Copies of the actual legislation and bill status information are available at www.ilga.gov.

Senate Bill summaries are available by clicking here.

House Bill 49 (Public Act 95-0279)

Became law on August 17, 2007.
Requires all public pension systems in Illinois to provide the same level of benefits to both natural born and adopted children. TRS is currently the only Illinois pension system to do this.

House Bill 379

House Committee
Provides that persons retiring on May 15 or later with 74.6 percent of their annuity will be deemed to be age 55 if they turn 55 by December 31. This addresses the so-called “June gap.” The current law has a July 1 date, causing the “June gap.”

House Bill 562

Senate 1st reading
Calls on pension systems to invest a minimum of 5 percent of their assets in Illinois, a goal TRS exceeds already.

House Bill 590

House Committee
Allows school districts to exempt extracurricular activities from the 6 percent of final average salary contribution requirement.

House Bill 824

Sent to the Governor
As amended, this bill provides changes to the Illinois Ethics Act regarding individuals who donate money to constitutional officers (the Governor, the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, etc.) ability to contract with the state in amounts greater than $50,000. For TRS, this would mean individuals having contracts with the retirement system in an amount greater than $50,000 would be prohibited from making contributions to a candidate for the Illinois Governor’s office.

House Bill 1005

House Committee
Allows school districts to exempt negotiated salary schedule adjustments from the 6 percent of final average salary contribution requirement

House Bill 1331

House Committee
Adds “domestic partner” to the definition of a surviving spouse.

House Bill 1515

House Committee
Changes the method of computing interest for the purchase of military service credit.

House Bill 1627

Senate Committee
Requires TRS to make an annual membership/ research mailing on behalf of a non-profit organization of active or retired teachers.

House Bill 1970

House Committee
Exempts extra-curricular pay from the calculation of required employer contributions for salary increase over 6 percent.

House Bill 3920 (Public Act 95-0011)

Became law on July 2, 2007.
The Illinois State Budget

House Bill 4536 (Public Act 95-0910)

Became law on August 26, 2008.
A teacher may work in a certified subject shortage area after he/she retires without impairing his or her retirement status.  As amended, this bill changes the sunset date until June 30, 2013.

House Bill 4700 (Public Act 95-0836)

Became law on August 15, 2008.
Proposes that a states’ attorney must inform the appropriate pension system if a public employee is convicted of a job-related felony.

House Bill 5088 (Public Act 95-0950)

Became law August 29, 2008.
Allows for an overall increase in state funding distributed across all state pension systems.

House Bill 5120 (Public Act 95-0870)

Became law on August 21, 2008.
Allows disabled individuals over the age of 18 to receive both a TRS survivor benefit and a public aid benefit.

House Bill 5142

Senate Committee
Allows for the purchase of out-of-state pregnancy leave.

House Bill 5643

House Committee
Allows for multiple administrative changes to increase the efficiency of TRS operations.

House Bill 5699 (Public Act 95-0816)

Became law on August 13, 2008.
Allows a disabled member to return to work as a teacher under an employer covered by the State Universities Retirement System, with certain limitations.

House Bill 5701 (Public Act 95-0734)

Became law on July 10, 2008.
Item Reduction Veto
Fiscal Year 2009 Budget

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