HB5598 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 17868 SPS 31304 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB5598

Introduced 2/13/2026, by Rep. Wayne A. Rosenthal

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

820 ILCS 315/2	from Ch. 48, par. 282
820 ILCS 315/3	from Ch. 48, par. 283
820 ILCS 315/4	from Ch. 48, par. 284

Amends the Line of Duty Compensation Act. Includes animal control officers and animal wardens within the scope of the Act. Defines terms.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning employment.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Line of Duty Compensation Act is amended by changing Sections 2, 3, and 4 as follows:

(820 ILCS 315/2) (from Ch. 48, par. 282)

Sec. 2. As used in this Act, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) "Law enforcement officer" or "officer" means any person employed by the State or a local governmental entity as a policeman, peace officer, auxiliary policeman or in some like position involving the enforcement of the law and protection of the public interest at the risk of that person's life. This includes supervisors, wardens, superintendents and their assistants, guards and keepers, correctional officers, youth supervisors, parole agents, aftercare specialists, school teachers, and correctional counselors in all facilities of both the Department of Corrections and the Department of Juvenile Justice, while within the facilities under the control of the Department of Corrections or the Department of Juvenile Justice or in the act of transporting inmates or wards from one location to another or while performing their official duties, and all other Department of Corrections or Department of Juvenile Justice employees who have daily contact with inmates. For the purposes of this Act, "law enforcement officer" or "officer" also means a probation officer, as defined in Section 9b of the Probation and Probation Officers Act.

The death of the foregoing employees of the Department of Corrections or the Department of Juvenile Justice in order to be included herein must be by the direct or indirect willful act of an inmate, ward, work-releasee, parolee, aftercare releasee, parole violator, aftercare release violator, person under conditional release, or any person sentenced or committed, or otherwise subject to confinement in or to the Department of Corrections or the Department of Juvenile Justice.

(b) "Fireman" means any person employed by the State or a local governmental entity as, or otherwise serving as, a member or officer of a fire department either for the purpose of the prevention or control of fire or the underwater recovery of drowning victims, including volunteer firemen.

(c) "Local governmental entity" includes counties, municipalities, and municipal corporations.

(d) "State" means the State of Illinois and its departments, divisions, boards, bureaus, commissions, authorities, and colleges and universities.

(e) "Killed in the line of duty" means losing one's life as a result of injury received in the active performance of duties as a law enforcement officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, or chaplain, animal control officer, or animal warden if the death occurs within one year from the date the injury was received and if that injury arose from violence or other accidental cause. In the case of a State employee, "killed in the line of duty" means losing one's life as a result of injury received in the active performance of one's duties as a State employee, if the death occurs within one year from the date the injury was received and if that injury arose from a willful act of violence by another State employee committed during such other employee's course of employment and after January 1, 1988. The term excludes death resulting from the willful misconduct or intoxication of the officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, animal control officer, animal warden, or State employee. However, the burden of proof of such willful misconduct or intoxication of the officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, animal control officer, animal warden, or State employee is on the Attorney General. Subject to the conditions set forth in subsection (a) with respect to inclusion under this Act of Department of Corrections and Department of Juvenile Justice employees described in that subsection, for the purposes of this Act, instances in which a law enforcement officer receives an injury in the active performance of duties as a law enforcement officer include, but are not limited to, instances when:

(1) the injury is received as a result of a willful act of violence committed other than by the officer and a relationship exists between the commission of such act and the officer's performance of his duties as a law enforcement officer, whether or not the injury is received while the officer is on duty as a law enforcement officer;

(2) the injury is received by the officer while the officer is attempting to prevent the commission of a criminal act by another or attempting to apprehend an individual the officer suspects has committed a crime, whether or not the injury is received while the officer is on duty as a law enforcement officer;

(3) the injury is received by the officer while the officer is traveling to or from his employment as a law enforcement officer or during any meal break, or other break, which takes place during the period in which the officer is on duty as a law enforcement officer.

In the case of an Armed Forces member, "killed in the line of duty" means losing one's life while on active duty in connection with the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Freedom's Sentinel, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation New Dawn, or Operation Inherent Resolve.

(f) "Volunteer fireman" means a person having principal employment other than as a fireman, but who is carried on the rolls of a regularly constituted fire department either for the purpose of the prevention or control of fire or the underwater recovery of drowning victims, the members of which are under the jurisdiction of the corporate authorities of a city, village, incorporated town, or fire protection district, and includes a volunteer member of a fire department organized under the General Not for Profit Corporation Act, which is under contract with any city, village, incorporated town, fire protection district, or persons residing therein, for fire fighting services. "Volunteer fireman" does not mean an individual who volunteers assistance without being regularly enrolled as a fireman.

(g) "Civil defense worker" means any person employed by the State or a local governmental entity as, or otherwise serving as, a member of a civil defense work force, including volunteer civil defense work forces engaged in serving the public interest during periods of disaster, whether natural or man-made.

(h) "Civil air patrol member" means any person employed by the State or a local governmental entity as, or otherwise serving as, a member of the organization commonly known as the "Civil Air Patrol", including volunteer members of the organization commonly known as the "Civil Air Patrol".

(i) "Paramedic" means an Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic certified by the Illinois Department of Public Health under the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act, and all other emergency medical personnel certified by the Illinois Department of Public Health who are members of an organized body or not-for-profit corporation under the jurisdiction of a city, village, incorporated town, fire protection district, or county, that provides emergency medical treatment to persons of a defined geographical area.

(j) "State employee" means any employee as defined in Section 14-103.05 of the Illinois Pension Code.

(k) "Chaplain" means an individual who:

(1) is a chaplain of (i) a fire department or (ii) a police department or other agency consisting of law enforcement officers; and

(2) has been designated a chaplain by (i) the fire department, police department, or other agency or an officer or body having jurisdiction over the department or agency or (ii) a labor organization representing the firemen or law enforcement officers.

(l) "Armed Forces member" means an Illinois resident who is: a member of the Armed Forces of the United States; a member of the Illinois National Guard while on active military service pursuant to an order of the President of the United States; or a member of any reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States while on active military service pursuant to an order of the President of the United States.

(m) "Animal control officer" or "animal warden" means an employee of a State or local governmental entity appointed or employed to enforce State and local animal regulation statutes and protect public health and safety.

(Source: P.A. 102-221, eff. 1-1-22; 103-605, eff. 7-1-24.)

(820 ILCS 315/3) (from Ch. 48, par. 283)

Sec. 3. Duty death benefit.

(a) If a claim therefor is made within 2 years of the date of death of a law enforcement officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, animal control officer, animal warden, or State employee killed in the line of duty, or if a claim therefor is made within 2 years of the date of death of an Armed Forces member killed in the line of duty, compensation shall be paid to the person designated by the law enforcement officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, animal control officer, animal warden, State employee, or Armed Forces member. However, if the Armed Forces member was killed in the line of duty before October 18, 2004, the claim must be made within one year of October 18, 2004. In addition, if a death occurred after December 31, 2016 and before January 1, 2021, the claim may be made no later than December 31, 2022 notwithstanding any other deadline established under this Act with respect to filing a claim for a duty death benefit.

(b) The amount of compensation, except for an Armed Forces member, shall be $10,000 if the death in the line of duty occurred prior to January 1, 1974; $20,000 if such death occurred after December 31, 1973 and before July 1, 1983; $50,000 if such death occurred on or after July 1, 1983 and before January 1, 1996; $100,000 if the death occurred on or after January 1, 1996 and before May 18, 2001; $118,000 if the death occurred on or after May 18, 2001 and before July 1, 2002; and $259,038 if the death occurred on or after July 1, 2002 and before January 1, 2003. For an Armed Forces member killed in the line of duty (i) at any time before January 1, 2005, the compensation is $259,038 plus amounts equal to the increases for 2003 and 2004 determined under subsection (c) and (ii) on or after January 1, 2005, the compensation is the amount determined under item (i) plus the applicable increases for 2005 and thereafter determined under subsection (c).

(c) Except as provided in subsection (b), for deaths occurring on or after January 1, 2003, the death compensation rate for death in the line of duty occurring in a particular calendar year shall be the death compensation rate for death occurring in the previous calendar year (or in the case of deaths occurring in 2003, the rate in effect on December 31, 2002) increased by a percentage thereof equal to the percentage increase, if any, in the index known as the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: U.S. city average, unadjusted, for all items, as published by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, for the 12 months ending with the month of June of that previous calendar year.

(d) If no beneficiary is designated or if no designated beneficiary survives at the death of the law enforcement officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, animal control officer, animal warden, or State employee killed in the line of duty, the compensation shall be paid in accordance with a legally binding will left by the law enforcement officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, animal control officer, animal warden, or State employee. If the law enforcement officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, animal control officer, animal warden, or State employee did not leave a legally binding will, the compensation shall be paid as follows:

(1) when there is a surviving spouse, the entire sum shall be paid to the spouse;

(2) when there is no surviving spouse, but a surviving descendant of the decedent, the entire sum shall be paid to the decedent's descendants per stirpes;

(3) when there is neither a surviving spouse nor a surviving descendant, the entire sum shall be paid to the parents of the decedent in equal parts, allowing to the surviving parent, if one is dead, the entire sum; and

(4) when there is no surviving spouse, descendant or parent of the decedent, but there are surviving brothers or sisters, or descendants of a brother or sister, who were receiving their principal support from the decedent at his death, the entire sum shall be paid, in equal parts, to the dependent brothers or sisters or dependent descendant of a brother or sister. Dependency shall be determined by the Court of Claims based upon the investigation and report of the Attorney General. The changes made to this subsection (d) by this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly apply to any pending case as long as compensation has not been paid to any party before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly.

(d-1) For purposes of subsection (d), in the case of a person killed in the line of duty who was born out of wedlock and was not an adoptive child at the time of the person's death, a person shall be deemed to be a parent of the person killed in the line of duty only if that person would be an eligible parent, as defined in Section 2-2 of the Probate Act of 1975, of the person killed in the line of duty. This subsection (d-1) applies to any pending claim if compensation was not paid to the claimant of the pending claim before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly.

(d-2) If no beneficiary is designated or if no designated beneficiary survives at the death of the Armed Forces member killed in the line of duty, the compensation shall be paid in entirety according to the designation made on the most recent version of the Armed Forces member's Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance Election and Certificate ("SGLI").

If no SGLI form exists at the time of the Armed Forces member's death, the compensation shall be paid in accordance with a legally binding will left by the Armed Forces member.

If no SGLI form exists for the Armed Forces member and the Armed Forces member did not leave a legally binding will, the compensation shall be paid to the persons and in the priority as set forth in paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (d) of this Section.

This subsection (d-2) applies to any pending case as long as compensation has not been paid to any party before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly.

(e) If there is no beneficiary designated or if no designated beneficiary survives at the death of the law enforcement officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, animal control officer, animal warden, State employee, or Armed Forces member killed in the line of duty and there is no other person or entity to whom compensation is payable under this Section, no compensation shall be payable under this Act.

(f) No part of such compensation may be paid to any other person for any efforts in securing such compensation.

(g) This amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly applies to claims made on or after October 18, 2004 with respect to an Armed Forces member killed in the line of duty.

(h) In any case for which benefits have not been paid within 6 months of the claim being filed in accordance with this Section, which is pending as of the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, and in which there are 2 or more beneficiaries, at least one of whom would receive at least a portion of the total benefit regardless of the manner in which the Court of Claims resolves the claim, the Court shall direct the Comptroller to pay the minimum amount of money which the determinate beneficiary would receive together with all interest payment penalties which have accrued on that portion of the award being paid within 30 days of the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly. For purposes of this subsection (h), "determinate beneficiary" means the beneficiary who would receive any portion of the total benefit claimed regardless of the manner in which the Court of Claims adjudicates the claim.

(i) The Court of Claims shall ensure that all individuals who have filed an application to claim the duty death benefit for a deceased member of the Armed Forces pursuant to this Section or for a fireman pursuant to this Section, or their designated representative, shall have access, on a timely basis and in an efficient manner, to all information related to the court's consideration, processing, or adjudication of the claim, including, but not limited to, the following:

(1) a reliable estimate of when the Court of Claims will adjudicate the claim, or if the Court cannot estimate when it will adjudicate the claim, a full written explanation of the reasons for this inability; and

(2) a reliable estimate, based upon consultation with the Comptroller, of when the benefit will be paid to the claimant.

(j) The Court of Claims shall send written notice to all claimants within 2 weeks of the initiation of a claim indicating whether or not the application is complete. For purposes of this subsection (j), an application is complete if a claimant has submitted to the Court of Claims all documents and information the Court requires for adjudicating and paying the benefit amount. For purposes of this subsection (j), a claim for the duty death benefit is initiated when a claimant submits any of the application materials required for adjudicating the claim to the Court of Claims. In the event a claimant's application is incomplete, the Court shall include in its written notice a list of the information or documents which the claimant must submit in order for the application to be complete. In no case may the Court of Claims deny a claim and subsequently re-adjudicate the same claim for the purpose of evading or reducing the interest penalty payment amount payable to any claimant.

(Source: P.A. 102-215, eff. 7-30-21; 103-8, eff. 6-7-23.)

(820 ILCS 315/4) (from Ch. 48, par. 284)

Sec. 4. Notwithstanding Section 3, no compensation is payable under this Act unless a claim therefor is filed, within the time specified by that Section with the Court of Claims on an application prescribed and furnished by the Attorney General and setting forth:

(a) the name, address and title or designation of the position in which the officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, animal control officer, animal warden, State employee, or Armed Forces member was serving at the time of his death;

(b) the names and addresses of person or persons designated by the officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, animal control officer, animal warden, State employee, or Armed Forces member to receive the compensation and, if more than one, the percentage or share to be paid to each such person, or if there has been no such designation, the name and address of the personal representative of the estate of the officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, animal control officer, animal warden, State employee, or Armed Forces member;

(c) a full, factual account of the circumstances resulting in or the course of events causing the death of the officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, animal control officer, animal warden, State employee, or Armed Forces member; and

(d) such other information as the Court of Claims reasonably requires.

When a claim is filed, the Attorney General shall make an investigation for substantiation of matters set forth in such an application.

For the 2 years immediately following the effective date of this amendatory act of the 96th General Assembly, the Court of Claims shall direct the Comptroller to pay a "Modified-Eligibility Line of Duty Benefit" to eligible late claimants who file a claim for the benefit. A claim for a Modified-Eligibility Line of Duty Benefit must include all the application materials and documents required for all other claims payable under this Act, except as otherwise provided in this Section 4. For purposes of this Section 4 only, an "eligible late claimant" is a person who would have been eligible, at any time after September 11, 2001, to apply for and receive payment of a claim pursuant to this Act in connection with the death of an Armed Forces member killed in the line of duty or a fireman killed in the line of duty, but did not receive the award payment because:

(1) the claim was rejected only because the claim was not filed within the time limitation set forth in subsection (a) of Section 3 of this Act; or

(2) having met all other preconditions for applying for and receiving the award payment, the claimant did not file a claim because the claim would not have been filed within the time limitation set forth in subsection (a) of Section 3 of this Act. For purposes of this Section 4 only, the "Modified-Eligibility Line of Duty Benefit" is an amount of money payable to eligible late claimants equal to the amount set forth in Section 3 of this Act payable to claimants seeking payment of awards under Section 3 of this Act for claims made thereunder in the year in which the claim for the Modified-Eligibility Line of Duty Benefit is made. Within 6 months of receiving a complete claim for the Modified-Eligibility Line of Duty Benefit, the Court of Claims must direct the Comptroller to pay the benefit amount to the eligible late claimant.

(Source: P.A. 96-539, eff. 1-1-10; 96-923, eff. 1-1-11.)