101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
SB3097

 

Introduced 2/6/2020, by Sen. Chapin Rose

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
820 ILCS 315/3  from Ch. 48, par. 283

    Amends the Line of Duty Compensation Act. Provides that a claim for a death benefit for a death occurring after December 31, 2016 and before January 1, 2021 may be filed no later than December 31, 2021. Effective immediately.


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A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning employment.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Line of Duty Compensation Act is amended by
5changing Section 3 as follows:
 
6    (820 ILCS 315/3)   (from Ch. 48, par. 283)
7    Sec. 3. Duty death benefit.
8    (a) If a claim therefor is made within one year of the date
9of death of a law enforcement officer, civil defense worker,
10civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, or State
11employee killed in the line of duty, or if a claim therefor is
12made within 2 years of the date of death of an Armed Forces
13member killed in the line of duty, compensation shall be paid
14to the person designated by the law enforcement officer, civil
15defense worker, civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman,
16chaplain, State employee, or Armed Forces member. However, if
17the Armed Forces member was killed in the line of duty before
18October 18, 2004, the claim must be made within one year of
19October 18, 2004. In addition, if a death occurred after
20December 31, 2016 and before January 1, 2021, the claim may be
21made no later than December 31, 2021 notwithstanding any other
22deadline established under this Act with respect to filing a
23claim for a duty death benefit.

 

 

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1    (b) The amount of compensation, except for an Armed Forces
2member, shall be $10,000 if the death in the line of duty
3occurred prior to January 1, 1974; $20,000 if such death
4occurred after December 31, 1973 and before July 1, 1983;
5$50,000 if such death occurred on or after July 1, 1983 and
6before January 1, 1996; $100,000 if the death occurred on or
7after January 1, 1996 and before May 18, 2001; $118,000 if the
8death occurred on or after May 18, 2001 and before July 1,
92002; and $259,038 if the death occurred on or after July 1,
102002 and before January 1, 2003. For an Armed Forces member
11killed in the line of duty (i) at any time before January 1,
122005, the compensation is $259,038 plus amounts equal to the
13increases for 2003 and 2004 determined under subsection (c) and
14(ii) on or after January 1, 2005, the compensation is the
15amount determined under item (i) plus the applicable increases
16for 2005 and thereafter determined under subsection (c).
17    (c) Except as provided in subsection (b), for deaths
18occurring on or after January 1, 2003, the death compensation
19rate for death in the line of duty occurring in a particular
20calendar year shall be the death compensation rate for death
21occurring in the previous calendar year (or in the case of
22deaths occurring in 2003, the rate in effect on December 31,
232002) increased by a percentage thereof equal to the percentage
24increase, if any, in the index known as the Consumer Price
25Index for All Urban Consumers: U.S. city average, unadjusted,
26for all items, as published by the United States Department of

 

 

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1Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, for the 12 months ending
2with the month of June of that previous calendar year.
3    (d) If no beneficiary is designated or if no designated
4beneficiary survives at the death of the law enforcement
5officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member,
6paramedic, fireman, chaplain, or State employee killed in the
7line of duty, the compensation shall be paid in accordance with
8a legally binding will left by the law enforcement officer,
9civil defense worker, civil air patrol member, paramedic,
10fireman, chaplain, or State employee. If the law enforcement
11officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member,
12paramedic, fireman, chaplain, or State employee did not leave a
13legally binding will, the compensation shall be paid as
14follows:
15        (1) when there is a surviving spouse, the entire sum
16    shall be paid to the spouse;
17        (2) when there is no surviving spouse, but a surviving
18    descendant of the decedent, the entire sum shall be paid to
19    the decedent's descendants per stirpes;
20        (3) when there is neither a surviving spouse nor a
21    surviving descendant, the entire sum shall be paid to the
22    parents of the decedent in equal parts, allowing to the
23    surviving parent, if one is dead, the entire sum; and
24        (4) when there is no surviving spouse, descendant or
25    parent of the decedent, but there are surviving brothers or
26    sisters, or descendants of a brother or sister, who were

 

 

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1    receiving their principal support from the decedent at his
2    death, the entire sum shall be paid, in equal parts, to the
3    dependent brothers or sisters or dependent descendant of a
4    brother or sister. Dependency shall be determined by the
5    Court of Claims based upon the investigation and report of
6    the Attorney General.
7The changes made to this subsection (d) by this amendatory Act
8of the 94th General Assembly apply to any pending case as long
9as compensation has not been paid to any party before the
10effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General
11Assembly.
12    (d-1) For purposes of subsection (d), in the case of a
13person killed in the line of duty who was born out of wedlock
14and was not an adoptive child at the time of the person's
15death, a person shall be deemed to be a parent of the person
16killed in the line of duty only if that person would be an
17eligible parent, as defined in Section 2-2 of the Probate Act
18of 1975, of the person killed in the line of duty. This
19subsection (d-1) applies to any pending claim if compensation
20was not paid to the claimant of the pending claim before the
21effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General
22Assembly.
23    (d-2) If no beneficiary is designated or if no designated
24beneficiary survives at the death of the Armed Forces member
25killed in the line of duty, the compensation shall be paid in
26entirety according to the designation made on the most recent

 

 

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1version of the Armed Forces member's Servicemembers' Group Life
2Insurance Election and Certificate ("SGLI").
3    If no SGLI form exists at the time of the Armed Forces
4member's death, the compensation shall be paid in accordance
5with a legally binding will left by the Armed Forces member.
6    If no SGLI form exists for the Armed Forces member and the
7Armed Forces member did not leave a legally binding will, the
8compensation shall be paid to the persons and in the priority
9as set forth in paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (d) of
10this Section.
11    This subsection (d-2) applies to any pending case as long
12as compensation has not been paid to any party before the
13effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General
14Assembly.
15    (e) If there is no beneficiary designated or if no
16designated beneficiary survives at the death of the law
17enforcement officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol
18member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, State employee, or Armed
19Forces member killed in the line of duty and there is no other
20person or entity to whom compensation is payable under this
21Section, no compensation shall be payable under this Act.
22    (f) No part of such compensation may be paid to any other
23person for any efforts in securing such compensation.
24    (g) This amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly
25applies to claims made on or after October 18, 2004 with
26respect to an Armed Forces member killed in the line of duty.

 

 

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1    (h) In any case for which benefits have not been paid
2within 6 months of the claim being filed in accordance with
3this Section, which is pending as of the effective date of this
4amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, and in which there
5are 2 or more beneficiaries, at least one of whom would receive
6at least a portion of the total benefit regardless of the
7manner in which the Court of Claims resolves the claim, the
8Court shall direct the Comptroller to pay the minimum amount of
9money which the determinate beneficiary would receive together
10with all interest payment penalties which have accrued on that
11portion of the award being paid within 30 days of the effective
12date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly. For
13purposes of this subsection (h), "determinate beneficiary"
14means the beneficiary who would receive any portion of the
15total benefit claimed regardless of the manner in which the
16Court of Claims adjudicates the claim.
17    (i) The Court of Claims shall ensure that all individuals
18who have filed an application to claim the duty death benefit
19for a deceased member of the Armed Forces pursuant to this
20Section or for a fireman pursuant to this Section, or their
21designated representative, shall have access, on a timely basis
22and in an efficient manner, to all information related to the
23court's consideration, processing, or adjudication of the
24claim, including, but not limited to, the following:
25        (1) a reliable estimate of when the Court of Claims
26    will adjudicate the claim, or if the Court cannot estimate

 

 

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1    when it will adjudicate the claim, a full written
2    explanation of the reasons for this inability; and
3        (2) a reliable estimate, based upon consultation with
4    the Comptroller, of when the benefit will be paid to the
5    claimant.
6    (j) The Court of Claims shall send written notice to all
7claimants within 2 weeks of the initiation of a claim
8indicating whether or not the application is complete. For
9purposes of this subsection (j), an application is complete if
10a claimant has submitted to the Court of Claims all documents
11and information the Court requires for adjudicating and paying
12the benefit amount. For purposes of this subsection (j), a
13claim for the duty death benefit is initiated when a claimant
14submits any of the application materials required for
15adjudicating the claim to the Court of Claims. In the event a
16claimant's application is incomplete, the Court shall include
17in its written notice a list of the information or documents
18which the claimant must submit in order for the application to
19be complete. In no case may the Court of Claims deny a claim
20and subsequently re-adjudicate the same claim for the purpose
21of evading or reducing the interest penalty payment amount
22payable to any claimant.
23(Source: P.A. 95-928, eff. 8-26-08; 96-539, eff. 1-1-10;
2496-923, eff. 1-1-11.)
 
25    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
26becoming law.