(WSIL) --ÌýGovernor JB Pritzker signed a bill Friday that would expand access to health insurance benefits with no premium costs for the families of state employees who lose their life during employment.Ìý
Senate Bill 3197 provides health insurance coverage to survivors and dependents of state employees who are killed in while on the job, regardless of how long they had been employed.Ìý
It is retroactive for one year to include the family of Deidre Silas, a DCFS Child Welfare Specialist, who was killed while on duty conducted a visit to a home.ÌýHer survivors were not eligible for survivor benefits because she had five months of creditable service with DCFS, one month short of the six-months vesting requirement.
This law is effective immediately.
“There is no higher calling than the work to protect our most vulnerable children,â€Ì�said Governor JB Pritzker. “Deidre Silas was a distinguished public servant who devoted her life to that mission, and we miss her terribly. It is in her honor that we take action to expand health insurance coverage to survivors of tragedy and create a safer environment for those who do the crucial work of protecting our young people.â€�
Ìý
