Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of Public Act 096-0539
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Public Act 096-0539


 

Public Act 0539 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY



 


 
Public Act 096-0539
 
HB0022 Enrolled LRB096 03129 RLC 13145 b

    AN ACT concerning employment.
 
    WHEREAS, The State of Illinois is dedicated to the urgent
task of strengthening and expediting the national defense under
the emergent conditions which are threatening the peace and
security of this nation; and
 
    WHEREAS, It is the considered judgment of the General
Assembly that the citizens of Illinois who respond to their
country's call to service are deserving of every benefit and
protection; and
 
    WHEREAS, It is imperative that State government recognize
the State's citizens who have made the ultimate sacrifice to
protect the peace and security of this nation; and
 
    WHEREAS, The Illinois Court of Claims should be equipped to
provide for and assist the survivors of fallen service members
by increasing accessibility to the Court of Claims and
providing outreach services to the community, which will serve
to educate survivors as to their benefits and protections under
State law; and
 
    WHEREAS, By recognizing these sacrifices, the State of
Illinois encourages its citizens to participate to the fullest
extent in the national defense program and thereby heightens
the contribution of our State to the protection of our heritage
of liberty and democracy; therefore
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Court of Claims Act is amended by changing
Section 24 and by adding Section 9.5 as follows:
 
    (705 ILCS 505/9.5 new)
    Sec. 9.5. Gold Star and Fallen Heroes Families Assistance
Program.
    (a) Within the Court of Claims, there is established a Gold
Star and Fallen Heroes Families Assistance Program, which is
charged with the responsibility of assessing the needs of and
providing information to Illinois Gold Star and Fallen Heroes
Families with regard to claims filed pursuant to the Line of
Duty Compensation Act.
    (b) As used in this Section, "Gold Star and Fallen Heroes
Family" means the family members of an individual who was
killed in the line of duty and who was employed or serving in a
capacity defined in Section 2 of the Line of Duty Compensation
Act.
    (c) Toll-free helpline. The Gold Star and Fallen Heroes
Families Assistance Program shall include a toll-free helpline
dedicated to families seeking information about the Line of
Duty Compensation Act, including, but not limited to, the
status of claims filed pursuant to that Act. The helpline phone
number and information about the Gold Star and Fallen Heroes
Families Assistance Program shall be provided to each person
filing a claim under the Line of Duty Compensation Act.
    (d) On or before January 1 of each year, the Court of
Claims shall report to the Governor, both houses of the General
Assembly, and the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs the
following information:
        (1) the number of claims filed with the Court of Claims
    pursuant to the Line of Duty Compensation Act;
        (2) the number of Line of Duty Compensation Act claims
    approved for payment by the Court of Claims during the
    preceding calendar year;
        (3) the number and status of Line of Duty Compensation
    Act claims pending in the Court of Claims; and
        (4) other information as may be requested by the
    Governor.
 
    (705 ILCS 505/24)  (from Ch. 37, par. 439.24)
    Sec. 24. Payment of awards.
    (1) From funds appropriated by the General Assembly for the
purposes of this Section the Court may direct immediate payment
of:
        (a) All claims arising solely as a result of the
    lapsing of an appropriation out of which the obligation
    could have been paid.
        (b) All claims pursuant to the Line of Duty
    Compensation Act.
        (c) All claims pursuant to the "Illinois National
    Guardsman's and Naval Militiaman's Compensation Act",
    approved August 12, 1971, as amended.
        (d) All claims pursuant to the "Crime Victims
    Compensation Act", approved August 23, 1973, as amended.
        (e) All other claims wherein the amount of the award of
    the Court is less than $5,000.
    (2) The court may, from funds specifically appropriated
from the General Revenue Fund for this purpose, direct the
payment of awards less than $50,000 solely as a result of the
lapsing of an appropriation originally made from any fund held
by the State Treasurer. For any such award paid from the
General Revenue Fund, the court shall thereafter seek an
appropriation from the fund from which the liability originally
accrued in reimbursement of the General Revenue Fund.
    (3) In directing payment of a claim pursuant to the Line of
Duty Compensation Act, the Court must direct the Comptroller to
add an interest penalty if payment of a claim is not made
within 6 months after a claim is filed in accordance with
Section 3 of the Line of Duty Compensation Act and all
information has been submitted as required under Section 4 of
the Line of Duty Compensation Act. If payment is not issued
within the 6-month period, an interest penalty of 1% of the
amount of the award shall be added for each month or fraction
thereof after the end of the 6-month period, until final
payment is made. This interest penalty shall be added
regardless of whether the payment is not issued within the
6-month period because of the appropriation process, the
consideration of the matter by the Court, or any other reason.
    (3.5) The interest penalty payment provided for in
subsection (3) shall be added to all claims for which benefits
were not paid as of the effective date of P.A. 95-928. The
interest penalty shall be calculated starting from the
effective date of P.A. 95-928, provided that the effective date
of P.A. 95-928 is at least 6 months after the date on which the
claim was filed in accordance with Section 3 of the Line of
Duty Compensation Act. In the event that the date 6 months
after the date on which the claim was filed is later than the
effective date of P.A. 95-928, the Court shall calculate the
interest payment penalty starting from the date 6 months after
the date on which the claim was filed in accordance with
Section 3 of the Line of Duty Compensation Act. This subsection
(3.5) of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly is
declarative of existing law.
    (3.6) In addition to the interest payments provided for in
subsections (3) and (3.5), the Court shall direct the
Comptroller to add a "catch-up" payment to the claims of
eligible claimants. For the purposes of this subsection (3.6),
an "eligible claimant" is a claimant whose claim is not paid in
the year in which it was filed. For purposes of this subsection
(3.6), "'catch-up' payment" is defined as the difference
between the amount paid to claimants whose claims were filed in
the year in which the eligible claimant's claim is paid and the
amount paid to claimants whose claims were filed in the year in
which the eligible claimant filed his or her claim. The
"catch-up" payment is payable simultaneously with the claim
award.
    (4) (3) From funds appropriated by the General Assembly for
the purposes of paying claims under paragraph (c) of Section 8,
the court must direct payment of each claim and the payment
must be received by the claimant within 60 days after the date
that the funds are appropriated for that purpose.
(Source: P.A. 95-928, eff. 8-26-08; 95-970, eff. 9-22-08;
revised 10-14-08.)
 
    Section 10. The Line of Duty Compensation Act is amended by
changing Sections 3 and 4 as follows:
 
    (820 ILCS 315/3)   (from Ch. 48, par. 283)
    Sec. 3. Duty death benefit.
    (a) If a claim therefor is made within one year of the date
of death of a law enforcement officer, civil defense worker,
civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, 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, 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.
    (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, 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, or State employee. If the law enforcement
officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member,
paramedic, fireman, chaplain, 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, 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 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. 94-843, eff. 6-8-06; 94-844, eff. 6-8-06; 95-928,
eff. 8-26-08.)
 
    (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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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. 93-1047, eff. 10-18-04.)

Effective Date: 1/1/2010