HB5153 Summary

• Amends the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) to allow full-time firefighters and firefighter/paramedics employed by municipalities with fewer than 5,000 residents in counties with more than 1,000,000 inhabitants to participate as sheriff's law enforcement employees if they employ 40+ full-time paid firefighters subject to collective bargaining and are ineligible for Article 4 retirement funds.

• Provides occupational disease disability benefits for firefighters/paramedics with 5+ years of creditable service who are unable to perform duties due to heart disease, stroke, tuberculosis, lung/respiratory diseases, or certain cancers arising from service, equal to the greater of 65% of current rank salary or eligible retirement pension.

• Allows firefighter/paramedic survivors of sheriff's law enforcement employees to receive survivor pensions of at least 100% of the deceased's final rank salary if death results from sickness, accident, or injury incurred in performance of duty on or after January 1, 1988.

• Extends child disability benefits of $20/month for unmarried children under age 18 dependent on disabled firefighters, with continued eligibility for disabled dependents over age 18.

• Exempts state mandate implementation costs from reimbursement requirements and makes the act effective immediately.