820 ILCS 315/3 — Illinois Code / Chapter 820 / Act 315 / Section 3
Section 3
Status: in_force

(820 ILCS 315/3) (from Ch. 48, par. 283) Sec. 3. Duty death benefit. (a) If a claim therefor is made within 2 years of the date of death of a law enforcement officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, or State employee killed in the line of duty, or if a claim therefor is made within 2 years of the date of death of an Armed Forces member killed in the line of duty, compensation shall be paid to the person designated by the law enforcement officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, State employee, or Armed Forces member. However, if the Armed Forces member was killed in the line of duty before October 18, 2004, the claim must be made within one year of October 18, 2004. In addition, if a death occurred after December 31, 2016 and before January 1, 2021, the claim may be made no later than December 31, 2022 notwithstanding any other deadline established under this Act with respect to filing a claim for a duty death benefit. (b) The amount of compensation, except for an Armed Forces member, shall be $10,000 if the death in the line of duty occurred prior to January 1, 1974; $20,000 if such death occurred after December 31, 1973 and before July 1, 1983; $50,000 if such death occurred on or after July 1, 1983 and before January 1, 1996; $100,000 if the death occurred on or after January 1, 1996 and before May 18, 2001; $118,000 if the death occurred on or after May 18, 2001 and before July 1, 2002; and $259,038 if the death occurred on or after July 1, 2002 and before January 1, 2003. For an Armed Forces member killed in the line of duty (i) at any time before January 1, 2005, the compensation is $259,038 plus amounts equal to the increases for 2003 and 2004 determined under subsection (c) and (ii) on or after January 1, 2005, the compensation is the amount determined under item (i) plus the applicable increases for 2005 and thereafter determined under subsection (c). (c) Except as provided in subsection (b), for deaths occurring on or after January 1, 2003, the death compensation rate for death in the line of duty occurring in a particular calendar year shall be the death compensation rate for death occurring in the previous calendar year (or in the case of deaths occurring in 2003, the rate in effect on December 31, 2002) increased by a percentage thereof equal to the percentage increase, if any, in the index known as the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: U.S. city average, unadjusted, for all items, as published by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, for the 12 months ending with the month of June of that previous calendar year. (d) If no beneficiary is designated or if no designated beneficiary survives at the death of the law enforcement officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, or State employee killed in the line of duty, the compensation shall be paid in accordance with a legally binding will left by the law enforcement officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, or State employee. If the law enforcement officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, or State employee did not leave a legally binding will, the compensation shall be paid as follows: (1) when there is a surviving spouse, the entire sum shall be paid to the spouse; (2) when there is no surviving spouse, but a surviving descendant of the decedent, the