SPRINGFIELD – Correctional officers experience one of the highest injury rates of any profession - over 254 injuries per 10,000 workers annually, leading State Senator Mary Edly-Allen to pass a new law ensuring that correctional officers and sheriff’s office employees receive the care and stability they deserve after being injured on the job.
“Every day, correctional officers step into environments that most of us will never fully understand,” said Edly-Allen (D-Grayslake). “When they are injured in the line of duty, they should not have to worry about losing their health care or financial security while they recover.”
Currently, many non-deputized correctional officers must rely on workers’ compensation, which often replaces only a portion of lost wages and can create financial strain during recovery. Senate Bill 3076 will help close that gap by ensuring these workers are not left behind.
Senate Bill 3076 will expand the Public Employee Disability Act to include full- and part-time correctional officers and county sheriff employees who are currently not covered. Under the law, eligible employees who are injured while performing their duties will continue to receive health insurance benefits under the same terms as before their injury.
“The workers that put themselves in harm’s way to protect their communities should not face financial run when they are injured in the line of duty,” said David Amerson, executive director of Illinois Police Benevolent and Protective Association and the Police Benevolent Labor Committee.
“Our correctional officers have a taxing, exhausting job that most people don’t even think about,” said State Representative Gregg Johnson (D-Rock Island). “When they get hurt providing an essential service to our communities, they should have access to health care and other critical resources while they recover. With this law, they will be assured of that reality.”
The law builds on Illinois’ commitment to supporting public safety workers and recognizes the essential role correctional staff play in maintaining safe and secure facilities.
Senate Bill 3076 was signed Friday and goes into effect Jan. 1.
