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90_SB1190 820 ILCS 315/2 from Ch. 48, par. 282 820 ILCS 315/5 from Ch. 48, par. 285 30 ILCS 805/8.22 new Amends the Law Enforcement Officers, Civil Defense Workers, Civil Air Patrol Members, Paramedics, Firemen, Chaplains, and State Employees Compensation Act. Provides that a law enforcement officer who dies as the result of an injury received in the course of attempting to prevent the commission of a criminal act by another or attempting to apprehend an individual whom the officer suspects has committed a crime shall be deemed to have been killed in the line of duty, regardless of whether the injury is received while the officer is on duty as a law enforcement officer and regardless of any intoxication or conduct on the part of the officer that may have contributed to the injury; if the officer is employed by a local governmental entity, provides that the survivor or other beneficiary of the officer shall be entitled to receive any benefits that are regularly provided by the local governmental entity in cases of death of a law enforcement officer in the line of duty. Pre-empts home rule. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement. Effective immediately. LRB9006657EGfg LRB9006657EGfg 1 AN ACT in relation to law enforcement officers who are 2 killed in the line of duty, amending named Acts. 3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 4 represented in the General Assembly: 5 Section 5. The Law Enforcement Officers, Civil Defense 6 Workers, Civil Air Patrol Members, Paramedics, Firemen, 7 Chaplains, and State Employees Compensation Act is amended by 8 changing Sections 2 and 5 as follows: 9 (820 ILCS 315/2) (from Ch. 48, par. 282) 10 Sec. 2. As used in this Act, unless the context 11 otherwise requires: 12 (a) "Law enforcement officer" or "officer" means any 13 person employed by the State or a local governmental entity 14 as a policeman, peace officer, auxiliary policeman or in some 15 like position involving the enforcement of the law and 16 protection of the public interest at the risk of that 17 person's life. This includes supervisors, wardens, 18 superintendents and their assistants, guards and keepers, 19 correctional officers, youth supervisors, parole agents, 20 school teachers and correctional counsellors in all 21 facilities of both the Juvenile and Adult Divisions of the 22 Department of Corrections, while within the facilities under 23 the control of the Department of Corrections or in the act of 24 transporting inmates or wards from one location to another or 25 while performing their official duties, and all other 26 Department of Correction employees who have daily contact 27 with inmates. 28 The death of the foregoing employees of the Department of 29 Corrections in order to be included herein must be by the 30 direct or indirect willful act of an inmate, ward, 31 work-releasee, parolee, parole violator, person under -2- LRB9006657EGfg 1 conditional release, or any person sentenced or committed, or 2 otherwise subject to confinement in or to the Department of 3 Corrections. 4 (b) "Fireman" means any person employed by the State or 5 a local governmental entity as, or otherwise serving as, a 6 member or officer of a fire department either for the purpose 7 of the prevention or control of fire or the underwater 8 recovery of drowning victims, including volunteer firemen. 9 (c) "Local governmental entity" includes counties, 10 municipalities and municipal corporations. 11 (d) "State" means the State of Illinois and its 12 departments, divisions, boards, bureaus, commissions, 13 authorities and colleges and universities. 14 (e) "Killed in the line of duty" means losing one's life 15 as a result of injury received in the active performance of 16 duties as a law enforcement officer, civil defense worker, 17 civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, or chaplain if 18 the death occurs within one year from the date the injury was 19 received and if that injury arose from violence or other 20 accidental cause. In the case of a State employee, "killed 21 in the line of duty" means losing one's life as a result of 22 injury received in the active performance of one's duties as 23 a State employee, if the death occurs within one year from 24 the date the injury was received and if that injury arose 25 from a willful act of violence by another State employee 26 committed during such other employee's course of employment 27 and after January 1, 1988. Except in the case of an injury 28 received on or after July 1, 1997 under the circumstances 29 described in subdivision (2) of this subsection, the term 30 excludes death resulting from the willful misconduct or 31 intoxication of the officer, civil defense worker, civil air 32 patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, or State 33 employee. However, the burden of proof of such willful 34 misconduct or intoxication of the officer, civil defense -3- LRB9006657EGfg 1 worker, civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, 2 chaplain, or State employee is on the Attorney General. 3 Subject to the conditions set forth in subsection (a) with 4 respect to inclusion under this Act of Department of 5 Corrections employees described in that subsection, for the 6 purposes of this Act, instances in which a law enforcement 7 officer receives an injury in the active performance of 8 duties as a law enforcement officer include but are not 9 limited to instances when: 10 (1) the injury is received as a result of a wilful 11 act of violence committed other than by the officer and a 12 relationship exists between the commission of such act 13 and the officer's performance of his duties as a law 14 enforcement officer, whether or not the injury is 15 received while the officer is on duty as a law 16 enforcement officer; 17 (2) the injury is received by the officer while the 18 officer is attempting to prevent the commission of a 19 criminal act by another or attempting to apprehend an 20 individual the officer suspects has committed a crime, 21 whether or not the injury is received while the officer 22 is on duty as a law enforcement officer and regardless of 23 any intoxication or conduct on the part of the officer 24 that may have contributed to the injury; 25 (3) the injury is received by the officer while the 26 officer is travelling to or from his employment as a law 27 enforcement officer or during any meal break, or other 28 break, which takes place during the period in which the 29 officer is on duty as a law enforcement officer. 30 (f) "Volunteer fireman" means a person having principal 31 employment other than as a fireman, but who is carried on the 32 rolls of a regularly constituted fire department either for 33 the purpose of the prevention or control of fire or the 34 underwater recovery of drowning victims, the members of which -4- LRB9006657EGfg 1 are under the jurisdiction of the corporate authorities of a 2 city, village, incorporated town, or fire protection 3 district, and includes a volunteer member of a fire 4 department organized under the "General Not for Profit 5 Corporation Act", approved July 17, 1943, as now or hereafter 6 amended, which is under contract with any city, village, 7 incorporated town, fire protection district, or persons 8 residing therein, for fire fighting services. "Volunteer 9 fireman" does not mean an individual who volunteers 10 assistance without being regularly enrolled as a fireman. 11 (g) "Civil defense worker" means any person employed by 12 the State or a local governmental entity as, or otherwise 13 serving as, a member of a civil defense work force, including 14 volunteer civil defense work forces engaged in serving the 15 public interest during periods of disaster, whether natural 16 or man-made. 17 (h) "Civil air patrol member" means any person employed 18 by the State or a local governmental entity as, or otherwise 19 serving as, a member of the organization commonly known as 20 the "Civil Air Patrol", including volunteer members of the 21 organization commonly known as the "Civil Air Patrol". 22 (i) "Paramedic" means an Emergency Medical 23 Technician-Paramedic certified by the Illinois Department of 24 Public Health under the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) 25 Systems Act, and all other emergency medical personnel 26 certified by the Illinois Department of Public Health who are 27 members of an organized body or not-for-profit corporation 28 under the jurisdiction of a city, village, incorporated town, 29 fire protection district or county, that provides emergency 30 medical treatment to persons of a defined geographical area. 31 (j) "State employee" means any employee as defined in 32 Section 14-103.05 of the Illinois Pension Code, as now or 33 hereafter amended. 34 (k) "Chaplain" means an individual who: -5- LRB9006657EGfg 1 (1) is a chaplain of (i) a fire department or (ii) 2 a police department or other agency consisting of law 3 enforcement officers; and 4 (2) has been designated a chaplain by (i) the fire 5 department, police department, or other agency or an 6 officer or body having jurisdiction over the department 7 or agency or (ii) a labor organization representing the 8 firemen or law enforcement officers. 9 (Source: P.A. 89-323, eff. 1-1-96.) 10 (820 ILCS 315/5) (from Ch. 48, par. 285) 11 Sec. 5. Eligibility for other benefits; pre-emption. 12 (a) The compensation provided for in this Act is in 13 addition to, and not exclusive of, any pension rights, death 14 benefits or other compensation otherwise payable by law. 15 (b) A law enforcement officer employed by a local 16 governmental entity who dies as the result of an injury 17 received on or after July 1, 1997 in the course of attempting 18 to prevent the commission of a criminal act by another or 19 attempting to apprehend an individual whom the officer 20 suspects has committed a crime shall be deemed to have been 21 killed in the line of duty, regardless of whether the injury 22 is received while the officer is on duty as a law enforcement 23 officer and regardless of any intoxication or conduct on the 24 part of the officer that may have contributed to the injury, 25 and the survivor or other beneficiary of the officer shall be 26 entitled to receive any benefits that are regularly provided 27 by the local governmental entity in cases of death of a law 28 enforcement officer in the line of duty. 29 This subsection (b) requires payment, in certain cases, 30 of benefits already established and regularly paid by a local 31 governmental entity in other cases of death of a law 32 enforcement officer in the line of duty; it does not require 33 a local governmental entity to pay any new or additional -6- LRB9006657EGfg 1 benefit not regularly paid by the local governmental entity 2 in other cases of death of a law enforcement officer in the 3 line of duty and does not restrict the payment of benefits to 4 the circumstances described in this subsection. This 5 subsection (b) is a limitation on home rule powers under 6 subsection (h) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois 7 Constitution. 8 (Source: P.A. 76-1602.) 9 Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding 10 Section 8.22 as follows: 11 (30 ILCS 805/8.22 new) 12 Sec. 8.22. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 13 and 8 of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required 14 for the implementation of any mandate created by this 15 amendatory Act of 1998. 16 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 17 becoming law.