State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
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91_HB1798

 
                                               LRB9105610EGfg

 1        AN ACT to amend the Illinois  Pension  Code  by  changing
 2    Section 7-145.1.

 3        Be  it  enacted  by  the People of the State of Illinois,
 4    represented in the General Assembly:

 5        Section 5.  The  Illinois  Pension  Code  is  amended  by
 6    changing Section 7-145.1 as follows:

 7        (40 ILCS 5/7-145.1)
 8        Sec. 7-145.1.  Alternative annuity for county officers.
 9        (a)  The  benefits  provided  in this Section and Section
10    7-145.2 are available only if the county board has filed with
11    the Board of the Fund a  resolution  or  ordinance  expressly
12    consenting  to  the  availability  of  these benefits for its
13    elected county  officers.   The  county  board's  consent  is
14    irrevocable.
15        An  amendment  to  this  Section  or Section 7-145.2 that
16    takes effect after the county board of a county has given its
17    consent under this Section does  not  apply  to  the  elected
18    county  officers  of  that  county  unless  the  county board
19    thereafter files with the Board of the Fund a  resolution  or
20    ordinance  expressly  consenting  to  the  application of the
21    amendment.  The county board's consent to the application  of
22    an amendment is irrevocable.
23        An   elected   county  officer  may  elect  to  establish
24    alternative credits for an alternative annuity by electing in
25    writing  to  make  additional   optional   contributions   in
26    accordance  with  this  Section and procedures established by
27    the board.  The elected county officer may discontinue making
28    the additional optional contributions by notifying  the  Fund
29    in  writing  in  accordance  with this Section and procedures
30    established by the board.
31        Additional optional  contributions  for  the  alternative
 
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 1    annuity shall be as follows:
 2             (1)  For  service  after  the  option is elected, an
 3        additional  contribution  of  3%  of  salary   shall   be
 4        contributed  to  the Fund on the same basis and under the
 5        same conditions as contributions required  under  Section
 6        7-173.
 7             (2)  For  service  before  the option is elected, an
 8        additional contribution of  3%  of  the  salary  for  the
 9        applicable  period  of  service,  plus  interest  at  the
10        effective  rate  from  the date of service to the date of
11        payment.  All payments for past service must be  paid  in
12        full  before  credit  is  given.   No additional optional
13        contributions may be made for any period of  service  for
14        which  credit has been previously forfeited by acceptance
15        of a refund, unless the refund is  repaid  in  full  with
16        interest at the effective rate from the date of refund to
17        the date of repayment.
18        (b)  In  lieu of the retirement annuity otherwise payable
19    under this Article, an elected county  officer  who  (1)  has
20    elected  to  participate  in  the  Fund  and  make additional
21    optional contributions in accordance with  this  Section  and
22    (2)  has  attained  age  55  with at least 8 years of service
23    credit (or has attained age 50 with  at  least  20  years  of
24    service as a sheriff's law enforcement employee) may elect to
25    have  his  retirement annuity computed as follows:  3% of the
26    participant's salary at the time of  termination  of  service
27    for  each  of the first 8 years of service credit, plus 4% of
28    that salary for each of the next 4 years of  service  credit,
29    plus  5%  of  that  salary for each year of service credit in
30    excess of 12 years, subject to  a  maximum  of  80%  of  that
31    salary.   To  the  extent that the elected county officer has
32    made additional optional contributions with respect to only a
33    portion of  his  years  of  service  credit,  his  retirement
34    annuity  will  first  be  determined  in accordance with this
 
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 1    Section to the extent that additional optional  contributions
 2    were made, and then in accordance with the remaining Sections
 3    of this Article to the extent of years of service credit with
 4    respect  to  which additional optional contributions were not
 5    made.
 6        (c)  In lieu of the disability benefits otherwise payable
 7    under this Article, an elected county  officer  who  (1)  has
 8    elected  to  participate  in  the  Fund,  and  (2) has become
 9    permanently disabled  and  as  a  consequence  is  unable  to
10    perform the duties of his office, and (3) was making optional
11    contributions in accordance with this Section at the time the
12    disability  was  incurred,  may elect to receive a disability
13    annuity  calculated  in  accordance  with  the   formula   in
14    subsection  (b).   For  the  purposes  of this subsection, an
15    elected  county  officer  shall  be  considered   permanently
16    disabled  only if:  (i) disability occurs while in service as
17    an elected county officer and is  of  such  a  nature  as  to
18    prevent  him  from  reasonably  performing  the duties of his
19    office at the time; and (ii) the board has received a written
20    certification by at least 2 licensed physicians appointed  by
21    it  stating  that  the  officer  is  disabled  and  that  the
22    disability is likely to be permanent.
23        (d)  Refunds  of  additional optional contributions shall
24    be made on the same basis and under the  same  conditions  as
25    provided  under  Section  7-166,  7-167  and 7-168.  Interest
26    shall be credited at the effective rate on the same basis and
27    under the same conditions as for other contributions.
28        (e)  The  plan  of  optional  alternative  benefits   and
29    contributions  shall  be available to persons who are elected
30    county officers and active contributors to  the  Fund  on  or
31    after  November 15, 1994.  A person who was an elected county
32    officer and an active contributor to the Fund on November 15,
33    1994 but is no longer an active contributor may apply to make
34    additional optional contributions under this Section  at  any
 
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 1    time  within  90  days  after  the  effective  date  of  this
 2    amendatory  Act  of  1997; if the person is an annuitant, the
 3    resulting increase in annuity shall begin to  accrue  on  the
 4    first  day  of  the  month  following  the month in which the
 5    required payment is received by the Fund.
 6        (f)  For  the  purposes  of  this  Section  and   Section
 7    7-145.2,  the  terms  "elected  county  officer" and "elected
 8    county office" include, but  are  not  limited  to:  (1)  the
 9    county   clerk,   recorder,   treasurer,   coroner,  assessor
10    (regardless of whether that position is elective if elected),
11    auditor, sheriff, and State's Attorney; members of the county
12    board; and the clerk of the circuit court; and (2)  a  person
13    who has been appointed to fill a vacancy in an office that is
14    normally  filled  by  election on a countywide basis, for the
15    duration of his or her service in  that  office.   The  terms
16    "elected  county  officer" and "elected county office" do not
17    include any officer or  office  of  a  county  that  has  not
18    consented  to the availability of benefits under this Section
19    and Section 7-145.2.
20    (Source: P.A. 90-32, eff. 6-27-97.)

21        Section 99.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect  upon
22    becoming law.

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