Appellate Court of Illinois

Denial of a complaint challenging the defendant's decisions granting plaintiff widow's non-duty-related annuity benefits rather than the greater widow's duty-related annuity benefits, and denial of a motion for a writ of mandamus ordering defendant to notify all potential widows of their rights and to conduct a hearing is affirmed where: 1) section 6-140 does not entitle widows of occupationally disabled firemen to receive a duty annuity as a matter of law when their husbands' disability permanently prevented them from resuming active service; 2) the court rejects the argument that a widow of a firefighter receiving an occupational disability benefit at the time of death never qualify for a duty annuity; 3) the court rejects the dicta in the defendant's decision and the circuit court stating the previous point; and 4) writ of mandamus was properly denied since the complaint does not seek to undertake an action which affects the public at large and does not allege that plaintiff had previously demanded the defendant to notify all potential widows.

Appellate Information

• Decided 06/01/2007
• Published 06/01/2007

Judges

• Justice FROSSARD delivered the opinion of the court:

Court

• Appellate Court of Illinois

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Martin O. Holland, Evergreen Park, for Plaintiffs-Appellants.


• For Appellees:
  
• Burke Burns & Pinelli, Ltd. (Vincent D. Pinelli & Robert R. Hall, Jr., of counsel), for Defendant-Appellee.