Nowak v. City of Country Club Hills

• Decision Date: 01 December 2011
• Docket Number: No. 111838.,111838.
• Parties: Don NOWAK, Appellee, v. The CITY OF COUNTRY CLUB HILLS, Appellant.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

2011 IL 111838
354 Ill.Dec. 825
958 N.E.2d 1021

Don NOWAK, Appellee,
v.
The CITY OF COUNTRY CLUB HILLS, Appellant.

No. 111838.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

Dec. 1, 2011.

[958 N.E.2d 1022]

John B. Murphey, of Rosenthal, Murphey, Coblentz & Donahue, of Chicago, for appellant.

Franklin A. Celani, of Mokena, for appellee.

Brian Day and Roger Huebner, of Springfield, for amicus curiae the Illinois Municipal League.OPINION Justice THOMAS delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.

[354 Ill.Dec. 826] ¶ 1 This case presents the following question: When a police officer suffers a catastrophic injury in the line of duty, when does the officer's employer become statutorily obligated to pay the entire health insurance premium for the injured officer and his family? The circuit court of Cook County held that the obligation attaches upon a determination that the officer is permanently disabled and therefore never returning to work. The appellate court held that the obligation attaches when the officer sustains the actual injury. 406 Ill.App.3d 837, 346 Ill.Dec. 854, 941 N.E.2d 412. We agree with the circuit court.

¶ 2 BACKGROUND

¶ 3 Plaintiff, Don Nowak, worked as a full-time law enforcement officer for the City of Country Club Hills (the City). He was also a member of the local police union, which had entered into a collective-bargaining agreement with the City. The collective-bargaining agreement provided that the City would offer a health insurance plan for all police officers and that officers choosing to participate in the plan would pay 20% of the applicable insurance premium. Plaintiff chose to participate in the plan, and the City regularly deducted 20% of the applicable premium from his paycheck.

¶ 4 On August 21, 2005, plaintiff was injured in the line of duty while attempting to make an arrest. He never returned to work as a police officer. For 12 months following the date of his injury, plaintiff received 100% of his salary, as required by section 1(b) of the Public Employee Disability Act (PEDA) (5 ILCS 345/1 (West 2004)). For a short time thereafter, he continued to receive his full salary and benefits through a combination of accrued sick and vacation time, two weeks' light duty, and temporary total disability payments under the Workers' Compensation Act (820 ILCS 305/1 et seq. (West 2006)). During the 12 months that plaintiff received his full salary under PEDA, the City continued to deduct 20% of the applicable health insurance premiums from his paycheck, in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement. After plaintiff's PEDA benefits expired, plaintiff continued to participate in the City's health insurance plan and continued to pay 20% of the applicable health insurance premiums to the City on a monthly basis.

¶ 5 In February 2008, plaintiff applied for disability benefits. On October 14, 2008, the City's police pension board (the Board) awarded plaintiff a line-of-duty disability pension under the Illinois Pension Code (See 40 ILCS 5/4–110 (West 2004)), effective September 1, 2006. The City immediately began paying 100% of plaintiff's health insurance premiums, as required by section 10(a) of the Public Safety Employee Benefits Act (PSEBA) (820 ILCS 320/10(a) (West 2006)).

[958 N.E.2d 1023]

[354 Ill.Dec. 827] ¶ 6 Following the Board's decision, plaintiff requested reimbursement from the City for the health insurance premium contributions he had paid since the date of his injury. The City refused plaintiff's request. Plaintiff then filed a civil complaint seeking reimbursement of those contributions. The parties submitted a stipulation of facts and filed cross-motions for summary judgment. The circuit court denied plaintiff's motion and entered summary judgment in favor of the City.

¶ 7 Plaintiff appealed, and the appellate court reversed. 406 Ill.App.3d 837, 346 Ill.Dec. 854, 941 N.E.2d 412. We granted the City's petition for leave to appeal. Ill. S.Ct. R. 315 (eff.Feb.26, 2010). In addition, we allowed the Illinois Municipal League to file an amicus curiae brief on behalf of the City. Ill. S.Ct. R. 345 (eff.Sept.20, 2010).

¶ 8 ANALYSIS

¶ 9 This case is governed by section 10(a) of PSEBA, which in relevant part provides:

“An employer who employs a full-time law enforcement* * * officer * * * who * * * suffers a catastrophic injury or is killed in the line of duty shall pay the entire premium of the employer's health insurance plan for the injured employee, the injured employee's spouse, and for each dependent child of the injured employee until the child reaches the age of majority * * *.” 820 ILCS 320/10(a) (West 2004).¹

The parties here agree that plaintiff suffered a catastrophic injury in the line of duty. In addition, the parties agree that, in light of that injury, the City is obligated under section 10(a) to pay the entire health insurance premium for plaintiff and his family. The sole point of contention is, When did the City's obligation under section 10(a) attach? The City argues that it attached on October 14, 2008, when the Board determined that plaintiff would never be returning to work and therefore awarded him a line-of-duty disability pension. Plaintiff argues that the City's obligation attached on August 21, 2005, the date he sustained his injury. We agree with the City.

¶ 10 Plain Language

¶ 11 The fundamental rule of statutory construction is to ascertain and give effect to the legislature's intent. Michigan Avenue National Bank v. County of Cook, 191 Ill.2d 493, 503–04, 247 Ill.Dec. 473, 732 N.E.2d 528 (2000). The best indication of legislative intent is the statutory language, given its plain and ordinary meaning. Illinois Graphics Co. v. Nickum, 159 Ill.2d 469, 479, 203 Ill.Dec. 463, 639 N.E.2d 1282 (1994). Where the language is clear and unambiguous, we must apply the statute without resort to further aids of statutory construction. Davis v. Toshiba Machine Co., America, 186 Ill.2d 181, 184–85, 237 Ill.Dec. 769, 710 N.E.2d 399 (1999). However, if the statutory language is ambiguous or unclear, this court may look beyond the act's language to ascertain its meaning. In re D.D., 196 Ill.2d 405, 419, 256 Ill.Dec. 870, 752 N.E.2d 1112 (2001). A statute is ambiguous if it is capable of more than one reasonable interpretation. County of Du Page v. Illinois Labor Relations Board, 231 Ill.2d 593, 604, 326 Ill.Dec. 848, 900 N.E.2d 1095 (2008). The construction of a statute is a question of law that we review de novo. [354 Ill.Dec. 828]

[958 N.E.2d 1024]

Ries v. City of Chicago, 242 Ill.2d 205, 216, 351 Ill.Dec. 135, 950 N.E.2d 631 (2011).

¶ 12 The problem in this case arises from the fact that section 10(a) is utterly silent as to when an employer's obligation under that section attaches. ² The reason this is problematic is that there are at least two points in time at which that obligation could attach. The first is that suggested by plaintiff, namely, the date on which the officer actually suffers his injury. Indeed, section 10(a) requires employers to pay the entire health insurance premium for an officer who “ suffers a catastrophic injury * * * in the line of duty” (emphasis added). In this case, no one disputes that plaintiff's injury was “suffered” on August 21, 2005, and therefore it is reasonable to suggest that this would be the date upon which the City's obligations under section 10(a) attached. However, a second and equally reasonable option exists, and that is the one proffered by the City, namely, the date on which the officer is declared permanently disabled and awarded a line-of-duty disability pension. Indeed, section 10(a) requires employers to pay the entire health insurance premium for an officer who “suffers a catastrophic injury * * * in the line of duty” (emphasis added). As noted above, “catastrophic injury” is a term of art, and it means an injury that results in the awarding of a line-of-duty disability pension. See Krohe, 204 Ill.2d at 398–400, 273 Ill.Dec. 779, 789 N.E.2d 1211. In this case, although plaintiff suffered an injury on August 21, 2005, that injury was not declared “catastrophic” until October 14, 2008, when the Board concluded that plaintiff would never return to work and therefore awarded him a line-of-duty disability pension. Thus, it is equally reasonable to suggest that October 14, 2008, is the date upon which the City's obligations under section 10(a) attached, as prior to that date, plaintiff's injury was not, legally speaking, “catastrophic.”

¶ 13 Given that both of these readings of section 10(a) are reasonable, and given that section 10(a) simply does not speak to when an employer's obligation under that section attaches, we conclude that section 10(a) is ambiguous on this point. See People v. Marshall, 242 Ill.2d 285, 297, 351 Ill.Dec. 172, 950 N.E.2d 668 (2011) (statute's silence rendered the statute ambiguous). We therefore may turn to extrinsic aids of statutory construction, including both legislative history (Krohe, 204 Ill.2d at 398, 273 Ill.Dec. 779, 789 N.E.2d 1211) and well-established rules of construction ( People v. Easley, 119 Ill.2d 535, 539, 116 Ill.Dec. 699, 519 N.E.2d 914 (1988)).

¶ 14 Legislative History

¶ 15 We begin with the legislative history and debates, which are “[v]aluable construction aids in interpreting an ambiguous statute.” Advincula v. United Blood Services, 176 Ill.2d 1, 19, 223 Ill.Dec. 1, 678 N.E.2d 1009 (1996). PSEBA began its life as House Bill 1347 (the Bill), which was sponsored by Representative Art Tenhouse and introduced to the Illinois House of Representatives on March 5, 1997. On April 14, 1997, just prior to the Bill's third reading, Representative Tenhouse explained to his colleagues:

“1347 is a simple Bill. It simply provides that full-time law...