1st District Appellate Court, February 9, 2024
This case involved Firefighter Wessel’s eligibility to apply for a non-duty disability pension. Wessel had worked for the Wilmette Fire Department for for just over nine (9) years, from September 27, 2010, until he voluntarily resigned from the department on January 31, 2020. He began working for the Lake Villa Fire Protection District on February 1, 2020. On February 16, 2021, Mr. Wessel applied for a non-duty disability pension with the Lake Villa Fire Protection District Fighters’ Pension Board after being with the Lake Villa Fire Department for just over one (1) year.
Wessel filed a non-duty disability application with both the Wilmette Firefighters Pension Fund and with the Lake Villa Fire Pension Fund. The plain language of section 4-109.3(n) makes clear that only the last pension fund is responsible for the non-duty disability pension and that an employee is entitled to that pension only “provided that the firefighter has at least 7 years of creditable service with the last pension fund.” Id. § 4-109.3(n). The parties agreed that Lake Villa Fire Fund was the “last pension fund,” since that was the fund Wessel was participating in at the time he withdrew from service. Because Mr. Wessel had less than seven years of creditable service with that fund, he was not entitled to a non-duty pension with Lake Villa.
The Wilmette Board unanimously found that Wessel was not eligible for non-duty disability pension benefits under sections 4-111 and 4-109.3(n) of the Code (id. § 4-109.3(n)). The Wilmette Board noted that at the time Wessel applied for the disability pension, he was no longer an employee of the Wilmette Fire Department and that he had left voluntarily to take a job with another fire department. Wessel appealed the decision of the Wilmette Board to deny him a non-duty disability pension.
Wessel argued that his nine years of service with the Wilmette Fire Department should suffice, and the Lake Villa Fire Protection District should be responsible for paying the pension.
The court’s analysis primarily focuses on interpreting the relevant provisions of the Pension Code, specifically sections 4-111 and 4-109.3(n). Section 4-111 outlines the criteria for a non-duty disability pension, while section 4-109.3(n) deals with how creditable service is calculated and allocated for such pensions.
The court concluded Wessel did not meet the requirements outlined in section 4-109.3(n) because he did not have seven years of creditable service with his last pension fund, the Lake Villa Fire Protection District Firefighters Pension Fund. The Court rejected Wessel’s argument that his service with the Wilmette Fire Department should count toward eligibility.
Ultimately, the Court Affirmed the decision of the Wilmette Firefighters Pension Board denying the claim for non-duty disability.