Additional Benefits
Tuition reimbursement for approved course work – Voluntary option
Paid overtime
Health Plan choices:
Medical - choice between a low deductible PPO, an HSA-compatible PPO and an HMO
- All plans administered by BCBS
- 75% employer subsidy provided, for employee and any covered dependent(s)
Dental and Vision insurance:
- Administered by BCBS
- 50% employer subsidy provided, for employee and any covered dependent(s)
- Administered by VSP
- 50% employer subsidy provided, for employee and any covered dependent(s)
Life Insurance: $50,000.00
Disability Coverage: $100,000 as governed by the Illinois State Statute
Other Benefits:
12 paid holidays each year. Employees who work on any of the following holidays receive premium pay (twice their standard hourly wage) for hours worked on each day
Additional benefits, such as longevity pay, are also provided to Local 49 employees. Details can be found within the union's Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Retirement Health Savings (RHS)
Employees who retire or leave the employment of the City under honorable circumstances, with twenty (20) or more years of service as a firefighter shall convert accrued sick leave to a Retirement Health Savings (RHS) account, to a maximum of one thousand eight hundred / one thousand four hundred forty (1,800/1,440) hours of accumulated unused sick leave at the final hourly rate. The rate of conversion will be one hundred percent (100%) of any hours of accumulated unused sick leave for employees hired prior to June 17, 2013. For employees hired on or after June 17, 2013, the rate of conversion upon retirement shall be as follows:
Retirement
0-863 hours = 0%
864-1,079 hours = 20%
1,080-1,259 hours = 30%
1,260-1,440 hours = 40%
1,441–1,800 hours = 50%
Paid Leave:
| Years of Service |
24 Hour Shift |
40 Hour Week |
| Vacation |
| 30 Days after DOH but less than 1 year |
4 Duty Days |
80 Hours |
| 1 Year but less than 5 Years |
6 Duty Days |
120 Hours |
| 5 Years but less than 20 Years |
7 Duty Days |
160 Hours |
| 20 Years or more |
9 Duty Days |
200 Hours |
| Sick Leave |
| Date of Hire |
12 Hours per Month |
10 Hours per Month |
| Holidays |
| Date of Hire |
12 Days |
11.5 Days |
Retirement:
Retiring at 55 years of age:
Minimum: 20 years of service = 50% final average salary
Maximum: 30 years of service = 75% final average salary
DOWNSTATE FIRE - SERVICE RETIREMENT BENEFITS—TIER 2 (IN SERVICE AFTER JANUARY 1, 2011) A Tier 2 firefighter is eligible for retirement benefits at age 55 upon attainment of 10 years of service. The pension is equal to 2.5% of his or her “final average salary” for each year of service. The “final average salary” is your average monthly salary during the last eight years of service (technically, the highest 96 consecutive months within your last 120 months of service). The highest allowable pension is 75% of your final average salary. So, for example, if a firefighter has 30 years of service and an eight-year final average salary of $75,000 annually, the monthly pension would be $4,687. If a firefighter with sufficient credit wishes to draw his or her pension prior to age 55, the pension may be started any time after age 50, but with a resulting decrease in the monthly amount. The decrease is 6% annually for each year that the firefighter receives pension prior to age 55 (proportioned monthly). NOTE: The Tier 2 law set the highest salary that can be used for calculation of the final average salary at $106,800. This amount is then indexed for inflation in the future but not more than 3% per year (or one-half of the Consumer Price Index if that amount is lower than 3%). As of 2018, this cap had been indexed up to $113,645.
