by Michael B. Weinstein In the year since Public Act 101-0610 (S. B. 1300) became effective, much has been accomplished, at least with respect to downstate firefighter pension funds.1 The Firefighters Pension Investment Fund (FPIF) transition board set three priorities for its first year of existence. First, was the hiring of an Executive Director and other important staff. Thus, William …
by W. Anthony Andrews In January 2021, on the same day that a controversial police reform bill passed the General Assembly during its lame-duck session, legislators quietly and quickly approved a significant bill impacting civil defendants. During the early morning hours on January 13th, through a Senate Amendment to House Bill 3360—which was originally designed to address mortgage foreclosures—legislators amended …
by Thomas J. Gilbert and Shontia Fox Now that COVID-19 vaccines have been approved, the focus has shifted to determining the fastest way to get the vaccines administered. Nurses have come out of retirement, volunteering their time to help with the shortage of qualified vaccinators. Emergency Medical Technicians could provide a tremendous resource to accomplish that task. EMTs have the …
by Maureen A. Lemon The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) recently issued new special education regulations governing who is qualified to interpret at Individual Education Program (IEP) meetings to assist a parent who has limited English proficiency. The amendments begin on page 1671 of https://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/index/register/volume45/register_volume45_issue_6.pdf. These regulations were required by P.A. 101-124, effective January 1, 2020. That law, in turn, …
By Maureen A. Lemon Since drafting the first iteration of its Interim Exclusion Guidance Decision Tree (Decision Tree), last summer, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has repeatedly refined the Decision Tree to assist school districts to decide when and for how long employees and students must be excluded from work/school due to symptoms of COVID-19 or after being …
Shock waves sounded throughout the State on January 13th when the General Assembly hurriedly adopted House Bill 3653 minutes before the legislative session ended. The main focus of media coverage since then has been on the “big ticket” items in the bill: requiring body cameras, restricting use of force, and ending cash bail. However, tucked into the 764-page piece of …
By James G. Wargo Since August of 2009, Article 3 and 4 pension trustees have been required to complete certain training and education requirements under Sections 1-109.3 and 1-113.18 of the Illinois Pension Code (40 ILCS 5/1-109.3; 1-113.18). Following the Illinois General Assembly’s passage of Public Act 101-0610 (effective January 1, 2020), the training requirements for Article 3 and 4 …
The Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines have been authorized for emergency use by the FDA. In anticipation of future availability of the COVID-19 vaccine to the general public, the EEOC has issued guidance on whether an employer can make vaccination mandatory for employees, and how mandatory vaccinations would intersect with protections afforded under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and …
by W. Anthony Andrews and Shontia Fox COVID-19 has drastically changed the way individuals interact. Employees project their voices through face masks, doctors diagnose patients via Zoom, and students shuffle between virtual links rather than classrooms. Legal traditions and customs also have been altered to better protect the health of litigants. For the most part, face-to-face interactions with clients, opposing …
by John E. Motylinski Last year, the Illinois General Assembly decided to consolidate Article 3 and 4 pension funds’ investments. The legislature enacted Public Act 101-0610, which created two statewide investment pools to manage downstate police and fire pension funds. The Act also laid out an ambitious goal: to transition all affected pension monies to the consolidated funds by July …
