Illinois Sen. Allen’s public employee disability benefits bill passes House and Senate

Passed bill authored by State Sen. Mary Edly-Allen aims to extend disability and health insurance benefits to county sheriff employees unable to work due to qualifying injury or illness, according to the Illinois General Assembly.

In the House, 73 Democrats and 21 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while 17 Republicans opposed it.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, 37 Democrats and 16 Republicans voted in favor of the bill.

Allen introduced the bill in the Illinois Senate on Jan. 29, 2026 during the 104th session.

The legislation, known as SB3076, was passed on May 21, 2026 during the general assembly session 104.

According to the Illinois General Assembly site, the legislature summarized the bill’s official text as follows: “Amends the Public Employee Disability Act. Provides that, for purposes of provisions in the Act concerning disability benefits, “eligible employee” includes any part-time or full-time county correctional officer or any other full-time or part-time employee of a county sheriff. Provides that, when an eligible employee suffers an injury in the line of duty that causes the employee to be unable to perform the employee’s duties, the employing public entity shall continue to provide health insurance benefits on the same terms and conditions as were in effect immediately prior to the injury.”

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill expands the definition of “eligible employee” under the Public Employee Disability Act to include part-time and full-time county correctional officers and any other part-time or full-time employees of a county sheriff for both injury and illness disability benefits. It requires public employers to continue paying eligible employees their full salary for up to one year when they cannot perform their duties because of a line-of-duty injury or qualifying illness, without reducing sick leave, vacation, compensatory time or pension service credits. It also requires continuation of health insurance benefits for injured employees and their dependents on the same terms as before the injury.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Amy Briel (Democrat-76th District), Rep. Gregg Johnson (Democrat-72nd District), and Rep. John M. Cabello (Republican-90th District), along with four other sponsors.

Bills in Illinois follow a multi-step legislative process, beginning with introduction in either the House or Senate, followed by committee review, floor debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching the governor for approval or veto. The General Assembly operates on a biennial schedule, and while typically thousands of bills are introduced each session, only a fraction successfully pass through the process to become law.

You can read more about bills and other measures here.

Edly-Allen graduated from Northeastern Illinois University in 1993 with a BA.

Edly-Allen, a Democrat, was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 2023 to represent the state’s 31st Senate District, replacing previous state senator Terry Hall.