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| Public Act 102-0215 | ||||
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AN ACT concerning employment.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Line of Duty Compensation Act is amended by | ||||
changing Section 3 as follows:
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(820 ILCS 315/3)
(from Ch. 48, par. 283)
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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
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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. 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.
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(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;
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$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).
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(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
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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
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calendar year.
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(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,
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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,
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paramedic, fireman, chaplain, or State employee. If the law
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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:
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(1) when there is a surviving spouse, the entire sum | ||
shall be paid to
the spouse;
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(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;
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(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
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(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.
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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.
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(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.
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(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.
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(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.
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(f) No part of such compensation may be paid to any other | ||
person for any
efforts in securing such compensation.
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(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.
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(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. 95-928, eff. 8-26-08; 96-539, eff. 1-1-10; | ||
96-923, eff. 1-1-11.)
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||
becoming law.
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