in Section 15-145,
unless the survivors insurance benefits are greater.
(g) The Board shall adopt rules governing the filing,
investigation, control, and supervision of line of duty
disability annuity claims.
(40 ILCS 5/15-198)
Sec. 15-198. Application and expiration of new benefit
increases.
(a) As used in this Section, "new benefit increase" means
an increase in the amount of any benefit provided under this
Article, or an expansion of the conditions of eligibility for
any benefit under this Article, that results from an amendment
to this Code that takes effect after June 1, 2005 (the
effective date of Public Act 94-4). "New benefit increase",
however, does not include any benefit increase resulting from
the changes made to Article 1 or this Article by Public Act
100-23, Public Act 100-587, Public Act 100-769, Public Act
101-10, Public Act 101-610, Public Act 102-16, or this
amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly this amendatory
Act of the 102nd General Assembly.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code or
any subsequent amendment to this Code, every new benefit
increase is subject to this Section and shall be deemed to be
granted only in conformance with and contingent upon

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compliance with the provisions of this Section.
(c) The Public Act enacting a new benefit increase must
identify and provide for payment to the System of additional
funding at least sufficient to fund the resulting annual
increase in cost to the System as it accrues.
Every new benefit increase is contingent upon the General
Assembly providing the additional funding required under this
subsection. The Commission on Government Forecasting and
Accountability shall analyze whether adequate additional
funding has been provided for the new benefit increase and
shall report its analysis to the Public Pension Division of
the Department of Insurance. A new benefit increase created by
a Public Act that does not include the additional funding
required under this subsection is null and void. If the Public
Pension Division determines that the additional funding
provided for a new benefit increase under this subsection is
or has become inadequate, it may so certify to the Governor and
the State Comptroller and, in the absence of corrective action
by the General Assembly, the new benefit increase shall expire
at the end of the fiscal year in which the certification is
made.
(d) Every new benefit increase shall expire 5 years after
its effective date or on such earlier date as may be specified
in the language enacting the new benefit increase or provided
under subsection (c). This does not prevent the General
Assembly from extending or re-creating a new benefit increase

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by law.
(e) Except as otherwise provided in the language creating
the new benefit increase, a new benefit increase that expires
under this Section continues to apply to persons who applied
and qualified for the affected benefit while the new benefit
increase was in effect and to the affected beneficiaries and
alternate payees of such persons, but does not apply to any
other person, including, without limitation, a person who
continues in service after the expiration date and did not
apply and qualify for the affected benefit while the new
benefit increase was in effect.
(Source: P.A. 101-10, eff. 6-5-19; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19;
101-610, eff. 1-1-20; 102-16, eff. 6-17-21.)