Bill Text: IL SB3119 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Enrolled

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that a person who participated as a chief of police in a fund under the Downstate Police Article and returns 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 he or she is considered an employee of the police department or is eligible for inclusion in the municipality's downstate police fund, is not considered an employee under the IMRF Article. Effective January 1, 2019.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2018-08-26 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 100-1097 [SB3119 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2017-SB3119-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
Sections 4-112, 7-109, and 7-109.3 as follows:
(40 ILCS 5/4-112) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 4-112)
Sec. 4-112. Determination of disability; restoration to
active service; disability cannot constitute cause for
discharge. A disability pension shall not be paid until
disability has been established by the board by examinations of
the firefighter at pension fund expense by 3 physicians
selected by the board and such other evidence as the board
deems necessary. The 3 physicians selected by the board need
not agree as to the existence of any disability or the nature
and extent of a disability. Medical examination of a
firefighter receiving a disability pension shall be made at
least once each year prior to attainment of age 50 in order to
verify continuance of disability, except that a medical
examination of a firefighter receiving a disability pension for
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to his or her
service as a firefighter shall not be made if: (1) the
firefighter has attained age 45; (2) the firefighter has
provided to the board documentation approving the

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discontinuance of the medical examination from at least 2
physicians; and (3) at least 4 members of the board have voted
in the affirmative to allow the firefighter to discontinue the
medical examination. No examination shall be required after age
50. No physical or mental disability that constitutes, in whole
or in part, the basis of an application for benefits under this
Article may be used, in whole or in part, by any municipality
or fire protection district employing firefighters, emergency
medical technicians, or paramedics as cause for discharge.
Upon satisfactory proof to the board that a firefighter on
the disability pension has recovered from disability, the board
shall terminate the disability pension. The firefighter shall
report to the marshal or chief of the fire department, who
shall thereupon order immediate reinstatement into active
service, and the municipality shall immediately return the
firefighter to its payroll, in the same rank or grade held at
the date he or she was placed on disability pension. If the
firefighter must file a civil action against the municipality
to enforce his or her mandated return to payroll under this
paragraph, then the firefighter is entitled to recovery of
reasonable court costs and attorney's fees.
The firefighter shall be entitled to 10 days notice before
any hearing or meeting of the board at which the question of
his or her disability is to be considered, and shall have the
right to be present at any such hearing or meeting, and to be
represented by counsel; however, the board shall not have any

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obligation to provide such fireman with counsel.
(Source: P.A. 95-681, eff. 10-11-07.)
(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 aldermen, 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 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

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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
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

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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
"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

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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 the effective date of this amendatory Act of
the 100th General Assembly 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 creditable
service for any period of service prior to the effective
date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly,
and this paragraph shall not apply to individuals who are
participating in the Fund prior to the effective date of
this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly.
(d) Become an employee of any of the following

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participating instrumentalities on or after the effective
date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly:
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.
(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

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clarify existing law pertaining to their status as
participating employees in the Fund.
(Source: P.A. 99-830, eff. 1-1-17; 100-281, eff. 8-24-17.)
(40 ILCS 5/7-109.3) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 7-109.3)
Sec. 7-109.3. "Sheriff's Law Enforcement Employees".
(a) "Sheriff's law enforcement employee" or "SLEP" means:
(1) A county sheriff and all deputies, other than
special deputies, employed on a full time basis in the
office of the sheriff.
(2) A person who has elected to participate in this
Fund under Section 3-109.1 of this Code, and who is
employed by a participating municipality to perform police
duties.
(3) A law enforcement officer employed on a full time
basis by a Forest Preserve District, provided that such
officer shall be deemed a "sheriff's law enforcement
employee" for the purposes of this Article, and service in
that capacity shall be deemed to be service as a sheriff's
law enforcement employee, only if the board of
commissioners of the District have so elected by adoption
of an affirmative resolution. Such election, once made, may
not be rescinded.
(4) A person not eligible to participate in a fund
established under Article 3 of this Code who is employed on
a full-time basis by a participating municipality or

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participating instrumentality to perform police duties at
an airport, but only if the governing authority of the
employer has approved sheriff's law enforcement employee
status for its airport police employees by adoption of an
affirmative resolution. Such approval, once given, may not
be rescinded.
(5) A person first hired on or after January 1, 2011
who (i) is employed by a participating municipality that
has both 30 or more full-time police officers and 50 or
more full-time firefighters and has not established a fund
under Article 3 or Article 4 of this Code and (ii) is
employed on a full-time basis by that participating
municipality to perform police duties or firefighting and
EMS duties; but only if the governing authority of that
municipality has approved sheriff's law enforcement
employee status for its police officer or firefighter
employees by adoption of an affirmative resolution. The
resolution must specify that SLEP status shall be
applicable to such employment occurring on or after the
adoption of the resolution. Such resolution shall be
irrevocable, but shall automatically terminate upon the
establishment of an Article 3 or 4 fund by the
municipality.
(b) An employee who is a sheriff's law enforcement employee
and is granted military leave or authorized leave of absence
shall receive service credit in that capacity. Sheriff's law

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enforcement employees shall not be entitled to out-of-State
service credit under Section 7-139.
(Source: P.A. 100-354, eff. 8-25-17.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.