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HB0022 Enrolled |
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LRB096 03129 RLC 13145 b |
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| AN ACT concerning employment.
|
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| WHEREAS, The State of Illinois is dedicated to the urgent |
3 |
| task of strengthening and expediting the national defense under |
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| the emergent conditions which are threatening the peace and |
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| security of this nation; and
|
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| WHEREAS, It is the considered judgment of the General |
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| Assembly that the citizens of Illinois who respond to their |
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| country's call to service are deserving of every benefit and |
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| protection; and
|
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| WHEREAS, It is imperative that State government recognize |
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| the State's citizens who have made the ultimate sacrifice to |
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| protect the peace and security of this nation; and
|
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| WHEREAS, The Illinois Court of Claims should be equipped to |
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| provide for and assist the survivors of fallen service members |
15 |
| by increasing accessibility to the Court of Claims and |
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| providing outreach services to the community, which will serve |
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| to educate survivors as to their benefits and protections under |
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| State law; and
|
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| WHEREAS, By recognizing these sacrifices, the State of |
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| Illinois encourages its citizens to participate to the fullest |
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| extent in the national defense program and thereby heightens |
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| the contribution of our State to the protection of our heritage |
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HB0022 Enrolled |
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LRB096 03129 RLC 13145 b |
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| of liberty and democracy; therefore
|
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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 Court of Claims Act is amended by changing |
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| Section 24 and by adding Section 9.5 as follows:
|
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| (705 ILCS 505/9.5 new) |
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| Sec. 9.5. Gold Star and Fallen Heroes Families Assistance |
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| Program. |
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| (a) Within the Court of Claims, there is established a Gold |
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| Star and Fallen Heroes Families Assistance Program, which is |
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| charged with the responsibility of assessing the needs of and |
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| providing information to Illinois Gold Star and Fallen Heroes |
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| Families with regard to claims filed pursuant to the Line of |
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| Duty Compensation Act. |
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| (b) As used in this Section, "Gold Star and Fallen Heroes |
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| Family" means the family members of an
individual who was |
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| killed in the line of duty and who was employed or serving in a |
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| capacity defined in Section 2 of the Line of Duty Compensation |
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| Act. |
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| (c) Toll-free helpline. The Gold Star and Fallen Heroes |
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| Families Assistance Program shall include a toll-free helpline |
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| dedicated to families seeking information about the Line of |
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| Duty Compensation Act, including, but not limited to, the |
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HB0022 Enrolled |
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LRB096 03129 RLC 13145 b |
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|
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| status of claims filed pursuant to that Act. The helpline phone |
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| number and information about the Gold Star and Fallen Heroes |
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| Families Assistance Program shall be provided to each person |
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| filing a claim under the Line of Duty Compensation Act. |
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| (d) On or before January 1 of each year, the Court of |
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| Claims shall report to the Governor, both houses of the General |
7 |
| Assembly, and the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs the |
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| following information: |
9 |
| (1) the number of claims filed with the Court of Claims |
10 |
| pursuant to the Line of Duty Compensation Act; |
11 |
| (2) the number of Line of Duty Compensation Act claims |
12 |
| approved for payment by the Court of Claims during the |
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| preceding calendar year; |
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| (3) the number and status of Line of Duty Compensation |
15 |
| Act claims pending in the Court of Claims; and |
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| (4) other information as may be requested by the |
17 |
| Governor.
|
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| (705 ILCS 505/24) (from Ch. 37, par. 439.24)
|
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| Sec. 24. Payment of awards.
|
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| (1) From funds appropriated by the General Assembly for the |
21 |
| purposes
of this Section the Court may direct
immediate payment |
22 |
| of:
|
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| (a) All claims arising solely as a result of the |
24 |
| lapsing of an
appropriation out of which the obligation |
25 |
| could have been paid.
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HB0022 Enrolled |
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LRB096 03129 RLC 13145 b |
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| (b) All claims pursuant to the Line of Duty
|
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| Compensation Act.
|
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| (c) All claims pursuant to the "Illinois National |
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| Guardsman's and
Naval Militiaman's Compensation Act", |
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| approved August 12, 1971, as
amended.
|
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| (d) All claims pursuant to the "Crime Victims |
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| Compensation Act",
approved August 23, 1973, as amended.
|
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| (e) All other claims wherein the amount of the award of |
9 |
| the Court
is less than $5,000.
|
10 |
| (2) The court may, from funds specifically appropriated |
11 |
| from the General
Revenue Fund for this purpose, direct the |
12 |
| payment of awards less than $50,000
solely as a result
of the |
13 |
| lapsing of an appropriation originally made from any fund held |
14 |
| by the
State Treasurer. For any such award paid from the |
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| General Revenue Fund, the
court
shall thereafter seek an |
16 |
| appropriation from the fund from which the liability
originally |
17 |
| accrued in reimbursement of the General Revenue Fund.
|
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| (3) In directing payment of a claim pursuant to the Line of |
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| Duty
Compensation Act, the Court must direct the Comptroller to |
20 |
| add an interest penalty if payment of a claim is not made |
21 |
| within 6 months after a claim is filed in accordance with |
22 |
| Section 3 of the Line of Duty
Compensation Act and all |
23 |
| information has been submitted as required under Section 4 of |
24 |
| the Line of Duty
Compensation Act. If payment is not issued |
25 |
| within the 6-month period, an interest penalty of 1% of the |
26 |
| amount of the award shall be added for each month or fraction |
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HB0022 Enrolled |
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LRB096 03129 RLC 13145 b |
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| thereof after the end of the 6-month period, until final |
2 |
| payment is made. This interest penalty shall be added |
3 |
| regardless of whether the payment is not issued within the |
4 |
| 6-month period because of the appropriation process, the |
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| consideration of the matter by the Court, or any other reason. |
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| (3.5) The interest penalty payment provided for in |
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| subsection (3) shall be added to all claims for which benefits |
8 |
| were not paid as of the effective date of P.A. 95-928. The |
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| interest penalty shall be calculated starting from the |
10 |
| effective date of P.A. 95-928, provided that the effective date |
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| of P.A. 95-928 is at least 6 months after the date on which the |
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| claim was filed in accordance with Section 3 of the Line of |
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| Duty Compensation Act. In the event that the date 6 months |
14 |
| after the date on which the claim was filed is later than the |
15 |
| effective date of P.A. 95-928, the Court shall calculate the |
16 |
| interest payment penalty starting from the date 6 months after |
17 |
| the date on which the claim was filed in accordance with |
18 |
| Section 3 of the Line of Duty Compensation Act. This subsection |
19 |
| (3.5) of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly is |
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| declarative of existing law. |
21 |
| (3.6) In addition to the interest payments provided for in |
22 |
| subsections (3) and (3.5), the Court shall direct the |
23 |
| Comptroller to add a "catch-up" payment to the claims of |
24 |
| eligible claimants. For the purposes of this subsection (3.6), |
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| an "eligible claimant" is a claimant whose claim is not paid in |
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| the year in which it was filed. For purposes of this subsection |
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HB0022 Enrolled |
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LRB096 03129 RLC 13145 b |
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| (3.6), "'catch-up' payment" is defined as the difference |
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| between the amount paid to claimants whose claims were filed in |
3 |
| the year in which the eligible claimant's claim is paid and the |
4 |
| amount paid to claimants whose claims were filed in the year in |
5 |
| which the eligible claimant filed his or her claim. The |
6 |
| "catch-up" payment is payable simultaneously with the claim |
7 |
| award. |
8 |
| (4)
(3) From funds appropriated by the General Assembly for |
9 |
| the purposes of
paying claims under paragraph (c) of Section 8, |
10 |
| the court must direct payment
of each claim and the payment |
11 |
| must be received by the claimant within 60 days after the date |
12 |
| that the funds are appropriated for that purpose.
|
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| (Source: P.A. 95-928, eff. 8-26-08; 95-970, eff. 9-22-08; |
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| revised 10-14-08.)
|
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| Section 10. The Line of Duty Compensation Act is amended by |
16 |
| changing Sections 3 and 4 as follows:
|
17 |
| (820 ILCS 315/3)
(from Ch. 48, par. 283)
|
18 |
| Sec. 3. Duty death benefit. |
19 |
| (a) If a claim therefor is made within one
year of the date |
20 |
| of death of a law enforcement officer, civil
defense worker, |
21 |
| civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, or
State |
22 |
| employee killed in the line of duty,
or if a claim therefor is |
23 |
| made within 2 years of the date of death of an Armed Forces |
24 |
| member killed in the line of duty, compensation shall be paid |
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HB0022 Enrolled |
- 7 - |
LRB096 03129 RLC 13145 b |
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| to the person designated by the law
enforcement officer, civil |
2 |
| defense worker, civil air patrol member, paramedic,
fireman, |
3 |
| chaplain, State employee, or Armed Forces member. However, if |
4 |
| the Armed Forces member was killed in the line of duty before
|
5 |
| October 18, 2004, the
claim must be made within one year of |
6 |
| October 18, 2004.
|
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| (b)
The amount of compensation, except for an Armed Forces |
8 |
| member, shall be $10,000 if the death in the
line of duty |
9 |
| occurred prior to January 1, 1974; $20,000 if
such death |
10 |
| occurred after December 31, 1973 and before July 1, 1983;
|
11 |
| $50,000 if such death occurred on or after July 1, 1983 and |
12 |
| before January 1,
1996; $100,000 if the death occurred on or |
13 |
| after January 1, 1996 and
before May 18, 2001; $118,000 if the |
14 |
| death occurred on or after May
18, 2001 and before July 1, |
15 |
| 2002; and $259,038 if the death occurred on or after July 1, |
16 |
| 2002 and before January
1, 2003. For an Armed Forces member |
17 |
| killed in the line of duty (i) at any time before January 1, |
18 |
| 2005, the compensation is $259,038 plus amounts equal to the |
19 |
| increases for 2003 and 2004 determined under subsection (c) and |
20 |
| (ii) on or after January 1, 2005, the compensation is the |
21 |
| amount determined under item (i) plus the applicable increases |
22 |
| for 2005 and thereafter determined under subsection (c).
|
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| (c) Except as provided in subsection (b), for deaths |
24 |
| occurring on or after January 1, 2003, the death
compensation |
25 |
| rate for death in the line of duty occurring in a particular
|
26 |
| calendar year shall be the death compensation rate for death |
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HB0022 Enrolled |
- 8 - |
LRB096 03129 RLC 13145 b |
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|
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| occurring in the
previous calendar year (or in the case of |
2 |
| deaths occurring in 2003, the rate
in effect on December 31, |
3 |
| 2002) increased by a percentage thereof equal to
the percentage |
4 |
| increase, if any, in the index known as the Consumer Price
|
5 |
| Index for All Urban Consumers: U.S. city average, unadjusted, |
6 |
| for all items,
as published by the United States Department of |
7 |
| Labor, Bureau of Labor
Statistics, for the 12 months ending |
8 |
| with the month of June of that previous
calendar year.
|
9 |
| (d) If no beneficiary is designated or if no designated |
10 |
| beneficiary survives at the death of the law
enforcement |
11 |
| officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member,
|
12 |
| paramedic, fireman, chaplain, or State employee
killed in the |
13 |
| line of
duty, the compensation shall be paid in accordance with |
14 |
| a legally binding will left by the law
enforcement officer, |
15 |
| civil defense worker, civil air patrol member,
paramedic, |
16 |
| fireman, chaplain, or State employee. If the law
enforcement |
17 |
| officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member,
|
18 |
| paramedic, fireman, chaplain, or State employee did not leave a |
19 |
| legally binding will, the compensation shall be paid as |
20 |
| follows:
|
21 |
| (1) when there is a surviving spouse, the entire sum |
22 |
| shall be paid to
the spouse;
|
23 |
| (2) when there is no surviving spouse, but a surviving |
24 |
| descendant of the
decedent, the entire sum shall be paid to |
25 |
| the decedent's descendants per
stirpes;
|
26 |
| (3) when there is neither a surviving spouse nor a |
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HB0022 Enrolled |
- 9 - |
LRB096 03129 RLC 13145 b |
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|
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| surviving descendant,
the entire sum shall be paid to the |
2 |
| parents of the decedent in equal parts,
allowing to the |
3 |
| surviving parent, if one is dead, the entire sum; and
|
4 |
| (4) when there is no surviving spouse, descendant or |
5 |
| parent of the
decedent, but there are surviving brothers or |
6 |
| sisters, or descendants of a
brother or sister, who were |
7 |
| receiving their principal support from the
decedent at his |
8 |
| death, the entire sum shall be paid, in equal parts, to the
|
9 |
| dependent brothers or sisters or dependent descendant of a |
10 |
| brother or
sister. Dependency shall be determined by the |
11 |
| Court of Claims based upon
the investigation and report of |
12 |
| the Attorney General.
|
13 |
| The changes made to this subsection (d) by this amendatory Act |
14 |
| of the 94th General Assembly apply to any pending case as long |
15 |
| as compensation has not been paid to any party before the |
16 |
| effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General |
17 |
| Assembly.
|
18 |
| (d-1) For purposes of subsection (d), in the case of a |
19 |
| person killed in the line of duty who was born out of wedlock |
20 |
| and was not an adoptive child at the time of the person's |
21 |
| death, a person shall be deemed to be a parent of the person |
22 |
| killed in the line of duty only if that person would be an |
23 |
| eligible parent, as defined in Section 2-2 of the Probate Act |
24 |
| of 1975, of the person killed in the line of duty. This |
25 |
| subsection (d-1) applies to any pending claim if compensation |
26 |
| was not paid to the claimant of the pending claim before the |
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HB0022 Enrolled |
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LRB096 03129 RLC 13145 b |
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|
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| effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General |
2 |
| Assembly.
|
3 |
| (d-2) If no beneficiary is designated or if no designated |
4 |
| beneficiary survives at the death of the Armed Forces member |
5 |
| killed in the line of duty, the compensation shall be paid in |
6 |
| entirety according to the designation made on the most recent |
7 |
| version of the Armed Forces member's Servicemembers' Group Life |
8 |
| Insurance Election and Certificate ("SGLI"). |
9 |
| If no SGLI form exists at the time of the Armed Forces |
10 |
| member's death, the compensation shall be paid in accordance |
11 |
| with a legally binding will left by the Armed Forces member. |
12 |
| If no SGLI form exists for the Armed Forces member and the |
13 |
| Armed Forces member did not leave a legally binding will, the |
14 |
| compensation shall be paid to the persons and in the priority |
15 |
| as set forth in paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (d) of |
16 |
| this Section. |
17 |
| This subsection (d-2) applies to any pending case as long |
18 |
| as compensation has not been paid to any party before the |
19 |
| effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General |
20 |
| Assembly.
|
21 |
| (e) If there is no beneficiary designated or if no |
22 |
| designated beneficiary survives at the death of the
law |
23 |
| enforcement officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol |
24 |
| member,
paramedic, fireman, chaplain, State employee, or Armed |
25 |
| Forces member
killed in the line of duty
and there is no other |
26 |
| person or entity to whom compensation is payable under this |
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HB0022 Enrolled |
- 11 - |
LRB096 03129 RLC 13145 b |
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|
1 |
| Section, no compensation shall be payable
under this Act.
|
2 |
| (f) No part of such compensation may be paid to any other |
3 |
| person for any
efforts in securing such compensation.
|
4 |
| (g) This amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly |
5 |
| applies to claims made on or after October 18, 2004 with |
6 |
| respect to an Armed Forces member killed in the line of duty.
|
7 |
| (h) In any case for which benefits have not been paid |
8 |
| within 6 months of the claim being filed in accordance with |
9 |
| this Section, which is pending as of the effective date of this |
10 |
| amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, and in which there |
11 |
| are 2 or more beneficiaries, at least one of whom would receive |
12 |
| at least a portion of the total benefit regardless of the |
13 |
| manner in which the Court of Claims resolves the claim, the |
14 |
| Court shall direct the Comptroller to pay the minimum amount of |
15 |
| money which the determinate beneficiary would receive together |
16 |
| with all interest payment penalties which have accrued on that |
17 |
| portion of the award being paid within 30 days of the effective |
18 |
| date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly. For |
19 |
| purposes of this subsection (h), "determinate beneficiary" |
20 |
| means the beneficiary who would receive any portion of the |
21 |
| total benefit claimed regardless of the manner in which the |
22 |
| Court of Claims adjudicates the claim. |
23 |
| (i) The Court of Claims shall ensure that all individuals |
24 |
| who have filed an application to claim the duty death benefit |
25 |
| for a deceased member of the Armed Forces pursuant to this |
26 |
| Section, or their designated representative, shall have |
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|
HB0022 Enrolled |
- 12 - |
LRB096 03129 RLC 13145 b |
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|
1 |
| access, on a timely basis and in an efficient manner, to all |
2 |
| information related to the court's consideration, processing, |
3 |
| or adjudication of the claim, including, but not limited to, |
4 |
| the following: |
5 |
| (1) a reliable estimate of when the Court of Claims |
6 |
| will adjudicate the claim, or if the Court cannot estimate |
7 |
| when it will adjudicate the claim, a full written |
8 |
| explanation of the reasons for this inability; and |
9 |
| (2) a reliable estimate, based upon consultation with |
10 |
| the Comptroller, of when the benefit will be paid to the |
11 |
| claimant. |
12 |
| (j) The Court of Claims shall send written notice to all |
13 |
| claimants within 2 weeks of the initiation of a claim |
14 |
| indicating whether or not the application is complete. For |
15 |
| purposes of this subsection (j), an application is complete if |
16 |
| a claimant has submitted to the Court of Claims all documents |
17 |
| and information the Court requires for adjudicating and paying |
18 |
| the benefit amount. For purposes of this subsection (j), a |
19 |
| claim for the duty death benefit is initiated when a claimant |
20 |
| submits any of the application materials required for |
21 |
| adjudicating the claim to the Court of Claims. In the event a |
22 |
| claimant's application is incomplete, the Court shall include |
23 |
| in its written notice a list of the information or documents |
24 |
| which the claimant must submit in order for the application to |
25 |
| be complete.
In no case may the Court of Claims deny a claim |
26 |
| and subsequently re-adjudicate the same claim for the purpose |
|
|
|
HB0022 Enrolled |
- 13 - |
LRB096 03129 RLC 13145 b |
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|
1 |
| of evading or reducing the interest penalty payment amount |
2 |
| payable to any claimant. |
3 |
| (Source: P.A. 94-843, eff. 6-8-06; 94-844, eff. 6-8-06; 95-928, |
4 |
| eff. 8-26-08.)
|
5 |
| (820 ILCS 315/4)
(from Ch. 48, par. 284)
|
6 |
| Sec. 4. Notwithstanding
Section 3, no compensation is |
7 |
| payable under this Act
unless a claim therefor is filed, within |
8 |
| the time specified by that
Section with the Court of Claims on |
9 |
| an application prescribed and
furnished by the Attorney General |
10 |
| and setting forth:
|
11 |
| (a) the name, address and title or designation of the |
12 |
| position in which
the officer, civil defense worker, civil air |
13 |
| patrol member, paramedic,
fireman, chaplain, State employee, |
14 |
| or Armed Forces member was
serving at
the time of his death;
|
15 |
| (b) the names and addresses of person or persons designated |
16 |
| by the
officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member, |
17 |
| paramedic, fireman,
chaplain,
State employee, or Armed Forces |
18 |
| member
to receive the compensation and,
if more than one, the |
19 |
| percentage or share to be paid to each such person,
or if there |
20 |
| has been no
such designation, the name and address of the |
21 |
| personal representative of
the estate of the officer, civil |
22 |
| defense worker, civil air patrol member,
paramedic, fireman, |
23 |
| chaplain, State employee, or Armed Forces
member;
|
24 |
| (c) a full, factual account of the circumstances resulting |
25 |
| in or the
course of events causing the death of the officer, |
|
|
|
HB0022 Enrolled |
- 14 - |
LRB096 03129 RLC 13145 b |
|
|
1 |
| civil defense worker,
civil air patrol member, paramedic, |
2 |
| fireman, chaplain, State employee,
or Armed Forces member;
and
|
3 |
| (d) such other information as the Court of Claims |
4 |
| reasonably requires.
|
5 |
| When a claim is filed, the Attorney General shall make an |
6 |
| investigation
for substantiation of matters set forth in such |
7 |
| an application.
|
8 |
| For the 2 years immediately following the effective date of |
9 |
| this amendatory act of the 96th General Assembly, the Court of |
10 |
| Claims shall direct the Comptroller to pay a |
11 |
| "Modified-Eligibility Line of Duty Benefit" to eligible late |
12 |
| claimants who file a claim for the benefit. A claim for a |
13 |
| Modified-Eligibility Line of Duty Benefit must include all the |
14 |
| application materials and documents required for all other |
15 |
| claims payable under this Act, except as otherwise provided in |
16 |
| this Section 4.
For purposes of this Section 4 only, an |
17 |
| "eligible late claimant" is a person who would have been |
18 |
| eligible, at any time after September 11, 2001, to apply for |
19 |
| and receive payment of a claim pursuant to this Act in |
20 |
| connection with the death of an Armed Forces member killed in |
21 |
| the line of duty, but did not receive the award payment |
22 |
| because: |
23 |
| (1) the claim was rejected only because the claim was |
24 |
| not filed within the time limitation set forth in |
25 |
| subsection (a) of Section 3 of this Act; or |
26 |
| (2) having met all other preconditions for applying for |
|
|
|
HB0022 Enrolled |
- 15 - |
LRB096 03129 RLC 13145 b |
|
|
1 |
| and receiving the award payment, the claimant did not file |
2 |
| a claim because the claim would not have been filed within |
3 |
| the time limitation set forth in subsection (a) of Section |
4 |
| 3 of this Act.
For purposes of this Section 4 only, the |
5 |
| "Modified-Eligibility Line of Duty Benefit" is an amount of |
6 |
| money payable to eligible late claimants equal to the |
7 |
| amount set forth in Section 3 of this Act payable to |
8 |
| claimants seeking payment of awards under Section 3 of this |
9 |
| Act for claims made thereunder in the year in which the |
10 |
| claim for the Modified-Eligibility Line of Duty Benefit is |
11 |
| made.
Within 6 months of receiving a complete claim for the |
12 |
| Modified-Eligibility Line of Duty Benefit, the Court of |
13 |
| Claims must direct the Comptroller to pay the benefit |
14 |
| amount to the eligible late claimant. |
15 |
| (Source: P.A. 93-1047, eff. 10-18-04.)
|