Bill Text: IL HB4909 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that any person who is part of or becomes part of a bargaining unit for which a participating municipality is required to contribute to a Taft-Hartley pension plan under a collective bargaining agreement or other written agreement in effect on or before the effective date of the amendatory Act shall be deemed to be an employee for any period on or after July 16, 2014. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement. Effective immediately.

Sponsorship: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-1)

Status: (Enrolled) 2026-06-25 - Sent to the Governor [HB4909 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-HB4909-Enrolled.html

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AN ACT concerning public employee benefits.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by
changing Section 7-109 as follows:
(40 ILCS 5/7-109) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 7-109)
Sec. 7-109. Employee.
(1) "Employee" means any person who:
(a) 1. Receives earnings as payment for the
performance of personal services or official duties out of
the general fund of a municipality, or out of any special
fund or funds controlled by a municipality, or by an
instrumentality thereof, or a participating
instrumentality, including, in counties, the fees or
earnings of any county fee office; and
2. Under the usual common law rules applicable in
determining the employer-employee relationship, has the
status of an employee with a municipality, or any
instrumentality thereof, or a participating
instrumentality, including alderpersons, county
supervisors and other persons (excepting those employed as
independent contractors) who are paid compensation, fees,
allowances or other emolument for official duties, and, in

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counties, the several county fee offices.
(b) Serves as a township treasurer appointed under the
School Code, as heretofore or hereafter amended, and who
receives for such services regular compensation as
distinguished from per diem compensation, and any regular
employee in the office of any township treasurer whether
or not his earnings are paid from the income of the
permanent township fund or from funds subject to
distribution to the several school districts and parts of
school districts as provided in the School Code, or from
both such sources; or is the chief executive officer,
chief educational officer, chief fiscal officer, or other
employee of a Financial Oversight Panel established
pursuant to Article 1H of the School Code, other than a
superintendent or certified school business official,
except that such person shall not be treated as an
employee under this Section if that person has negotiated
with the Financial Oversight Panel, in conjunction with
the school district, a contractual agreement for exclusion
from this Section.
(c) Holds an elective office in a municipality,
instrumentality thereof or participating instrumentality.
(2) "Employee" does not include persons who:
(a) Are eligible for inclusion under any of the
following laws:
1. "An Act in relation to an Illinois State

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Teachers' Pension and Retirement Fund", approved May
27, 1915, as amended;
2. Articles 15 and 16 of this Code.
However, such persons shall be included as employees
to the extent of earnings that are not eligible for
inclusion under the foregoing laws for services not of an
instructional nature of any kind.
However, any member of the armed forces who is
employed as a teacher of subjects in the Reserve Officers
Training Corps of any school and who is not certified
under the law governing the certification of teachers
shall be included as an employee.
(b) Are designated by the governing body of a
municipality in which a pension fund is required by law to
be established for policemen or firemen, respectively, as
performing police or fire protection duties, except that
when such persons are the heads of the police or fire
department and are not eligible to be included within any
such pension fund, they shall be included within this
Article; provided, that such persons shall not be excluded
to the extent of concurrent service and earnings not
designated as being for police or fire protection duties.
However, (i) any head of a police department who was a
participant under this Article immediately before October
1, 1977 and did not elect, under Section 3-109 of this Act,
to participate in a police pension fund shall be an

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"employee", and (ii) any chief of police who became a
participating employee under this Article before January
1, 2019 and who elects to participate in this Fund under
Section 3-109.1 of this Code, regardless of whether such
person continues to be employed as chief of police or is
employed in some other rank or capacity within the police
department, shall be an employee under this Article for so
long as such person is employed to perform police duties
by a participating municipality and has not lawfully
rescinded that election.
(b-5) Were not participating employees under this
Article before August 26, 2018 (the effective date of
Public Act 100-1097) and participated as a chief of police
in a fund under Article 3 and return to work in any
capacity with the police department, with any oversight of
the police department, or in an advisory capacity for the
police department with the same municipality with which
that pension was earned, regardless of whether they are
considered an employee of the police department or are
eligible for inclusion in the municipality's Article 3
fund.
(c) Are contributors to or eligible to contribute to a
Taft-Hartley pension plan to which the participating
municipality is required to contribute as the person's
employer based on earnings from the municipality. Nothing
in this paragraph shall affect service credit or

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creditable service for any period of service prior to July
16, 2014 (the effective date of Public Act 98-712), and
this paragraph shall not apply to individuals who are
participating in the Fund prior to July 16, 2014 (the
effective date of Public Act 98-712).
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section,
any person who is part of or becomes part of a bargaining
unit for which a participating municipality is required to
contribute to a Taft-Hartley pension plan under a
collective bargaining agreement or other written agreement
in effect on or before the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 104th General Assembly shall be
deemed to be an employee within the meaning of this
subsection (1) for any period on and after July 16, 2014.
(d) Become an employee of any of the following
participating instrumentalities on or after January 1,
2017 (the effective date of Public Act 99-830): the
Illinois Municipal League; the Illinois Association of
Park Districts; the Illinois Supervisors, County
Commissioners and Superintendents of Highways Association;
an association, or not-for-profit corporation, membership
in which is authorized under Section 85-15 of the Township
Code; the United Counties Council; or the Will County
Governmental League.
(e) Are members of the Board of Trustees of the
Firefighters' Pension Investment Fund, as created under

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Article 22C of this Code, in their capacity as members of
the Board of Trustees of the Firefighters' Pension
Investment Fund.
(f) Are members of the Board of Trustees of the Police
Officers' Pension Investment Fund, as created under
Article 22B of this Code, in their capacity as members of
the Board of Trustees of the Police Officers' Pension
Investment Fund.
(3) All persons, including, without limitation, public
defenders and probation officers, who receive earnings from
general or special funds of a county for performance of
personal services or official duties within the territorial
limits of the county, are employees of the county (unless
excluded by subsection (2) of this Section) notwithstanding
that they may be appointed by and are subject to the direction
of a person or persons other than a county board or a county
officer. It is hereby established that an employer-employee
relationship under the usual common law rules exists between
such employees and the county paying their salaries by reason
of the fact that the county boards fix their rates of
compensation, appropriate funds for payment of their earnings
and otherwise exercise control over them. This finding and
this amendatory Act shall apply to all such employees from the
date of appointment whether such date is prior to or after the
effective date of this amendatory Act and is intended to
clarify existing law pertaining to their status as

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participating employees in the Fund.
(Source: P.A. 102-15, eff. 6-17-21; 102-637, eff. 8-27-21;
102-813, eff. 5-13-22.)
Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding
Section 8.50 as follows:
(30 ILCS 805/8.50 new)
Sec. 8.50. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and
8 of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for
the implementation of any mandate created by this amendatory
Act of the 104th General Assembly.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.