Appellate Court Grants Fire Lieutenant Pensionable Salary at a Rank Never Worked
By: Thomas S. Radja Jr.
The Illinois Appellate Court reversed the Elgin Firefighters’ Pension Board and held Mark Schneider’s line-of-duty disability pension must be based on Lieutenant’s pay.
Schneider injured his back on March 2, 2022, underwent L4-L5 fusion, and was permanently unable to return to duty by September 21, 2023. He applied for a line-of-duty disability pension on October 30, 2023, and the Board granted benefits based on firefighter salary. During recovery and while awaiting a disability determination from the Pension Board, the City promoted Schneider to lieutenant on April 12, 2024 while he was still receiving TTD benefits. Schneider admitted when he was promoted by the City he
could not perform the duties of a firefighter or a Lieutenant.
The Illinois Appellate Court addressed the issue of whether section 4-110 requires using the salary attached to the rank held on the date the firefighter is removed from payroll when the promotion occurs while the firefighter is receiving TTD benefits. Section 4-110 states a duty disability pension is 65% of the monthly salary attached to the rank held at the date of removal from the municipality’s fire department payroll. The Pension Board argued the firefighter never received Lieutenant salary, never worked a day as a Lieutenant, and never paid contributions to the Pension Fund at the Lieutenants salary, and therefore the firefighters salary should apply.
In rejecting the Board’s argument, the Illinois Appellate Court determined it must apply the statute’s plain language and liberal construction for pensioners in its determination that the pension salary must be based on the monthly salary attached to the rank “held” on the payroll-removal date, which in this case was Lieutenant. The Court cited the Sottos case in support noting that a firefighter remains “on payroll” while receiving employer-paid TTD, fixing the effective date of the salary determination at time
when TTD terminates. The Court rejected the Board’s reliance on the IDOI regulations which define “salary” as fixed compensation regularly received by an employee to the rank the firefighter is assigned. The Board’s focus on lack of lieutenant service, pay, or pension contributions was irrelevant because section 4-110 turns on rank held at payroll removal.
Schneider v. Elgin FFPB, Illinois Appellate Court, Second District, Decided September 28, 2026
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