Lifetime insurance for injured public safety workers under scrutiny again after change in law
Nearly 60 suburbs combined last year to cover more than $5 million in health insurance for scores of former police officers and firefighters injured in the line of duty.
That cost is likely to rise even if the number of injured public safety workers doesn’t, municipal leaders say.
That’s because a 2024 change to the state’s Public Safety Employee Benefits Act no longer allows municipalities to relegate those injured public safety workers to cheaper “basic” insurance plans.
“This allowed recipients to get any benefit the city offers to other public safety employees,” said Tim Bennett, Elgin’s director of human resources. “Previously, they could receive the HMO or pay the difference for a higher-costing plan. We saw our costs rise in 2024.”
The law has been controversial since it went into effect in 1998 because it gives firefighters and police officers injured in the line of duty — and in many cases their entire families — taxpayer-covered lifetime health insurance even if they find employment elsewhere that offers the benefit.
A Daily Herald analysis of 93 suburbs shows 58 towns had at least one PSEBA recipient. Elgin had the most, with 21 injured public safety employees receiving health insurance for themselves or their families. In 2024, it cost Elgin taxpayers $396,809.
Aurora paid the most, with $509,046 spent on 15 former police officers and firefighters, according to the analysis.
In all, taxpayers in those 58 towns spent a combined $5,150,709 to cover health insurance for 257 injured public safety workers. The data was collected through public records requests sent to each town.
| Town | Recipients | 2024 costs |
| ELGIN | 21 | $396,808.98 |
| ARLINGTON HEIGHTS | 18 | $459,427.68 |
| AURORA* | 15 | $509,046.12 |
| SCHAUMBURG | 15 | $301,964.00 |
| STREAMWOOD | 14 | $288,395.94 |
| ADDISON | 9 | $42,691.00 |
| DES PLAINES | 9 | $133,228.92 |
| GURNEE | 9 | $247,720.64 |
| DOWNERS GROVE | 8 | $150,171.21 |
| LOMBARD | 8 | $128,045.96 |
| NAPERVILLE | 8 | $167,406.12 |
| Source: Municipalities | ||
| *Note: 2023 figures | ||
Larger towns such as Elgin, Aurora, Arlington Heights, Schaumburg and Naperville that operate their own police and fire departments are apt to have more liability, but PSEBA also covers firefighters working at the dozens of fire protection districts throughout the state.
PSEBA costs have risen “exponentially” statewide since 1998 but have largely plateaued in recent years, according to a recent report from the state legislature’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability.
Last year, 151 municipalities responded to a COGFA request for PSEBA data, which showed more than $10.1 million was spent on 518 injured public safety workers in those towns.
“We are unapologetic for a state statute that’s been around since 1998 that when a firefighter is catastrophically injured receives these benefits,” said Chuck Sullivan, president of the Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois.
For years, municipalities have argued that many PSEBA recipients aren’t “catastrophically injured,” just unable to work as firefighters and police officers.
The problem, municipal leaders say, is there is no state definition for “catastrophically injured,” so the courts have held that any line-of-duty disability is synonymous with a catastrophic injury.
Attempts to tighten eligibility in recent years have been unsuccessful.
“The numbers on these cases are only going to continue to grow and the cost is only going to continue to grow,” said Brad Cole, CEO of the Illinois Municipal League, a lobbying group representing villages and cities. “We tried and tried and tried, but we can’t find a solution that is acceptable to the legislature or the courts.”
There is no requirement that any PSEBA recipient who finds employment elsewhere participate in the new employer’s health insurance program or that they use their spouse’s coverage, if available. That’s something experts say could save taxpayers thousands of dollars annually and potentially millions of dollars over the lifetime of the former public safety employees, or until they are eligible for Medicare and removed from PSEBA.
“There is no community official who does not agree that if somebody has significantly and severely life- or career-ending injuries that they don’t deserve our continued support,” said Streamwood Village Manager Sharon Caddigan. “But the manner in which the courts have determined or interpreted catastrophic injury has really changed the landscape.”
Streamwood paid $288,395 last year for 14 injured public safety employees receiving PSEBA coverage.
“The state legislature made this decision and the courts have made their rulings on it,” Caddigan lamented. “Absent any changes therein, I think most communities are resigned to it being what it is.”