Full Text of SR0063 097th General Assembly
SR0063 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Recent media reports indicate that since 2008, | 3 | | nearly $10 million in State taxpayer funds has been awarded in | 4 | | workers' compensation payments to more than 230 employees at | 5 | | the Menard Correctional Center who contended they were injured | 6 | | through repetitive trauma caused by operating manual cell | 7 | | locking mechanisms; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Recent media reports also indicate that | 9 | | approximately 25% of the arbitrators employed by the Illinois | 10 | | Workers' Compensation Commission have received workers' | 11 | | compensation awards, including nearly $50,000 to the | 12 | | arbitrator who approved many of the workers' compensation | 13 | | settlements to the employees at the Menard Correctional Center; | 14 | | and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, According to the Illinois Workers' Compensation | 16 | | Commission, many of these payments were "uncontested | 17 | | settlements" and information regarding the payments or process | 18 | | of awarding the payments is not included in a database | 19 | | maintained by the Commission, therefore, the public did not | 20 | | have access to information regarding these awards; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Recent media reports indicate that due to a tragic | 22 | | 2007 crash involving then-State trooper Matt Mitchell, he is |
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| 1 | | seeking workers' compensation because of injuries suffered in | 2 | | the wreck; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Recent media reports also indicate that Illinois | 4 | | Workers' Compensation Commission arbitrator Jennifer Teague | 5 | | took steps to conceal a public hearing regarding the workers' | 6 | | compensation claim by Matt Mitchell from the public; therefore, | 7 | | be it
| 8 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL | 9 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we call upon the U.S. | 10 | | Attorney or the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or both, to | 11 | | conduct an investigation of awards approved by the Illinois | 12 | | Workers' Compensation Commission for claims filed by employees | 13 | | of Menard Correctional Center and arbitrators employed by the | 14 | | Commission from 2008 to the present; and be it further
| 15 | | RESOLVED, That we call upon the U.S. Attorney or the | 16 | | Federal Bureau of Investigation, or both, to conduct an | 17 | | investigation of actions by Jennifer Teague regarding a hearing | 18 | | for a workers' compensation claim by former State trooper Matt | 19 | | Mitchell; and be it further | 20 | | RESOLVED, That the Illinois Workers' Compensation | 21 | | Commission and any other State agency, entity, or person that | 22 | | may have information relevant to this investigation shall |
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| 1 | | cooperate fully and promptly with the process; and be it | 2 | | further | 3 | | RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be
presented to | 4 | | the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District | 5 | | of Illinois and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
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