Lawsuit Challenges Pension Asset Consolidation

by John E. Motylinski In 2019, the Illinois General Assembly passed Public Act 101-0610, which required downstate police and firefighter local pension funds’ assets to be consolidated into statewide funds for investment purposes. Since then, the Firefighters Pension Investment Fund (FPIF) and the Illinois Police Officers’ Pension Investment Fund (IPOPIF) have geared up to receive those investment funds and go …

Court Addresses Conflict of Overlapping PSEBA and Medicare Benefits

by Shawn P. Flaherty On May 11, 2021, the Illinois Appellate Court for the First District issued an opinion on the issue of the interplay of benefits for persons who are eligible for health insurance benefits from Medicare and from an employer under the provisions of the Public Safety Employee Benefits Act (PSEBA) in McCaffrey v. Village of Hoffman Estates, …

Six Ways to Avoid Losing Tax-Exempt Status

by Ryan R. Morton Among the many advantages of forming a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization is the freedom to collect income without paying federal or state taxes. That tax-exempt status is not guaranteed, however. Not-for-Profits (NFPs) must be wary of certain activities that could result in losing that financially beneficial status. Private Benefit Since the 501(c)(3) designation often attaches to churches, …

Mandatory Body Cameras Come Equipped with an Abundance of Problems

by Michael Castaldo, Jr. and Megan Lamb The massive Police Reform Bill (P.A. 101-0652) that was adopted in the waning hours of the last legislative session involves numerous changes to the way policing is handled in Illinois. One of the most significant provisions is the mandatory use of body cameras by all law enforcement officers. That change could become a …

Biden Reaffirms LGBTQ Title IX Protection in Schools

by Maureen A. Lemon and Megan Lamb In the waning days of the Trump administration, the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) issued a memo stating that Title IX anti-discrimination protections do not apply to gender identity or LGBTQ status. President Biden immediately reversed course, issuing an executive order requiring government agencies to apply all anti-sex discrimination laws …

Early Signs of How Investment Fund Transfers Will Work

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 …

Big Change in Illinois for Civil Tort Defendants

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 …

Paramedics Can Administer Vaccines in Certain Situations

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 …