ILCS » Chapter 40 · Act 5
Illinois Compiled Statutes

40 ILCS 5/6-151 (2026)

An active fireman who is or becomes disabled on or after the effective date as the result of a specific injury, or of cumulative injuries, or of specific sickness incurred in or resulting from an act or acts of duty, shall have the right to receive duty disability benefit during any period of such disability for which he does not receive or have a right to receive salary, equal to 75% of his salary at the time the disability is allowed

✓ current as of May 2026
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(40 ILCS 5/6-151) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 6-151)
    Sec. 6-151. An active fireman who is or becomes disabled on or after the effective date as the result of a specific injury, or of cumulative injuries, or of specific sickness incurred in or resulting from an act or acts of duty, shall have the right to receive duty disability benefit during any period of such disability for which he does not receive or have a right to receive salary, equal to 75% of his salary at the time the disability is allowed. However, beginning January 1, 1994, no duty disability benefit that has been payable under this Section for at least 10 years shall be less than 50% of the current salary attached from time to time to the rank and grade held by the fireman at the time of his removal from the Department payroll, regardless of whether that removal occurred before the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1993.
    Whenever an active fireman is or becomes so injured or sick, as to require medical or hospital attention, the chief officer of the fire department of the city shall file, or cause to be filed, with the board a report of the nature and cause of his disability, together with the certificate or report of the physician attending or treating, or who attended or treated the fireman, and a copy of any hospital record concerning the disability. Any injury or sickness not reported to the board in time to permit the board's physician to examine the fireman before his recovery, and any injury or sickness for which a physician's report or copy of the hospital record is not on file with the board shall not be considered for the payment of duty disability benefit.
    Such fireman shall also receive a child's disability benefit of $30 per month on account of each unmarried child, the issue of the fireman or legally adopted by him, who is less than 18 years of age or handicapped and dependent upon the fireman for support. The total amount of child's disability benefit shall not exceed 25% of his salary at the time the disability is allowed.
    The first payment of duty disability or child's disability benefit shall be made not later than one month after the benefit is granted. Each subsequent payment shall be made not later than one month after the date of the latest payment.
    Duty disability benefit shall be payable during the period of the disability until the fireman reaches the age of compulsory retirement. Child's disability benefit shall be paid to such a fireman during the period of disability until such child or children attain age 18 or marries, whichever event occurs first; except that attainment of age 18 by a child who is so physically or mentally handicapped as to be dependent upon the fireman for support, shall not render the child ineligible for child's disability benefit. The fireman shall thereafter receive such annuity or annuities as are provided for him in accordance with other provisions of this Article.
    For the purposes of this Section only, any fireman who becomes disabled as a result of exposure to and contraction of COVID-19, as evidenced by either a confirmed positive laboratory test for COVID-19 or COVID-19 antibodies or a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 from a licensed medical professional shall:
        (1) be rebuttably presumed to have contracted
    
COVID-19 while in the performance of an act or acts of duty;
        (2) be rebuttably presumed to have been injured while
    
in the performance of an act or acts of duty; and
        (3) be entitled to receive a duty disability benefit
    
during any period of such disability for which the fireman does not have a right to receive salary, in an amount equal to 75% of the fireman's salary, as salary is defined in this Article, at the time the disability is allowed, in accordance with this Section.
    The presumption shall apply to any fireman who was exposed to and contracted COVID-19 on or after March 9, 2020 and on or before January 31, 2022; except that the presumption shall not apply if the fireman was on a leave of absence from his or her employment or otherwise not required to report for duty for a period of 14 or more consecutive days immediately prior to the date of contraction of COVID-19. For the purposes of determining when a fireman contracted COVID-19 under this paragraph, the date of contraction is either the date that the fireman was diagnosed with COVID-19 or was unable to work due to symptoms that were later diagnosed as COVID-19, whichever occurred first.
    It is the intent of the General Assembly that the change made by this amendatory Act shall apply retroactively to March 9, 2020, and any fireman who has been previously denied a duty disability benefit that would otherwise be entitled to duty disability benefit under this Section shall be entitled to retroactive benefits and duty disability benefit.
(Source: P.A. 103-2, eff. 5-10-23; 103-692, eff. 7-19-24.)

    
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 27 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1998–2024 · leading case: Of v. Howe, 96 N.E.3d 516 (Ill. App. Ct. 2017).
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Of v. Howe, 96 N.E.3d 516 (Ill. App. Ct. 2017). · cites it 4× “" 40 ILCS 5/6-151 (West 2016). The "[d]uty disability benefit shall be payable during the period of the disability until the fireman reaches the age of compulsory retirement.”
In re Marriage of Farrell, 2017 IL App (1st) 170611 (Ill. App. Ct. 2018). · cites it 2× “See 40 ILCS 5/6-151 (West 2016). As aptly stated in In re Marriage of Belk, “The parties had the right to enter into an agreement with regard to the division of any of their property.”
Howe v. Ret. Bd. of the Firemen's Annunity & Benefit Fund of Chicago, 2015 IL App (1st) 141350 (Ill. App. Ct. 2015). · cites it 4× “OPINION ¶1 This case comes before us for a second time to review whether the defendant Retirement Board (Board) of the Firemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago (FABF) properly denied plaintiff’s application for a duty disability benefit, which plaintiff had filed pursuant…”
Howe v. The Ret. Bd. of the Firemen's Annunity & Benefit Fund of Chicago, 2015 IL App (1st) 141350 (Ill. App. Ct. 2015). · cites it 4× “OPINION ¶1 This case comes before us for a second time to review whether the defendant Retirement Board (Board) of the Firemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago (FABF) properly denied plaintiff’s application for a duty disability benefit, which plaintiff had filed pursuant…”
In re Marriage of Farrell, 2017 IL App (1st) 170611 (Ill. App. Ct. 2018). · cites it 4× “” 40 ILCS 5/6-151 (West 2016). The “[d]uty disability benefit shall be payable during the period of the disability until the fireman reaches the age of compulsory retirement.”
Siwinski v. The Ret. Bd. of the Firemen's Annuity & Benefit Fund, 2019 IL App (1st) 180388 (Ill. App. Ct. 2019). · cites it 3× “OPINION ¶1 The plaintiff, Leah Siwinski, appeals from an order of the circuit court of Cook County which confirmed a decision of the Retirement Board of the Firemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund of the City of Chicago (Board), denying her a duty disability pension under section…”
Bremer v. City of Rockford, 2016 IL 119889 (Ill. 2017). “¶ 30 Our appellate court has previously considered whether the requirements for establishing a line-of-duty disability under section 6-151 of the Pension Code (40 ILCS 5/6-151 (West 2004)) are the same as those for an occupational disease disability under section 6-151.”
Gaffney v. Orland Fire Prot., 921 N.E.2d 778 (Ill. App. Ct. 2009). “, Senate Proceedings, November 14, 1997, at 136 (statements of Senator Donahue). In addition, when asking the Senate to override the Governor's veto, Senator Donahue expressly stated that the legislature intended the phrase "catastrophically injured" to mean injuries suffered by…”
Thigpen v. Ret. Bd. of Firemen's Annuity & Benefit Fund of Chicago, 741 N.E.2d 276 (Ill. App. Ct. 2000). “The Code defines an "act of duty" as: "Any act imposed on an active fireman by the ordinances of a city, or by the rules or regulations of its fire department, or any act performed by an active fireman while on duty, having for its direct purpose the saving of the life or…”
Nowak v. Ret. Bd. of Firemen's Annuity & Benefit Fund of Chicago, 733 N.E.2d 804 (Ill. App. Ct. 2000). “" 40 ILCS 5/6-151 (West 1992). Section 6-153 of the Code provides that "[p]roof of duty * * * disability shall be furnished to the Board by at least one licensed and practicing physician appointed by the Board.”
The City of Chicago v. Illinois Workers' Comp. Comm'n, 2014 IL App (1st) 121507WC (Ill. App. Ct. 2014). · cites it 2× “On April 9, 2009, the claimant filed an application for duty-related disability benefits with the Board pursuant to section 6-151 of the Illinois Pension Code (40 ILCS 5/6-151 (West 2008)). After conducting a hearing, during which the claimant testified and presented testimony…”
Siwinski v. The Ret. Bd. of the Firemen's Annuity & Benefit Fund of the City of Chicago, 2019 IL App (1st) 180388 (Ill. App. Ct. 2019). · cites it 3× “*1087 *69 ¶ 1 The plaintiff, Leah Siwinski, appeals from an order of the circuit court of Cook County which confirmed a decision of The Retirement Board of the Firemen's Annuity and Benefit Fund of the City of Chicago (Board), denying her a duty disability pension under section…”
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