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1 | AN ACT concerning employment.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Court of Claims Act is amended by changing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5 | Section 24 as follows:
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6 | (705 ILCS 505/24) (from Ch. 37, par. 439.24)
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7 | Sec. 24. Payment of awards.
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8 | (1) From funds appropriated by the General Assembly for the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
9 | purposes
of this Section the Court may direct
immediate payment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10 | of:
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11 | (a) All claims arising solely as a result of the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
12 | lapsing of an
appropriation out of which the obligation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
13 | could have been paid.
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14 | (b) All claims pursuant to the Line of Duty
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15 | Compensation Act.
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16 | (c) All claims pursuant to the "Illinois National | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
17 | Guardsman's and
Naval Militiaman's Compensation Act", | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
18 | approved August 12, 1971, as
amended.
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19 | (d) All claims pursuant to the "Crime Victims | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
20 | Compensation Act",
approved August 23, 1973, as amended.
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21 | (e) All other claims wherein the amount of the award of | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
22 | the Court
is less than $5,000.
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23 | (2) The court may, from funds specifically appropriated |
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1 | from the General
Revenue Fund for this purpose, direct the | ||||||
2 | payment of awards less than $50,000
solely as a result
of the | ||||||
3 | lapsing of an appropriation originally made from any fund held | ||||||
4 | by the
State Treasurer. For any such award paid from the | ||||||
5 | General Revenue Fund, the
court
shall thereafter seek an | ||||||
6 | appropriation from the fund from which the liability
originally | ||||||
7 | accrued in reimbursement of the General Revenue Fund.
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8 | (3) In directing payment of a claim pursuant to the Line of | ||||||
9 | Duty
Compensation Act, the Court must direct the Comptroller to | ||||||
10 | add an interest penalty if payment of a claim is not made | ||||||
11 | within 6 months after a claim is filed in accordance with | ||||||
12 | Section 3 of the Line of Duty
Compensation Act and all | ||||||
13 | information has been submitted as required under Section 4 of | ||||||
14 | the Line of Duty
Compensation Act. If payment is not issued | ||||||
15 | within the 6-month period, an interest penalty of 1% of the | ||||||
16 | amount of the award shall be added for each month or fraction | ||||||
17 | thereof after the end of the 6-month period, until final | ||||||
18 | payment is made. This interest penalty shall be added | ||||||
19 | regardless of whether the payment is not issued within the | ||||||
20 | 6-month period because of the appropriation process, the | ||||||
21 | consideration of the matter by the Court, or any other reason. | ||||||
22 | (3.5) The interest penalty payment provided for in | ||||||
23 | subsection (3) shall be added to all claims for which benefits | ||||||
24 | were not paid as of the effective date of P.A. 95-928. The | ||||||
25 | interest penalty shall be calculated starting from the | ||||||
26 | effective date of P.A. 95-928, provided that the effective date |
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1 | of P.A. 95-928 is at least 6 months after the date on which the | ||||||
2 | claim was filed in accordance with Section 3 of the Line of | ||||||
3 | Duty Compensation Act. In the event that the date 6 months | ||||||
4 | after the date on which the claim was filed is later than the | ||||||
5 | effective date of P.A. 95-928, the Comptroller shall calculate | ||||||
6 | the interest payment penalty starting from the date 6 months | ||||||
7 | after the date on which the claim was filed in accordance with | ||||||
8 | Section 3 of the Line of Duty Compensation Act. This subsection | ||||||
9 | (3.5) of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly is | ||||||
10 | declarative of existing law. | ||||||
11 | (4)
(3) From funds appropriated by the General Assembly for | ||||||
12 | the purposes of
paying claims under paragraph (c) of Section 8, | ||||||
13 | the court must direct payment
of each claim and the payment | ||||||
14 | must be received by the claimant within 60 days after the date | ||||||
15 | that the funds are appropriated for that purpose.
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16 | (Source: P.A. 95-928, eff. 8-26-08; 95-970, eff. 9-22-08; | ||||||
17 | revised 10-14-08.)
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18 | Section 10. The Line of Duty Compensation Act is amended by | ||||||
19 | changing Section 3 as follows:
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20 | (820 ILCS 315/3)
(from Ch. 48, par. 283)
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21 | Sec. 3. Duty death benefit. | ||||||
22 | (a) If a claim therefor is made within one
year of the date | ||||||
23 | of death of a law enforcement officer, civil
defense worker, | ||||||
24 | civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, or
State |
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1 | employee killed in the line of duty,
or if a claim therefor is | ||||||
2 | made within 2 years of the date of death of an Armed Forces | ||||||
3 | member killed in the line of duty, compensation shall be paid | ||||||
4 | to the person designated by the law
enforcement officer, civil | ||||||
5 | defense worker, civil air patrol member, paramedic,
fireman, | ||||||
6 | chaplain, State employee, or Armed Forces member. However, if | ||||||
7 | the Armed Forces member was killed in the line of duty before
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8 | October 18, 2004, the
claim must be made within one year of | ||||||
9 | October 18, 2004.
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10 | (b)
The amount of compensation, except for an Armed Forces | ||||||
11 | member, shall be $10,000 if the death in the
line of duty | ||||||
12 | occurred prior to January 1, 1974; $20,000 if
such death | ||||||
13 | occurred after December 31, 1973 and before July 1, 1983;
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14 | $50,000 if such death occurred on or after July 1, 1983 and | ||||||
15 | before January 1,
1996; $100,000 if the death occurred on or | ||||||
16 | after January 1, 1996 and
before May 18, 2001; $118,000 if the | ||||||
17 | death occurred on or after May
18, 2001 and before July 1, | ||||||
18 | 2002; and $259,038 if the death occurred on or after July 1, | ||||||
19 | 2002 and before January
1, 2003. For an Armed Forces member | ||||||
20 | killed in the line of duty (i) at any time before January 1, | ||||||
21 | 2005, the compensation is $259,038 plus amounts equal to the | ||||||
22 | increases for 2003 and 2004 determined under subsection (c) and | ||||||
23 | (ii) on or after January 1, 2005, the compensation is the | ||||||
24 | amount determined under item (i) plus the applicable increases | ||||||
25 | for 2005 and thereafter determined under subsection (c).
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26 | (c) Except as provided in subsection (b), for deaths |
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1 | occurring on or after January 1, 2003, the death
compensation | ||||||
2 | rate for death in the line of duty occurring in a particular
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3 | calendar year shall be the death compensation rate for death | ||||||
4 | occurring in the
previous calendar year (or in the case of | ||||||
5 | deaths occurring in 2003, the rate
in effect on December 31, | ||||||
6 | 2002) increased by a percentage thereof equal to
the percentage | ||||||
7 | increase, if any, in the index known as the Consumer Price
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8 | Index for All Urban Consumers: U.S. city average, unadjusted, | ||||||
9 | for all items,
as published by the United States Department of | ||||||
10 | Labor, Bureau of Labor
Statistics, for the 12 months ending | ||||||
11 | with the month of June of that previous
calendar year.
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12 | (d) If no beneficiary is designated or if no designated | ||||||
13 | beneficiary survives at the death of the law
enforcement | ||||||
14 | officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member,
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15 | paramedic, fireman, chaplain, or State employee
killed in the | ||||||
16 | line of
duty, the compensation shall be paid in accordance with | ||||||
17 | a legally binding will left by the law
enforcement officer, | ||||||
18 | civil defense worker, civil air patrol member,
paramedic, | ||||||
19 | fireman, chaplain, or State employee. If the law
enforcement | ||||||
20 | officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member,
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21 | paramedic, fireman, chaplain, or State employee did not leave a | ||||||
22 | legally binding will, the compensation shall be paid as | ||||||
23 | follows:
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24 | (1) when there is a surviving spouse, the entire sum | ||||||
25 | shall be paid to
the spouse;
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26 | (2) when there is no surviving spouse, but a surviving |
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1 | descendant of the
decedent, the entire sum shall be paid to | ||||||
2 | the decedent's descendants per
stirpes;
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3 | (3) when there is neither a surviving spouse nor a | ||||||
4 | surviving descendant,
the entire sum shall be paid to the | ||||||
5 | parents of the decedent in equal parts,
allowing to the | ||||||
6 | surviving parent, if one is dead, the entire sum; and
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7 | (4) when there is no surviving spouse, descendant or | ||||||
8 | parent of the
decedent, but there are surviving brothers or | ||||||
9 | sisters, or descendants of a
brother or sister, who were | ||||||
10 | receiving their principal support from the
decedent at his | ||||||
11 | death, the entire sum shall be paid, in equal parts, to the
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12 | dependent brothers or sisters or dependent descendant of a | ||||||
13 | brother or
sister. Dependency shall be determined by the | ||||||
14 | Court of Claims based upon
the investigation and report of | ||||||
15 | the Attorney General.
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16 | The changes made to this subsection (d) by this amendatory Act | ||||||
17 | of the 94th General Assembly apply to any pending case as long | ||||||
18 | as compensation has not been paid to any party before the | ||||||
19 | effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General | ||||||
20 | Assembly.
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21 | (d-1) For purposes of subsection (d), in the case of a | ||||||
22 | person killed in the line of duty who was born out of wedlock | ||||||
23 | and was not an adoptive child at the time of the person's | ||||||
24 | death, a person shall be deemed to be a parent of the person | ||||||
25 | killed in the line of duty only if that person would be an | ||||||
26 | eligible parent, as defined in Section 2-2 of the Probate Act |
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1 | of 1975, of the person killed in the line of duty. This | ||||||
2 | subsection (d-1) applies to any pending claim if compensation | ||||||
3 | was not paid to the claimant of the pending claim before the | ||||||
4 | effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General | ||||||
5 | Assembly.
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6 | (d-2) If no beneficiary is designated or if no designated | ||||||
7 | beneficiary survives at the death of the Armed Forces member | ||||||
8 | killed in the line of duty, the compensation shall be paid in | ||||||
9 | entirety according to the designation made on the most recent | ||||||
10 | version of the Armed Forces member's Servicemembers' Group Life | ||||||
11 | Insurance Election and Certificate ("SGLI"). | ||||||
12 | If no SGLI form exists at the time of the Armed Forces | ||||||
13 | member's death, the compensation shall be paid in accordance | ||||||
14 | with a legally binding will left by the Armed Forces member. | ||||||
15 | If no SGLI form exists for the Armed Forces member and the | ||||||
16 | Armed Forces member did not leave a legally binding will, the | ||||||
17 | compensation shall be paid to the persons and in the priority | ||||||
18 | as set forth in paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (d) of | ||||||
19 | this Section. | ||||||
20 | This subsection (d-2) applies to any pending case as long | ||||||
21 | as compensation has not been paid to any party before the | ||||||
22 | effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General | ||||||
23 | Assembly.
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24 | (e) If there is no beneficiary designated or if no | ||||||
25 | designated beneficiary survives at the death of the
law | ||||||
26 | enforcement officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol |
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1 | member,
paramedic, fireman, chaplain, State employee, or Armed | ||||||
2 | Forces member
killed in the line of duty
and there is no other | ||||||
3 | person or entity to whom compensation is payable under this | ||||||
4 | Section, no compensation shall be payable
under this Act.
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5 | (f) No part of such compensation may be paid to any other | ||||||
6 | person for any
efforts in securing such compensation.
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7 | (g) This amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly | ||||||
8 | applies to claims made on or after October 18, 2004 with | ||||||
9 | respect to an Armed Forces member killed in the line of duty.
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10 | (h) In any case for which benefits have not been paid | ||||||
11 | within 6 months of the claim being filed in accordance with | ||||||
12 | this Section, which is pending as of the effective date of this | ||||||
13 | amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, and in which there | ||||||
14 | are 2 or more beneficiaries, at least one of whom would receive | ||||||
15 | at least a portion of the total benefit regardless of the | ||||||
16 | manner in which the Court of Claims resolves the claim, the | ||||||
17 | Court shall direct the Comptroller to pay the minimum amount of | ||||||
18 | money which the determinate beneficiary would receive together | ||||||
19 | with all interest payment penalties which have accrued on that | ||||||
20 | portion of the award being paid within 30 days of the effective | ||||||
21 | date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly. For | ||||||
22 | purposes of this subsection (h), "determinate beneficiary" | ||||||
23 | means the beneficiary who would receive any portion of the | ||||||
24 | total benefit claimed regardless of the manner in which the | ||||||
25 | Court of Claims adjudicates the claim. | ||||||
26 | (i) The Court of Claims shall ensure that all individuals |
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1 | who have filed an application to claim the duty death benefit | ||||||
2 | for a deceased member of the Armed Forces pursuant to this | ||||||
3 | Section, or their designated representative, shall have | ||||||
4 | access, on a timely basis and in an efficient manner, to all | ||||||
5 | information related to the court's consideration, processing, | ||||||
6 | or adjudication of the claim, including, but not limited to, | ||||||
7 | the following: | ||||||
8 |
(1) a reliable estimate of when the Court of Claims | ||||||
9 | will adjudicate the claim, or if the Court cannot estimate | ||||||
10 | when it will adjudicate the claim, a full written | ||||||
11 | explanation of the reasons for this inability; and | ||||||
12 | (2) a reliable estimate, based upon consultation with | ||||||
13 | the Comptroller, of when the benefit will be paid to the | ||||||
14 | claimant. | ||||||
15 | (j) The Court of Claims shall send written notice to all | ||||||
16 | claimants within 2 weeks of the initiation of a claim | ||||||
17 | indicating whether or not the application is complete. For | ||||||
18 | purposes of this subsection (j), an application is complete if | ||||||
19 | a claimant has submitted to the Court of Claims all documents | ||||||
20 | and information the Court requires for adjudicating and paying | ||||||
21 | the benefit amount. For purposes of this subsection (j), a | ||||||
22 | claim for the duty death benefit is initiated when a claimant | ||||||
23 | submits any of the application materials required for | ||||||
24 | adjudicating the claim to the Court of Claims. In the event a | ||||||
25 | claimant's application is incomplete, the Court shall included | ||||||
26 | in its written notice a list of the information or documents |
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1 | which the claimant must submit in order for the application to | ||||||
2 | be complete.
In no case may the Court of Claims deny a claim | ||||||
3 | and subsequently re-adjudicate the same claim for the purpose | ||||||
4 | of evading or reducing the interest penalty payment amount | ||||||
5 | payable to any claimant. | ||||||
6 | (Source: P.A. 94-843, eff. 6-8-06; 94-844, eff. 6-8-06; 95-928, | ||||||
7 | eff. 8-26-08.)
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