Pension board says Buffalo Grove firefighter's cancer was job-related
Buffalo Grove leaders want more information before deciding whether or not to take action on an "unprecedented" pension benefit a village committee awarded to a firefighter after concluding his death from cancer was job-related.
The Buffalo Grove Fire Pension Fund Board agreed in a 3-2 vote Friday that firefighter/paramedic Kevin Hauber's colon cancer was caused in the line of duty, officials said.
That entitles his family to receive his full salary in pension instead of a lesser amount that typically would be granted.
Hauber, 51, who died in January, had a wife and four young daughters.
"The village has the responsibility to be the stewards of the taxpayer dollars," village officials said in a news release. "Given that there is no precedent for the award of an enhanced pension for this type of cancer, it is not clear whether the pension board's (action) is consistent with the standards set forth in state law."
The pension board's attorney is expected to provide a detailed report on the decision to the village board in May.
"There's been no decision at this point," village President Beverly Sussman said Saturday.
Hauber began his career as a firefighter/paramedic for the village in 1994.
"His childhood dream was to protect and serve," his family said in a statement after his death.