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90_SB1270enr 40 ILCS 5/4-106 from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 4-106 40 ILCS 5/4-107 from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 4-107 40 ILCS 5/4-118 from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 4-118 40 ILCS 5/15-106 from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-106 40 ILCS 5/15-107 from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-107 40 ILCS 5/15-136 from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-136 40 ILCS 5/15-154 from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-154 40 ILCS 5/15-155 from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-155 40 ILCS 5/15-157 from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-157 40 ILCS 5/15-158.2 40 ILCS 5/15-181 from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-181 30 ILCS 805/8.22 new Amends the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that upon elimination of the University of Illinois Fire Department, its firefighters may continue to participate in the State Universities Retirement System and earn firefighter service credit so long as they are continuously employed (i) in any capacity by the University of Illinois or (ii) as firefighters by the City of Champaign or the City of Urbana, in which case the city is obligated to make employer contributions to the System. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement. Effective immediately. LRB9008486EGfg SB1270 Enrolled LRB9008486EGfg 1 AN ACT to amend certain Acts in relation to pensions. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by 5 changing Sections 4-106, 4-107, 4-118, 15-106, 15-107, 6 15-136, 15-154, 15-155, 15-157, 15-158.2, and 15-181 as 7 follows: 8 (40 ILCS 5/4-106) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 4-106) 9 Sec. 4-106. Firefighter, firefighters. "Firefighter, 10 firefighters": 11 (a) In municipalities which have adopted Division 1 of 12 Article 10 of the Illinois Municipal Code, any person 13 employed in the municipality's fire service as a firefighter, 14 fire engineer, marine engineer, fire pilot, bomb technician 15 or scuba diver; and in any of these positions where such 16 person's duties also include those of a firefighter as 17 classified by the Civil Service Commission of that city, and 18 whose duty is to participate in the work of controlling and 19 extinguishing fires at the location of any such fires.; and20 (b) In municipalities which are subject to Division 2.1 21 of Article 10 of the Illinois Municipal Code, any person 22 employed by a city in its fire service as a firefighter, fire 23 engineer, marine engineer, fire pilot, bomb technician, or 24 scuba diver; and, in any of these positions whose duties also 25 include those of a firefighter and are certified in the same 26 manner as a firefighter in that city.; and27 (c) In municipalities which are subject to neither 28 Division 1 nor Division 2.1 of Article 10 of the Illinois 29 Municipal Code, any person who would have been included as a 30 firefighter under sub-paragraph (a) or (b) above except that 31 he served as a de facto and not as a de jure firefighter. SB1270 Enrolled -2- LRB9008486EGfg 1 (d) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this 2 Section, "firefighter" does not include any person who is 3 actively participating in the State Universities Retirement 4 System under subsection (h) of Section 15-107 with respect to 5 the employment for which he or she is a participating 6 employee in that System. 7 (e) This amendatory Act of 1977 does not affect persons 8 covered by this Article prior to September 22, 1977. 9 (Source: P.A. 83-1440.) 10 (40 ILCS 5/4-107) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 4-107) 11 Sec. 4-107. Qualifications. 12 (a) A firefighter who has not contributed to the fund 13 during the entire period of service, to be entitled to the 14 benefits of this Article, must contribute to the fund the 15 amount he or she would have paid had deductions been made 16 from his or her salary during the entire period of his or her 17 creditable service. 18 (b) Any person appointed as a firefighter in a 19 municipality shall, within 3 months after receiving his or 20 her first appointment and within 3 months after any 21 reappointment make written application to the board to come 22 under the provisions of this Article. 23 (c) A person otherwise qualified to participate who was 24 excluded from participation by reason of the age or fitness 25 requirements removed by this amendatory Act of 1995 may elect 26 to participate by making a written application to the Board 27 before July 1, 1996. Persons so electing shall begin 28 participation on the first day of the month following the 29 month in which the application is received by the Board. 30 These persons may also elect to establish creditable service 31 for periods of employment as a firefighter during which they 32 did not participate by paying into the pension fund, before 33 January 1, 1997, the amount that the person would have SB1270 Enrolled -3- LRB9008486EGfg 1 contributed had deductions from salary been made for this 2 purpose at the time the service was rendered, together with 3 interest thereon at 6% per annum, compounded annually, from 4 the time the service was rendered until the date of payment. 5 (d) A person described in subsection (h) of Section 6 15-107 shall not participate in any pension fund established 7 under this Article with respect to employment for which he or 8 she is a participating employee in the State Universities 9 Retirement System. 10 (Source: P.A. 89-52, eff. 6-30-95.) 11 (40 ILCS 5/4-118) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 4-118) 12 Sec. 4-118. Financing. 13 (a) The city council or the board of trustees of the 14 municipality shall annually levy a tax upon all the taxable 15 property of the municipality at the rate on the dollar which 16 will produce an amount which, when added to the deductions 17 from the salaries or wages of firefighters and revenues 18 available from other sources, will equal a sum sufficient to 19 meet the annual actuarial requirements of the pension fund, 20 as determined by an enrolled actuary employed by the Illinois 21 Department of Insurance or by an enrolled actuary retained by 22 the pension fund or municipality. For the purposes of this 23 Section, the annual actuarial requirements of the pension 24 fund are equal to (1) the normal cost of the pension fund, or 25 17.5% of the salaries and wages to be paid to firefighters 26 for the year involved, whichever is greater, plus (2) the 27 annual amount necessary to amortize the fund's unfunded 28 accrued liabilities over a period of 40 years from July 1, 29 1993, as annually updated and determined by an enrolled 30 actuary employed by the Illinois Department of Insurance or 31 by an enrolled actuary retained by the pension fund or the 32 municipality. The amount to be applied towards the 33 amortization of the unfunded accrued liability in any year SB1270 Enrolled -4- LRB9008486EGfg 1 shall not be less than the annual amount required to amortize 2 the unfunded accrued liability, including interest, as a 3 level percentage of payroll over the number of years 4 remaining in the 40 year amortization period. 5 (b) The tax shall be levied and collected in the same 6 manner as the general taxes of the municipality, and shall be 7 in addition to all other taxes now or hereafter authorized to 8 be levied upon all property within the municipality, and in 9 addition to the amount authorized to be levied for general 10 purposes, under Section 8-3-1 of the Illinois Municipal Code 11 or under Section 14 of the Fire Protection District Act. The 12 tax shall be forwarded directly to the treasurer of the board 13 within 30 business days of receipt by the municipality (or, 14 in the case of amounts added to the tax levy under subsection 15 (f), used by the municipality to pay the employer 16 contributions required under subsection (b-1) of Section 17 15-155 of this Code). 18 (c) The board shall make available to the membership and 19 the general public for inspection and copying at reasonable 20 times the most recent Actuarial Valuation Balance Sheet and 21 Tax Levy Requirement issued to the fund by the Department of 22 Insurance. 23 (d) The firefighters' pension fund shall consist of the 24 following moneys which shall be set apart by the treasurer of 25 the municipality: (1) all moneys derived from the taxes 26 levied hereunder; (2) contributions by firefighters as 27 provided under Section 4-118.1; (3) all rewards in money, 28 fees, gifts, and emoluments that may be paid or given for or 29 on account of extraordinary service by the fire department or 30 any member thereof, except when allowed to be retained by 31 competitive awards; and (4) any money, real estate or 32 personal property received by the board. 33 (e) For the purposes of this Section, "enrolled actuary" 34 means an actuary: (1) who is a member of the Society of SB1270 Enrolled -5- LRB9008486EGfg 1 Actuaries or the American Academy of Actuaries; and (2) who 2 is enrolled under Subtitle C of Title III of the Employee 3 Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, or who has been 4 engaged in providing actuarial services to one or more public 5 retirement systems for a period of at least 3 years as of 6 July 1, 1983. 7 (f) The corporate authorities of a municipality that 8 employs a person who is described in subdivision (d) of 9 Section 4-106 may add to the tax levy otherwise provided for 10 in this Section an amount equal to the projected cost of the 11 employer contributions required to be paid by the 12 municipality to the State Universities Retirement System 13 under subsection (b-1) of Section 15-155 of this Code. 14 (Source: P.A. 87-1265.) 15 (40 ILCS 5/15-106) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-106) 16 Sec. 15-106. Employer. "Employer": The University of 17 Illinois, Southern Illinois University, Chicago State 18 University, Eastern Illinois University, Governors State 19 University, Illinois State University, Northeastern Illinois 20 University, Northern Illinois University, Western Illinois 21 University, the State Board of Higher Education, the Illinois 22 Mathematics and Science Academy, the State Geological Survey 23 Division of the Department of Natural Resources, the State 24 Natural History Survey Division of the Department of Natural 25 Resources, the State Water Survey Division of the Department 26 of Natural Resources, the Waste Management and Research 27 Center of the Department of Natural Resources, the University 28 Civil Service Merit Board, the Board of Trustees of the State 29 Universities Retirement System, the Illinois Community 30 College Board,State Community College of East St. Louis,31 community college boards, any association of community 32 college boards organized under Section 3-55 of the Public 33 Community College Act, the Board of Examiners established SB1270 Enrolled -6- LRB9008486EGfg 1 under the Illinois Public Accounting Act, and, only during 2 the period for which employer contributions required under 3 Section 15-155 are paid, the following organizations: the 4 alumni associations, the foundations and the athletic 5 associations which are affiliated with the universities and 6 colleges included in this Section as employers. A department 7 as defined in Section 14-103.04 is an employer for any person 8 appointed by the Governor under the Civil Administrative Code 9 of Illinois who is a participating employee as defined in 10 Section 15-109. The cities of Champaign and Urbana shall be 11 considered employers, but only during the period for which 12 contributions are required to be made under subsection (b-1) 13 of Section 15-155 and only with respect to individuals 14 described in subsection (h) of Section 15-107. 15 (Source: P.A. 89-4, eff. 1-1-96; 89-445, eff. 2-7-96; 90-490, 16 eff. 8-17-97; 90-511, eff. 8-22-97; revised 11-17-97.) 17 (40 ILCS 5/15-107) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-107) 18 Sec. 15-107. Employee. 19 (a) "Employee" means any member of the educational, 20 administrative, secretarial, clerical, mechanical, labor or 21 other staff of an employer whose employment is permanent and 22 continuous or who is employed in a position in which services 23 are expected to be rendered on a continuous basis for at 24 least 4 months or one academic term, whichever is less, who 25 (A) receives payment for personal services on a warrant 26 issued pursuant to a payroll voucher certified by an employer 27 and drawn by the State Comptroller upon the State Treasurer 28 or by an employer upon trust, federal or other funds, or (B) 29 is on a leave of absence without pay. Employment which is 30 irregular, intermittent or temporary shall not be considered 31 continuous for purposes of this paragraph. 32 However, a person is not an "employee" if he or she: 33 (1) is a student enrolled in and regularly SB1270 Enrolled -7- LRB9008486EGfg 1 attending classes in a college or university which is an 2 employer, and is employed on a temporary basis at less 3 than full time; 4 (2) is currently receiving a retirement annuity or 5 a disability retirement annuity under Section 15-153.2 6 from this System; 7 (3) is on a military leave of absence; 8 (4) is eligible to participate in the Federal Civil 9 Service Retirement System and is currently making 10 contributions to that system based upon earnings paid by 11 an employer; 12 (5) is on leave of absence without pay for more 13 than 60 days immediately following termination of 14 disability benefits under this Article; 15 (6) is hired after June 30, 1979 as a public 16 service employment program participant under the Federal 17 Comprehensive Employment and Training Act and receives 18 earnings in whole or in part from funds provided under 19 that Act; 20 (7) is employed on or after July 1, 1991 to perform 21 services that are excluded by subdivision (a)(7)(f) or 22 (a)(19) of Section 210 of the federal Social Security Act 23 from the definition of employment given in that Section 24 (42 U.S.C. 410); or 25 (8) participates in an optional program for 26 part-time workers under Section 15-158.1. 27 (b) Any employer may, by filing a written notice with 28 the board, exclude from the definition of "employee" all 29 persons employed pursuant to a federally funded contract 30 entered into after July 1, 1982 with a federal military 31 department in a program providing training in military 32 courses to federal military personnel on a military site 33 owned by the United States Government, if this exclusion is 34 not prohibited by the federally funded contract or federal SB1270 Enrolled -8- LRB9008486EGfg 1 laws or rules governing the administration of the contract. 2 (c) Any person appointed by the Governor under the Civil 3 Administrative Code of the State is an employee, if he or she 4 is a participant in this system on the effective date of the 5 appointment. 6 (d) A participant on lay-off status under civil service 7 rules is considered an employee for not more than 120 days 8 from the date of the lay-off. 9 (e) A participant is considered an employee during (1) 10 the first 60 days of disability leave, (2) the period, not to 11 exceed one year, in which his or her eligibility for 12 disability benefits is being considered by the board or 13 reviewed by the courts, and (3) the period he or she receives 14 disability benefits under the provisions of Section 15-152, 15 workers' compensation or occupational disease benefits, or 16 disability income under an insurance contract financed wholly 17 or partially by the employer. 18 (f) Absences without pay, other than formal leaves of 19 absence, of less than 30 calendar days, are not considered as 20 an interruption of a person's status as an employee. If such 21 absences during any period of 12 months exceed 30 work days, 22 the employee status of the person is considered as 23 interrupted as of the 31st work day. 24 (g) A staff member whose employment contract requires 25 services during an academic term is to be considered an 26 employee during the summer and other vacation periods, unless 27 he or she declines an employment contract for the succeeding 28 academic term or his or her employment status is otherwise 29 terminated, and he or she receives no earnings during these 30 periods. 31 (h) An individual who was a participating employee 32 employed in the fire department of the University of 33 Illinois's Champaign-Urbana campus immediately prior to the 34 elimination of that fire department and who immediately after SB1270 Enrolled -9- LRB9008486EGfg 1 the elimination of that fire department became employed by 2 the fire department of the City of Urbana or the City of 3 Champaign shall continue to be considered as an employee for 4 purposes of this Article for so long as the individual 5 remains employed as a firefighter by the City of Urbana or 6 the City of Champaign. The individual shall cease to be 7 considered an employee under this subsection (h) upon the 8 first termination of the individual's employment as a 9 firefighter by the City of Urbana or the City of Champaign. 10 (Source: P.A. 89-430, eff. 12-15-95; 90-448, eff. 8-16-97.) 11 (40 ILCS 5/15-136) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-136) 12 Sec. 15-136. Retirement annuities - Amount. 13 (a) The amount of the retirement annuity shall be 14 determined by whichever of the following rules is applicable 15 and provides the largest annuity: 16 Rule 1: The retirement annuity shall be 1.67% of final 17 rate of earnings for each of the first 10 years of service, 18 1.90% for each of the next 10 years of service, 2.10% for 19 each year of service in excess of 20 but not exceeding 30, 20 and 2.30% for each year in excess of 30; or for persons who 21 retire on or after January 1, 1998, 2.2% of the final rate of 22 earnings for each year of service. However,except thatthe 23 annuity for those persons having made an election under 24 Section 15-154(a-1) shall be calculated and payable under the 25 portable retirement benefit program pursuant to the 26 provisions of Section 15-136.4. 27 Rule 2: The retirement annuity shall be the sum of the 28 following, determined from amounts credited to the 29 participant in accordance with the actuarial tables and the 30 prescribed rate of interest in effect at the time the 31 retirement annuity begins: 32 (i) The normal annuity which can be provided on an 33 actuarially equivalent basis, by the accumulated normal SB1270 Enrolled -10- LRB9008486EGfg 1 contributions as of the date the annuity begins; and 2 (ii) an annuity from employer contributions of an 3 amount which can be provided on an actuarially equivalent 4 basis from the accumulated normal contributions made by 5 the participant under Section 15-113.6 and Section 6 15-113.7 plus 1.4 times all other accumulated normal 7 contributions made by the participant, except that the 8 annuity for those persons having made an election under 9 Section 15-154(a-1) shall be calculated and payable under 10 the portable retirement benefit program pursuant to the 11 provisions of Section 15-136.4. 12 Rule 3: The retirement annuity of a participant who is 13 employed at least one-half time during the period on which 14 his or her final rate of earnings is based, shall be equal to 15 the participant's years of service not to exceed 30, 16 multiplied by (1) $96 if the participant's final rate of 17 earnings is less than $3,500, (2) $108 if the final rate of 18 earnings is at least $3,500 but less than $4,500, (3) $120 if 19 the final rate of earnings is at least $4,500 but less than 20 $5,500, (4) $132 if the final rate of earnings is at least 21 $5,500 but less than $6,500, (5) $144 if the final rate of 22 earnings is at least $6,500 but less than $7,500, (6) $156 if 23 the final rate of earnings is at least $7,500 but less than 24 $8,500, (7) $168 if the final rate of earnings is at least 25 $8,500 but less than $9,500, and (8) $180 if the final rate 26 of earnings is $9,500 or more, except that the annuity for 27 those persons having made an election under Section 28 15-154(a-1) shall be calculated and payable under the 29 portable retirement benefit program pursuant to the 30 provisions of Section 15-136.4. 31 Rule 4: A participant who is at least age 50 and has 25 32 or more years of service as a police officer or firefighter, 33 and a participant who is age 55 or over and has at least 20 34 but less than 25 years of service as a police officer or SB1270 Enrolled -11- LRB9008486EGfg 1 firefighter, shall be entitled to a retirement annuity of 2 2 1/4% of the final rate of earnings for each of the first 10 3 years of service as a police officer or firefighter, 2 1/2% 4 for each of the next 10 years of service as a police officer 5 or firefighter, and 2 3/4% for each year of service as a 6 police officer or firefighter in excess of 20, except that 7 the annuity for those persons having made an election under 8 Section 15-154(a-1) shall be calculated and payable under the 9 portable retirement benefit program pursuant to the 10 provisions of Section 15-136.4. The retirement annuity for 11 all other service shall be computed under Rule 1, payable 12 under the portable retirement benefit program pursuant to the 13 provisions of Section 15-136.4, if applicable. 14 For purposes of this Rule 4, a participant's service as a 15 firefighter shall also include the following: 16 (i) service that is performed while the person is 17 an employee under subsection (h) of Section 15-107; and 18 (ii) in the case of an individual who was a 19 participating employee employed in the fire department of 20 the University of Illinois's Champaign-Urbana campus 21 immediately prior to the elimination of that fire 22 department and who immediately after the elimination of 23 that fire department transferred to another job with the 24 University of Illinois, service performed as an employee 25 of the University of Illinois in a position other than 26 police officer or firefighter, from the date of that 27 transfer until the employee's next termination of service 28 with the University of Illinois. 29 (b) The retirement annuity provided under Rules 1 and 3 30 above shall be reduced by 1/2 of 1% for each month the 31 participant is under age 60 at the time of retirement. 32 However, this reduction shall not apply in the following 33 cases: 34 (1) For a disabled participant whose disability SB1270 Enrolled -12- LRB9008486EGfg 1 benefits have been discontinued because he or she has 2 exhausted eligibility for disability benefits under 3 clause (6) of Section 15-152; 4 (2) For a participant who has at least the number 5 of years of service required to retire at any age under 6 subsection (a) of Section 15-135; or 7 (3) For that portion of a retirement annuity which 8 has been provided on account of service of the 9 participant during periods when he or she performed the 10 duties of a police officer or firefighter, if these 11 duties were performed for at least 5 years immediately 12 preceding the date the retirement annuity is to begin. 13 (c) The maximum retirement annuity provided under Rules 14 1, 2, and 4 shall be the lesser of (1) the annual limit of 15 benefits as specified in Section 415 of the Internal Revenue 16 Code of 1986, as such Section may be amended from time to 17 time and as such benefit limits shall be adjusted by the 18 Commissioner of Internal Revenue, and (2) 80% of final rate 19 of earnings. 20 (d) An annuitant whose status as an employee terminates 21 after August 14, 1969 shall receive automatic increases in 22 his or her retirement annuity as follows: 23 Effective January 1 immediately following the date the 24 retirement annuity begins, the annuitant shall receive an 25 increase in his or her monthly retirement annuity of 0.125% 26 of the monthly retirement annuity provided under Rule 1, Rule 27 2, Rule 3, or Rule 4, contained in this Section, multiplied 28 by the number of full months which elapsed from the date the 29 retirement annuity payments began to January 1, 1972, plus 30 0.1667% of such annuity, multiplied by the number of full 31 months which elapsed from January 1, 1972, or the date the 32 retirement annuity payments began, whichever is later, to 33 January 1, 1978, plus 0.25% of such annuity multiplied by the 34 number of full months which elapsed from January 1, 1978, or SB1270 Enrolled -13- LRB9008486EGfg 1 the date the retirement annuity payments began, whichever is 2 later, to the effective date of the increase. 3 The annuitant shall receive an increase in his or her 4 monthly retirement annuity on each January 1 thereafter 5 during the annuitant's life of 3% of the monthly annuity 6 provided under Rule 1, Rule 2, Rule 3, or Rule 4 contained in 7 this Section. The change made under this subsection by P.A. 8 81-970 is effective January 1, 1980 and applies to each 9 annuitant whose status as an employee terminates before or 10 after that date. 11 Beginning January 1, 1990, all automatic annual increases 12 payable under this Section shall be calculated as a 13 percentage of the total annuity payable at the time of the 14 increase, including all increases previously granted under 15 this Article. 16 The change made in this subsection by P.A. 85-1008 is 17 effective January 26, 1988, and is applicable without regard 18 to whether status as an employee terminated before that date. 19 (e) If, on January 1, 1987, or the date the retirement 20 annuity payment period begins, whichever is later, the sum of 21 the retirement annuity provided under Rule 1 or Rule 2 of 22 this Section and the automatic annual increases provided 23 under the preceding subsection or Section 15-136.1, amounts 24 to less than the retirement annuity which would be provided 25 by Rule 3, the retirement annuity shall be increased as of 26 January 1, 1987, or the date the retirement annuity payment 27 period begins, whichever is later, to the amount which would 28 be provided by Rule 3 of this Section. Such increased amount 29 shall be considered as the retirement annuity in determining 30 benefits provided under other Sections of this Article. This 31 paragraph applies without regard to whether status as an 32 employee terminated before the effective date of this 33 amendatory Act of 1987, provided that the annuitant was 34 employed at least one-half time during the period on which SB1270 Enrolled -14- LRB9008486EGfg 1 the final rate of earnings was based. 2 (f) A participant is entitled to such additional annuity 3 as may be provided on an actuarially equivalent basis, by any 4 accumulated additional contributions to his or her credit. 5 However, the additional contributions made by the participant 6 toward the automatic increases in annuity provided under this 7 Section shall not be taken into account in determining the 8 amount of such additional annuity. 9 (g) If, (1) by law, a function of a governmental unit, 10 as defined by Section 20-107 of this Code, is transferred in 11 whole or in part to an employer, and (2) a participant 12 transfers employment from such governmental unit to such 13 employer within 6 months after the transfer of the function, 14 and (3) the sum of (A) the annuity payable to the participant 15 under Rule 1, 2, or 3 of this Section (B) all proportional 16 annuities payable to the participant by all other retirement 17 systems covered by Article 20, and (C) the initial primary 18 insurance amount to which the participant is entitled under 19 the Social Security Act, is less than the retirement annuity 20 which would have been payable if all of the participant's 21 pension credits validated under Section 20-109 had been 22 validated under this system, a supplemental annuity equal to 23 the difference in such amounts shall be payable to the 24 participant. 25 (h) On January 1, 1981, an annuitant who was receiving a 26 retirement annuity on or before January 1, 1971 shall have 27 his or her retirement annuity then being paid increased $1 28 per month for each year of creditable service. On January 1, 29 1982, an annuitant whose retirement annuity began on or 30 before January 1, 1977, shall have his or her retirement 31 annuity then being paid increased $1 per month for each year 32 of creditable service. 33 (i) On January 1, 1987, any annuitant whose retirement 34 annuity began on or before January 1, 1977, shall have the SB1270 Enrolled -15- LRB9008486EGfg 1 monthly retirement annuity increased by an amount equal to 8¢ 2 per year of creditable service times the number of years that 3 have elapsed since the annuity began. 4 (Source: P.A. 90-14, eff. 7-1-97; 90-65, eff. 7-7-97; 90-448, 5 eff. 8-16-97; revised 8-21-97.) 6 (40 ILCS 5/15-154) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-154) 7 Sec. 15-154. Refunds. 8 (a) A participant whose status as an employee is 9 terminated, regardless of cause, or who has been on lay off 10 status for more than 120 days, and who is not on leave of 11 absence, is entitled to a refund of contributions upon 12 application; except that not more than one such refund 13 application may be made during any academic year. 14 Except as set forth in subsections (a-1) and (a-2), the 15 refund shall be the sum of the accumulated normal, additional 16 and survivors insurance contributions, less the amount of 17 interest credited on these contributions each year in excess 18 of 4 1/2% of the amount on which interest was calculated. 19 (a-1) Every person who becomes an eligible employee as 20 described in Section 15-158.2a participating employeeafter 21 the date on which his or her employer first offers an 22 optional retirement program under Section 15-158.2 may elect 23 within 60 days of becoming a participant to have any refund 24 calculated pursuant to subsection (a-2) by forgoing all 25 survivors insurance benefits to which the person's survivors 26 would otherwise be entitled under this Article. This 27 election is irrevocable and may be made by filing an election 28 with the system on such form as the Executive Director shall 29 prescribe. 30 Each person who is an eligible employee as described in 31 Section 15-158.2a participating employeeon the date on 32 which his or her employer first offers an optional retirement 33 program under Section 15-158.2 shall have a one-time option SB1270 Enrolled -16- LRB9008486EGfg 1 to elect to have his or her refund calculated pursuant to 2 subsection (a-2), by forgoing all survivors insurance 3 benefits to which the person's survivors would otherwise be 4 entitled under this Article. The election will not be 5 effective until one year after the election is filed with the 6 system. This election is irrevocable and may be made by 7 filing an election with the system, on such form as the 8 Executive Director shall prescribe, within one year after the 9 date on which his or her employer first offers an optional 10 retirement program under Section 15-158.2. 11 A person may make the one-time irrevocable election 12 authorized under this Section or the election authorized 13 under Section 15-158.2(g), but may not make both elections. 14 Any person interested in electing the portable retirement 15 benefit program provided under this Section and Section 16 15-136.4 must be given a consultation with the State 17 Universities Retirement System before making that election. 18 (a-2) The refund elected under subsection (a-1) shall be 19 the sum of the participant's accumulated normal and 20 additional contributions, as defined in Sections 15-116 and 21 15-117. If the participant terminates with 5 or more years 22 of service for employment as defined in Section 15-113.1, he 23 or she shall also be entitled to a refund of employer 24 contributions in an amount equal to the sum of the 25 accumulated normal and additional contributions, as defined 26 in Sections 15-116 and 15-117. 27 (b) Upon acceptance of a refund, the participant 28 forfeits all accrued rights and credits in the System, and if 29 subsequently reemployed, the participant shall be considered 30 a new employee subject to all the qualifying conditions for 31 participation and eligibility for benefits applicable to new 32 employees. If such person again becomes a participating 33 employee and continues as such for 2 years, or is employed by 34 an employer and participates for at least 2 years in the SB1270 Enrolled -17- LRB9008486EGfg 1 Federal Civil Service Retirement System, all such rights, 2 credits, and previous status as a participant shall be 3 restored upon repayment of the amount of the refund, together 4 with compound interest thereon from the date the refund was 5 received to the date of repayment at the rate of 6% per annum 6 through August 31, 1982, and at the effective rates after 7 that date. 8 (c) If a participant has made survivors insurance 9 contributions, but has no survivors insurance beneficiary 10 upon retirement, he or she shall be entitled to a refund of 11 the accumulated survivors insurance contributions, or to an 12 additional annuity the value of which is equal to the 13 accumulated survivors insurance contributions. 14 (d) A participant, upon application, is entitled to a 15 refund of his or her accumulated additional contributions 16 except those covering the cost of the annual increase in the 17 retirement annuity provided under Section 15-136. Upon the 18 acceptance of such a refund of accumulated additional 19 contributions, the participant forfeits all rights and 20 credits which may have accrued because of such contributions. 21 (e) A participant who terminates his or her employee 22 status and elects to waive service credit under Section 23 15-154.2, is entitled to a refund of the accumulated normal, 24 additional and survivors insurance contributions, if any, 25 which were credited the participant for this service, or to 26 an additional annuity the value of which is equal to the 27 accumulated normal, additional and survivors insurance 28 contributions, if any; except that not more than one such 29 refund application may be made during any academic year. Upon 30 acceptance of this refund, the participant forfeits all 31 rights and credits accrued because of this service. 32 (f) If a police officer or firefighter receives a 33 retirement annuity under Rule 1, 2, or 3 of Section 15-136, 34 he or she shall be entitled at retirement to a refund of the SB1270 Enrolled -18- LRB9008486EGfg 1 difference between his or her accumulated normal 2 contributions and the normal contributions which would have 3 accumulated had such person filed a waiver of the retirement 4 formula provided by Rule 4 of Section 15-136. 5 (g) If, at the time of retirement, a participant would 6 be entitled to a retirement annuity under Rule 1, 2, 3 or 4 7 of Section 15-136 that exceeds the maximum specified in 8 clause (1) of subsection (c) of Section 15-136, he or she 9 shall be entitled to a refund of the employee contributions, 10 if any, paid under Section 15-157 after the date upon which 11 continuance of such contributions would have otherwise caused 12 the retirement annuity to exceed this maximum, plus compound 13 interest at the effective rates. 14 (Source: P.A. 90-448, eff. 8-16-97.) 15 (40 ILCS 5/15-155) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-155) 16 Sec. 15-155. Employer contributions. 17 (a) The State of Illinois shall make contributions by 18 appropriations of amounts which, together with the other 19 employer contributions from trust, federal, and other funds, 20 employee contributions, income from investments, and other 21 income of this System, will be sufficient to meet the cost of 22 maintaining and administering the System on a 90% funded 23 basis in accordance with actuarial recommendations. 24 The Board shall determine the amount of State 25 contributions required for each fiscal year on the basis of 26 the actuarial tables and other assumptions adopted by the 27 Board and the recommendations of the actuary, using the 28 formula in subsection (a-1). 29 (a-1) For State fiscal years 2011 through 2045, the 30 minimum contribution to the System to be made by the State 31 for each fiscal year shall be an amount determined by the 32 System to be sufficient to bring the total assets of the 33 System up to 90% of the total actuarial liabilities of the SB1270 Enrolled -19- LRB9008486EGfg 1 System by the end of State fiscal year 2045. In making these 2 determinations, the required State contribution shall be 3 calculated each year as a level percentage of payroll over 4 the years remaining to and including fiscal year 2045 and 5 shall be determined under the projected unit credit actuarial 6 cost method. 7 For State fiscal years 1996 through 2010, the State 8 contribution to the System, as a percentage of the applicable 9 employee payroll, shall be increased in equal annual 10 increments so that by State fiscal year 2011, the State is 11 contributing at the rate required under this Section. 12 Beginning in State fiscal year 2046, the minimum State 13 contribution for each fiscal year shall be the amount needed 14 to maintain the total assets of the System at 90% of the 15 total actuarial liabilities of the System. 16 (b) If an employee is paid from trust or federal funds, 17 the employer shall pay to the Board contributions from those 18 funds which are sufficient to cover the accruing normal costs 19 on behalf of the employee. However, universities having 20 employees who are compensated out of local auxiliary funds, 21 income funds, or service enterprise funds are not required to 22 pay such contributions on behalf of those employees. The 23 local auxiliary funds, income funds, and service enterprise 24 funds of universities shall not be considered trust funds for 25 the purpose of this Article, but funds of alumni 26 associations, foundations, and athletic associations which 27 are affiliated with the universities included as employers 28 under this Article and other employers which do not receive 29 State appropriations are considered to be trust funds for the 30 purpose of this Article. 31 (b-1) The City of Urbana and the City of Champaign shall 32 each make employer contributions to this System for their 33 respective firefighter employees who participate in this 34 System pursuant to subsection (h) of Section 15-107. The SB1270 Enrolled -20- LRB9008486EGfg 1 rate of contributions to be made by those municipalities 2 shall be determined annually by the Board on the basis of the 3 actuarial assumptions adopted by the Board and the 4 recommendations of the actuary, and shall be expressed as a 5 percentage of salary for each such employee. The Board shall 6 certify the rate to the affected municipalities as soon as 7 may be practical. The employer contributions required under 8 this subsection shall be remitted by the municipality to the 9 System at the same time and in the same manner as employee 10 contributions. 11 (c) Through State fiscal year 1995: The total employer 12 contribution shall be apportioned among the various funds of 13 the State and other employers, whether trust, federal, or 14 other funds, in accordance with actuarial procedures approved 15 by the board. State of Illinois contributions for employers 16 receiving State appropriations for personal services shall be 17 payable from appropriations made to the employers or to the 18 System. The contributions for Class I community colleges 19 covering earnings other than those paid from trust and 20 federal funds, shall be payable solely from appropriations to 21 the Illinois Community College Board or the System for 22 employer contributions. 23 (d) Beginning in State fiscal year 1996, the required 24 State contributions to the System shall be appropriated 25 directly to the System and shall be payable through vouchers 26 issued in accordance with subsection (c) of Section 15-165. 27 (e) The State Comptroller shall draw warrants payable to 28 the System upon proper certification by the System or by the 29 employer in accordance with the appropriation laws and this 30 Code. 31 (f) Normal costs under this Section means liability for 32 pensions and other benefits which accrues to the System 33 because of the credits earned for service rendered by the 34 participants during the fiscal year and expenses of SB1270 Enrolled -21- LRB9008486EGfg 1 administering the System, but shall not include the principal 2 of or any redemption premium or interest on any bonds issued 3 by the board or any expenses incurred or deposits required in 4 connection therewith. 5 (Source: P.A. 88-593, eff. 8-22-94; 89-602, eff. 8-2-96.) 6 (40 ILCS 5/15-157) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-157) 7 Sec. 15-157. Employee Contributions. 8 (a) Each participating employee shall make contributions 9 towards the retirement annuity of each payment of earnings 10 applicable to employment under this system on and after the 11 date of becoming a participant as follows: Prior to 12 September 1, 1949, 3 1/2% of earnings; from September 1, 1949 13 to August 31, 1955, 5%; from September 1, 1955 to August 31, 14 1969, 6%; from September 1, 1969, 6 1/2%. These 15 contributions are to be considered as normal contributions 16 for purposes of this Article. 17 Each participant who is a police officer or firefighter 18 shall make normal contributions of 8% of each payment of 19 earnings applicable to employment as a police officer or 20 firefighter under this system on or after September 1, 1981, 21 unless he or she files with the board within 60 days after 22 the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1991 or 60 days 23 after the board receives notice that he or she is employed as 24 a police officer or firefighter, whichever is later, a 25 written notice waiving the retirement formula provided by 26 Rule 4 of Section 15-136. This waiver shall be irrevocable. 27 If a participant had met the conditions set forth in Section 28 15-132.1 prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act 29 of 1991 but failed to make the additional normal 30 contributions required by this paragraph, he or she may elect 31 to pay the additional contributions plus compound interest at 32 the effective rate. If such payment is received by the 33 board, the service shall be considered as police officer SB1270 Enrolled -22- LRB9008486EGfg 1 service in calculating the retirement annuity under Rule 4 of 2 Section 15-136. While performing service described in clause 3 (i) or (ii) of Rule 4 of Section 15-136, a participating 4 employee shall be deemed to be employed as a firefighter for 5 the purpose of determining the rate of employee contributions 6 under this Section. 7 (b) Starting September 1, 1969, each participating 8 employee shall make additional contributions of 1/2 of 1% of 9 earnings to finance a portion of the cost of the annual 10 increases in retirement annuity provided under Section 11 15-136. 12 (c) Each participating employee shall make additional 13 contributions of 1% of earnings applicable under this system 14 on and after August 1, 1959. The contribution made under 15 this subsection shall be used to finance survivors insurance 16 benefits, unless the participant has made an election under 17 Section 15-154(a-1), in which case the contribution made 18 under this subsection shall be used to finance the benefits 19 obtained under that election. Contributions in excess of $80 20 during any fiscal year beginning before August 31, 1969 and 21 in excess of $120 during any fiscal year thereafter until 22 September 1, 1971 shall be considered as additional 23 contributions for purposes of this Article. 24 (d) If the board by board rule so permits and subject to 25 such conditions and limitations as may be specified in its 26 rules, a participant may make other additional contributions 27 of such percentage of earnings or amounts as the participant 28 shall elect in a written notice thereof received by the 29 board. 30 (e) That fraction of a participant's total accumulated 31 normal contributions, the numerator of which is equal to the 32 number of years of service in excess of that which is 33 required to qualify for the maximum retirement annuity, and 34 the denominator of which is equal to the total service of the SB1270 Enrolled -23- LRB9008486EGfg 1 participant, shall be considered as accumulated additional 2 contributions. The determination of the applicable maximum 3 annuity and the adjustment in contributions required by this 4 provision shall be made as of the date of the participant's 5 retirement. 6 (f) Notwithstanding the foregoing, a participating 7 employee shall not be required to make contributions under 8 this Section after the date upon which continuance of such 9 contributions would otherwise cause his or her retirement 10 annuity to exceed the maximum retirement annuity as specified 11 in clause (1) of subsection (c) of Section 15-136. 12 (g) A participating employee may make contributions for 13 the purchase of service credit under this Article. 14 (Source: P.A. 90-32, eff. 6-27-97; 90-65, eff. 7-7-97; 15 90-448, eff. 8-16-97; 90-511, eff. 8-22-97; revised 16 11-14-97.) 17 (40 ILCS 5/15-158.2) 18 Sec. 15-158.2. Optional retirement program for 19 educational employees. 20 (a) Purpose. The General Assembly finds that it is 21 important for colleges and universities to be able to attract 22 and retain the most qualified employees and that in order to 23 attract and retain these employees, colleges and universities 24 should have the flexibility to provide an alternative 25 retirement program for eligible employees who elect not to 26 participate in the other retirement programs provided under 27 this Article. 28 (b) Definitions. For the purposes of this Section, 29 "eligible employee" means an employee (other than an employee 30 performing service described in clause (i) or (ii) of Rule 4 31 of Section 15-136) who is eligible to participate in the 32 State Universities Retirement System and who does not have 33 sufficient age and service to qualify for a retirement SB1270 Enrolled -24- LRB9008486EGfg 1 annuity under Section 15-135. A "currently eligible 2 employee" is an employee who becomes an eligible employee on 3 the effective date of the optional retirement program 4 established by the employee's employer. A "newly eligible 5 employee" is an employee who becomes an eligible employee 6 after the effective date of the optional retirement program 7 established by the employee's employer. 8 (c) Program. Each employer subject to this Article may 9 elect to establish an optional retirement program under this 10 Section for the eligible employees whom it employs. The 11 optional retirement program shall provide retirement benefits 12 for participating employees through the purchase of annuity 13 contracts, either fixed or variable or a combination thereof, 14 through the purchase of mutual funds, or through both and 15 shall also provide for disability benefits. 16 The State Universities Retirement System shall be the 17 plan sponsor for the program. Consistent with its fiduciary 18 duty to the participants and beneficiaries of the program, 19 the Board of Trustees of the System may delegate aspects of 20 program administration as it sees fit to companies authorized 21 to do business in this State, to the employers, or to a 22 combination of both. 23 The plan must be qualified under the Internal Revenue 24 Code of 1986. 25 (d) Proposals. The System, in consultation with the 26 employers, shall solicit proposals to participate in the 27 program from insurance and annuity companies and mutual fund 28 companies authorized to do business in this State. In 29 reviewing the proposals received and approving and 30 contracting with no fewer than 2 and no more than 7 31 companies, at least 2 of which must be insurance and annuity 32 companies, the Board of Trustees of the System shall 33 consider, among other things, the following criteria: 34 (1) the nature and extent of the benefits that SB1270 Enrolled -25- LRB9008486EGfg 1 would be provided to the participants; 2 (2) the reasonableness of the benefits in relation 3 to the premium charged; 4 (3) the suitability of the benefits to the needs 5 and interests of the participating employees and the 6 employer; 7 (4) the ability of the company to provide benefits 8 under the contract and the financial stability of the 9 company; and 10 (5) the efficacy of the contract in the recruitment 11 and retention of employees. 12 An employer that elects to offer an optional retirement 13 program under subsection (c) may only select for 14 participation in the program 2 or more of the companies 15 approved by the Board of Trustees of the System. The System, 16 in consultation with the employers, shall periodically review 17 each approved company; a company may continue to participate 18 in the program only so long as it continues to be an approved 19 company under contract with the Board. 20 (e) System Conflict of Interest. In order to preclude 21 any conflict of interest by the System, only insurance and 22 annuity companies and mutual fund companies that are 23 authorized to do business in this State may be approved, in 24 accordance with the procedures of subsection (d), to 25 participate in this program and offer investment options for 26 program participants. 27 (f) Account Balance Transfers. Employees who are 28 participating in the program must be allowed to transfer 29 their account balances from the investment options offered by 30 one of the companies selected by the employer to the 31 investment options offered by another company so selected, 32 subject to applicable contractual provisions. 33 (g) Participation. Any eligible employee may elect to 34 participate in the optional retirement program offered by the SB1270 Enrolled -26- LRB9008486EGfg 1 employer under subsection (c). The election must be made in 2 writing and in the manner prescribed by the System. A 3 currently eligible employee must make this election within 4 one year after the effective date of the employer's optional 5 retirement program. A newly eligible employee must make this 6 election within 60 days after becoming an eligible employee. 7 A person may make the one-time irrevocable election 8 authorized under this Section or the election authorized 9 under Section 15-154(a-1), but may not make both elections. 10 The employer shall not remit contributions on behalf of a 11 newly eligible employee to the State Universities Retirement 12 System until the 60-day period has run unless an election by 13 the employee has been made earlier. Any eligible employee 14 interested in electing the optional retirement program 15 provided under this Section must be given a consultation with 16 the State Universities Retirement System before making that 17 election. 18 Participation in the optional retirement program shall 19 begin on the first day of the first pay period following the 20 date of election, but no earlier than January 1, 1998. The 21 employee's participation in any other retirement program 22 administered by the System under this Article shall terminate 23 on the date that participation in the optional retirement 24 program begins, and the employee shall thereby be deemed to 25 have elected to receive a refund of contributions as provided 26 in Section 15-154, except that such deemed refund shall 27 include interest at the effective rate for the respective 28 years, and except that any funds which would have been 29 received shall instead be transferred directly to the 30 optional retirement program as a tax free transfer in 31 accordance with Internal Revenue Service guidelines. 32 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code, an 33 employee may not purchase or receive service or service 34 credit applicable to any other retirement program SB1270 Enrolled -27- LRB9008486EGfg 1 administered by the System under this Article for any period 2 during which the employee was a participant in the optional 3 retirement program established under this Section. 4 An employee who has elected to participate in the 5 optional retirement program under this Section must continue 6 participation while employed in an eligible position, and may 7 not participate in any other retirement program administered 8 by the System under this Article while employed by that 9 employer, unless the optional retirement program is 10 terminated in accordance with subsection (i). 11 Participation in the optional retirement program under 12 this Section shall constitute membership in the State 13 Universities Retirement System, although a participant under 14 this Section shall not be entitled to receive any benefits 15 under any other provisions of Article 15 or of Article 20. 16 An employee who receives a disability benefit or a retirement 17 benefit under this Section or an employee who receives a lump 18 sum distribution from a mutual fund company under this 19 Section and uses the lump sum to purchase an annuity shall be 20 considered an employee or an annuitant under Article 15 for 21 purposes of the State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971. 22 Participation in the optional retirement program under this 23 Section creates a contractual relationship with respect to 24 the investment of the employee's account balance between the 25 employee and the company providing the investment options for 26 the employee's account balance. Participation does not 27 create a contractual relationship between the employee and 28 the System or between the employee and his or her employer. 29 (h) Contributions. The contribution rate for employees 30 participating in the optional retirement program under this 31 Section shall be equal to the employee contribution rate for 32 other participants in the System. This required contribution 33 may be made as an "employer pick-up" under Section 414(h) of 34 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or any successor Section. SB1270 Enrolled -28- LRB9008486EGfg 1 Any employee participating in the System or who elects to 2 participate in the optional retirement program shall continue 3 to have the employer "pick-up" the contribution. However, 4 amounts picked up after the election of the optional 5 retirement program shall be remitted to the optional 6 retirement plan. In no event shall an employee have an 7 option of receiving these amounts in cash. The program shall 8 provide for employer contributions at a rate of no more than 9 7.6% of the participating employee's salary. The optional 10 retirement program shall be funded by contributions from 11 employees participating in the program and employer 12 contributions as required by the plan. The plan shall be 13 funded in a manner consistent with the requirements of 14 Internal Revenue Code Section 412, and regulations 15 promulgated thereunder, as that Section applies to money 16 purchase plans. 17 The State of Illinois shall make contributions by 18 appropriations to the System of the employer contributions 19 required for employees who participate in the optional 20 retirement program under this Section. The amount required 21 shall be certified by the Board of Trustees of the System and 22 paid by the State in accordance with Section 15-165. The 23 System shall not be obligated to remit the required employer 24 contributions to any insurance and annuity and mutual fund 25 companies participating in the optional retirement program 26 under subsection (d) until it has received the required 27 employer contributions from the State. In the event of a 28 deficiency in the amount of State contributions, the System 29 shall implement those procedures described in subsection (c) 30 of Section 15-165 to obtain the required funding from the 31 General Revenue Fund. 32 The contributions and interest thereon, and any benefits 33 based upon them, shall be treated as provided in the funding 34 vehicles for this plan. An amount of up to 1% of each SB1270 Enrolled -29- LRB9008486EGfg 1 participating employee's salary shall be taken from the 2 employer contribution to the optional retirement program and 3 shall be contributed, on the employee's behalf, to a plan 4 which the System offers to provide for disability benefits. 5 (i) Termination. An optional retirement program 6 authorized under this Section may be terminated by the 7 employer, subject to the terms of any relevant contracts, and 8 the employer shall have no obligation to reestablish an 9 optional retirement program under this Section. This Section 10 does not create a right to continued participation in any 11 optional retirement program set up by an employer under this 12 Section. If an optional retirement program is terminated, 13 the participants shall have the right to participate in one 14 of the other retirement programs offered by the System and 15 receive service credit in such other retirement program for 16 any years of employment following the termination. 17 (j) Vesting. Employer contributions shall be vested 18 after five years of employment. If an employee terminates 19 employment prior to completing five years of service, the 20 employee shall be entitled to a benefit in accordance with 21 the terms of the employer's retirement plan which is based on 22 the accumulation value attributable to the employee's 23 contributions and any investment return thereon. Benefits 24 for employees who terminate with at least five years of 25 service shall be in accordance with the terms of the optional 26 retirement plan and based on the accumulation value 27 attributable to both the employer and the employee's 28 contributions and any investment return thereon. Any 29 employer contributions which are forfeited shall be held in 30 escrow by the company investing those contributions and shall 31 be used to reduce the next premium payment due from the 32 employer. 33 (Source: P.A. 89-430, eff. 12-15-95; 90-448, eff. 8-16-97.) SB1270 Enrolled -30- LRB9008486EGfg 1 (40 ILCS 5/15-181) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-181) 2 Sec. 15-181. Duties of employers. 3 (a) Each employer, in preparing payroll vouchers for 4 participating employees, shall indicate, in addition to other 5 information: (1) the amount of employee contributions and 6 survivors insurance contributions required under Section 7 15-157, (2) the gross earnings payable to each employee, and 8 (3) the total of all contributions required under Section 9 15-157. An additional certified copy of each payroll 10 certified by each employer shall be forwarded along with the 11 original payroll to the Director of Central Management 12 Services, State Comptroller, and other officer receiving the 13 original certified payroll for transmittal to the board. 14 (b) Each employer, in drawing warrants or checks against 15 trust or federal funds for items of salary on payroll 16 vouchers certified by employers, shall draw such warrants or 17 checks to participating employees for the amount of cash 18 salary or wages specified for the period, and shall draw a 19 warrant or check to this system for the total of the 20 contributions required under Section 15-157. The warrant or 21 check drawn to this system, together with the additional copy 22 of the payroll supplied by the employer, shall be transmitted 23 immediately to the board. 24 (c) The City of Champaign and the City of Urbana, as 25 employers of persons who participate in this System pursuant 26 to subsection (h) of Section 15-107, shall each collect and 27 transmit to the System from each payroll the employee 28 contributions required under Section 15-157, together with 29 such payroll documentation as the Board may require, at the 30 time that the payroll is paid. 31 (Source: P.A. 83-1440.) 32 Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding 33 Section 8.22 as follows: SB1270 Enrolled -31- LRB9008486EGfg 1 (30 ILCS 805/8.22 new) 2 Sec. 8.22. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 3 and 8 of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required 4 for the implementation of any mandate created by this 5 amendatory Act of 1998. 6 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 7 becoming law.


text:
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
PHILADELPHIA - Cole Hamels had another outstanding outing, and the Philadelphia Phillies took advantage of an error by Jason Heyward to beat the Atlanta Braves 3-1 on Monday night, increasing their lead in the NL East to four games.
NEW YORK - Tim Hudson is back on track and that's big news for Atlanta's playoff chances. Hudson snapped a three-start losing streak and Nate McLouth homered and drove in two runs, giving the Braves' postseason push another boost with a 4-2 victory over the New York Mets on Saturday. "We were just good enough to win today. And just good enough to win is good enough for me," Hudson ...
ATLANTA - Bobby Cox's review of the game looked good for his Atlanta Braves.
ATLANTA - Derek Lowe set a career high with 12 strikeouts and combined with Billy Wagner on a six-hitter to lead the Atlanta Braves past the Washington Nationals 4-0 on Monday night.
ATLANTA - The Atlanta Braves scored six runs in the sixth inning, sending 10 hitters to the plate and taking advantage of a dropped fly ball by right fielder Jon Jay to rally for a much-needed 8-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night.
PITTSBURGH - Omar Infante had three hits, Derek Lowe beat Pittsburgh for the 10th straight time and the Atlanta Braves got the breakout victory they badly needed, beating the Pirates 9-3 on Wednesday night.
PITTSBURGH - James McDonald pitched seven innings, Ronny Cedeno's triple keyed a five-run seventh and the last-place Pittsburgh Pirates beat the slumping Atlanta Braves for the second straight day, winning 5-0 on Tuesday night.
PITTSBURGH - Neil Walker hit a two-run homer, Brian Burres limited Atlanta to one run over six innings in his first start in more than three months and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the slumping Braves 3-1 on Monday.
MIAMI - Logan Morrison hit two stand-up RBI triples, Andrew Miller worked five innings for his first win in more than a year, and the Florida Marlins beat the Atlanta Braves 6-1 on Friday night.
ATLANTA - David Wright homered, Johan Santana won for the first time in four starts and the New York Mets snapped the Atlanta Braves' five-game winning streak with a 4-2 victory Thursday night.
ATLANTA - David Ross hit his first career grand slam to cap a seven-run inning made possible by Luis Castillo's error, and the Atlanta Braves routed the New York Mets 9-2 on Tuesday night.
Jason Heyward is recovering his power stroke just in time for the Atlanta Braves' September push for the playoffs.
ATLANTA - Tim Hudson struck out a career-high 13 and Martin Prado equaled his career best with five RBIs, powering the Atlanta Braves to a 12-3 rout of the Florida Marlins on Saturday night.
ATLANTA - Florida led off a game with back-to-back homers for the first time in franchise history, Chris Volstad pitched eight strong innings and the Marlins romped to a 7-1 victory Friday night over the slumping Atlanta Braves.
DENVER - Maybe early in the season, Colorado manager Jim Tracy pulls his starters and puts in a pitcher for mop-up duty. Not now, not with the Rockies trying to stay in the playoff race.
ATLANTA - When the ballpark named after Ted Turner is demolished in four years, the media mogul hopes the city of Atlanta will convert the vacant area into green space. The Atlanta Braves announced last month that in 2017, they will move out of Turner Field and into a new 42,000-seat, $672 million stadium complex in Cobb County. Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed ...
ATLANTA - Second baseman Elliot Johnson, third baseman Paul Janish and right-hander Cristhian Martinez became free agents when the Atlanta Braves failed to offer 2014 contracts on Monday night.
MARIETTA - The Atlanta Braves are a step closer to moving out of downtown Atlanta, the Major League Baseball team's home for the past 47 years.
NEW YORK - Four-time Cy Young Award winner Greg Maddux, two-time winner Tom Glavine and two-time AL MVP Frank Thomas are among 19 newcomers on this year's Hall of Fame ballot, joining steroid-tainted holdovers Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. Mike Mussina, Hideo Nomo, Kenny Rogers, Jeff Kent, Moises Alou and Luis Gonzalez also are among the players eligible to be voted on for the first time by the Baseball ...
NEW YORK (AP) - Free-agent catcher Brian McCann and the New York Yankees are about to complete a five-year deal worth around $85 million, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday night. <p style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,Geneva; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: ...
ATLANTA - Mayor Kasim Reed met Wednesday with Atlanta Braves executives to discuss next steps following the team's decision to leave downtown and build a new $672 million stadium in nearby Cobb County, according to Gov. Nathan Deal.
ATLANTA - Atlanta's mayor said Tuesday that the city will demolish Turner Field after the Braves leave for a new stadium in the suburbs in 2017. Mayor Kasim Reed said at a news conference that the stadium will not be left vacant after the team starts playing at a new field in Cobb County in three years. "We're going to have a master developer that is going to demolish the Ted and ...
ATLANTA - The Braves announced Monday they are leaving Turner Field and moving into a new 42,000-seat, $672 million stadium about 10 miles from downtown in 2017. Atlanta's mayor said the city wasn't willing match an offer from suburban Cobb County worth $450 million in taxpayer funding. Braves executives John Schuerholz, Mike Plant and Derek Schiller said the team decided not to seek another lease at 17-year-old Turner Field and began talks with ...
ATLANTA - Some residents of the area around Turner Field said they were shocked and surprised to hear of the Atlanta Braves' announcement that they plan to build a new stadium in suburban Cobb County. Tracey Long, 41, has lived several blocks from the current home stadium, Turner Field, for about 10 years and said she's very involved with her neighborhood. While out walking her dog Monday morning, she said she and other ...
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http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-august-23-2010/the-parent-company-trap *
Potatoes with mouths. Indeed.
And you know what? Fuck mainstream news. Fuck ALL of them. Look – I love the Daily Show – but it takes a fucking 'comedy' program to drive home a potentially important conflict if interest that's present in a major news network?!
This isn't the first time Fox's co-owner has been brought into the limelight, but in the wake of their islamophobic rantings, it's delightfully entertaining to – hopefully – watch them squirm in the seats as the irony drips from their sweaty brows.
Mainstream news is just one big circle jerk. Shame on them all for suffering journalism a slow and painful demise.
All we have left is Wikileaks and the fucking Daily Show. Sometimes MSNBC.
And.. the internet. Thank you internet.
* You know what? If you don't want people to upload your fucking video content to YouTube, at least making your embed code halfway useable. Who's responsible?! WordPress? Comedy fucking central?
Filed under: Journalism, Politics, Television, Al-Waleed bin Talal, circle jerk, co-owner, daily show, Fox, fuck fox news, ground zero, hypocrisy, irony, islamophobia, jon stewart, mainstream news, mosque, news


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Upcoming Events
We're on the Go. Here are some of the places we'll be at soon.
- Date/Time
- Event Name
- Description
- Location
- 10.05.2013
- Northern California Women's Forum
Don't miss Northern California's premier women's conference!
Saturday, October 5, 2013 from 9am - 3pm at William Jessup University!
Founded by Assemblywoman Beth Gaines in 2011, The Northern California Women's Forum brings together professional women, community advocates, volunteers, wives, mothers and students from around the region as we work together to foster and promote women in business and in the community. This is a non-partisan event created to share a positive message of how women can and have succeeded as leaders and partners for change in their communities and in their personal lives. Don't miss this impactful event!
This year we are also proud to announce the launch of the Beth Gaines' Scholarship Fund. Proceeds from the forum will go to support the educational aspirations of students throughout the region
- Sacramento, CAWilliam Jessup University
- 10.06.2013
- Pierce County - Hunger Walk 2013
When: Sunday, October 6th 2013
Where: Fort Steilacoom Park ~ 8714 87th Avenue SW, Lakewood CA
Time: Registration 12:00pm to 1:30pm - Run start 1pm Walk start 2pmWhat: The 33rd annual Pierce County Hunger Walk is among the largest hunger relief events on the West Coast. Our goal is to attract 1,200 participants and their supporters to help raise $250,000 to help those in need. Half of the proceeds will benefit the Emergency Food Network - Pierce County's non-profit, distribution center for food banks and hot meal sites. The other 50 percent will go to local and international hunger relief agencies designated by our walkers.
- Lakewood, CA8714 87th Avenue SW, Lakewood CA
- 10.19.2013
- InShape Health Club tasting - Woodland
Come sample Go Girl Energy at InShape Health Clubs! We'll be there Saturday October 19th from 10am to 2pm! Coupons, Giveaways and more!
- Woodland, CA249 California St Woodland, CA 95695
- 10.19.2013
- Macy's Fall Essentials Party at Macy's Manhattan Beach
Join Macy's featuring Go Girl Energy Drink at the Macy's Fall Essentials Party, featuring Fall's have to fashions, music, models and Go Girl Energy Drink
October 19th 2 to 4 pm
- Manhattan Beach, Ca3400 N. Sepulveda Manhattan Beach, Ca 90266
- 10.19.2013
- Party in Pink
Join us for the Ultimate Zumba Party all in the name of Breast Cancer Research!
Saturday Oct. 19th at 6:00 pm
Oak Meadows Elementary School in El Dorado Hills
Doors will open at 6:00 pm and dancing will start shortly after. Tickets are $20 and 100% of tickets sales this year will benefit a Global Research Grant for Breast Cancer Prevention. Directly after the event, participants can head over to the Purple Place in El Dorado Hills where they will be mixing up "Pink" drinks and serving up some delicious food. The Purple Place will be donating a portion of the sales that night to the event. And just like last year I will have a prize for the Craziest Pink Costume. Can anyone beat the flamingo that won last year! Buy your ticket before the event and you'll receive a goody bag at the event. Tickets can be purchased through any of the event instructors or at Snap Fitness in El Dorado Hills. Buy your tickets early as I'm expecting us to sell out this year. This year our instructors include:
Kay Oda, Chandra Miehe, McKenna Saxton, Lisa Dillon Bridget Clark, Karen Bolinger, Ruthie Oggins, Sue O'brien, Milauni Nagar, Sherri Stripling, Alina Drummond, and Brandy Gill- El Dorado Hills, CAOak Meadows Elementary School
- 10.26.2013
- Making Strides Against Breast Cancer
- Tempe, AZTempe Beach Park
- 10.30.2013
- Citydog! Club 2nd annual Halloween party for dogs and humans
- Culver City, CA3940 Higuera St Culver City
- 10.31.2013
- Haunted Hollywood
- Santa Monica395 Santa Monica Place, CA 90401
- 11.16.2013
- R I S E ! Gala Awards
- Elk Grove, CAThe Hilton Garden
- 12.14.2013
- InShape Health Club tasting - Lodi
Come sample Go Girl Energy at InShape Health Clubs! We'll be there Friday December 13th from 4pm to 7pm! Coupons, Giveaways and more!
- Lodi, CA210 N Ham Ln Lodi, CA 95242
- = indicates a breast cancer related event
- = indicates an ovarian cancer related event
- = indicates a breast and ovarian cancer related event


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Your investment, our expertise – from the initial idea to maintenance
Building or buying real estate is always an investment in the future. No matter whether it's an industrial plant or a family home. But it also conceals risks for planners, constructors, and owners. Our experts examine electrical equipment and real estate for energy efficiency along with functional safety and construction features. To the smallest detail, always in accordance with national and international standards and norms. We offer the coordinated expertise of a globally operating company, high quality due to accredited engineers and experts – and planning security from the initial idea to the ground-breaking all the way to maintenance or disposal.


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Synopsis: Mixed martial arts fighter Gina Carano makes her feature-film debut as a lethal government contractor who's betrayed by her own agency in this action thriller from writer Lem Dobbs (The Limey) and director Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Contagion). Mallory Kane (Carano) is the woman the U.S. government calls on to take care of their dirty work. She's ... Continue Reading
Starring: Channing Tatum, Ewan McGregor, Mathieu Kassovitz, Antonio Banderas


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Running with Dinosaurs (3-8): Compute running rates using body measurements, footprints, and algebra!
Read about how Diana Flores uses Calculation Nation in her math "rotations!"
Play Factor Dazzle at Calculation Nation today! It's dazzle-icious! Don't know how to incorporate it into your classroom? Search for a new lesson plan, "Chocolate FACTORy!"
Learn more and enter the Verizon Innovative App Challenge by December 17th to win BIG!
Play online math strategy games against players from around the world.
Challenge students and mathematics enthusiasts with these puzzles.
Read and share experiences of how people have used Illuminations' resources.
Welcome to Bright Ideas, the e-newsletter of Illuminations. Once a month, this newsletter provides resources, information and new ideas to interested teachers.
If you would like to rate this lesson, then please register. Riuscipisci bla feummod olenim dignit irit luptatum zzriliquamet la commodigna facilit prat.


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The Treatment Episode Data Set -- Admissions (TEDS-A) is an administrative data system providing descriptive information about the national flow of admissions to providers of substance abuse treatment. TEDS-A is part of a reporting system that was originally designed to provide annual data on the number and characteristics of persons admitted to public and private substance abuse treatment programs receiving public funding. The unit of analysis is treatment admissions. TEDS includes both Minimum Data Set (MDS) data (required reporting) and Supplemental Data Set (SuDS) data (optional reporting), as reported to state substance abuse agencies by the treatment programs.
Variables in the MDS include: information on service setting, number of prior treatments, primary source of referral, gender, race, ethnicity, education, employment status, substance(s) abused, route of administration, frequency of use, age at first use, and whether methadone was prescribed in treatment. Supplemental variables include: diagnosis codes, presence of psychiatric problems, living arrangements, source of income, health insurance, expected source of payment, pregnancy and veteran status, marital status, detailed not in labor force codes, detailed criminal justice referral codes, and days waiting to enter treatment.
Substances abused include alcohol, cocaine and crack, marijuana and hashish, heroin, nonprescription methadone, other opiates and synthetics, PCP, other hallucinogens, methamphetamine, other amphetamines, other stimulants, benzodiazepines, other non-Benzodiazepine tranquilizers, barbiturates, other non-barbiturate sedatives or hypnotics, inhalants, over-the-counter medications, and other substances.
Created variables include total number of substances reported, intravenous drug use (IDU), and flags for any mention of specific substances.
The public-use files were created using the data that were current as of April 2005 (the April 11, 2005, extract).


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2014 - Benefit for Mike Wolfner Submitted by David on Fri, 11/22/2013 - 11:53 What: A Silent Auction & Benefit for Mike Wolfner Where: Lowry Beer Garden – 7577 E Academy Blvd – Denver When: Thursday December 5th, 6PM - 9PM Read more about 2014 - Benefit for Mike WolfnerAdd new comment
2013 - BRAC's Breakaway Bash and Awards Submitted by David on Tue, 10/29/2013 - 13:54 Read more about 2013 - BRAC's Breakaway Bash and AwardsAdd new comment
2013 - BRAC Women's Summit Submitted by David on Tue, 10/01/2013 - 14:01 October 1, 2013 * 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Hosted by: Prestige Imports and the Colorado Women's Cycling Project/Naked Women's Racing Location: 9201 W Colfax Avenue * Lakewood, CO 80215 Read more about 2013 - BRAC Women's SummitAdd new comment
2013 - Red Bull Road Rage Submitted by David on Mon, 09/23/2013 - 14:47 Red Bull Road Rage -- a head-to-head, downhill race where riders are allowed to ride any type of bike -- returns to U.S. soil for the first time in more than seven years. It promises to be unlike any other bike race you have experienced before. Do you have what it takes to not only battle the steep, winding roads of Guanella Pass in the mountains of Colorado, but also your fellow man on a course that includes a challenging 1.6 miles of descents? Read more about 2013 - Red Bull Road Rage2 commentsAdd new comment
2013 - Shannon Sovndal Book Signing Submitted by David on Wed, 09/18/2013 - 09:30 9/18/2013 7:30pm Boulder Bookstore Read more about 2013 - Shannon Sovndal Book SigningAdd new comment
2013 - Groove Subaru Master Womens Rides Submitted by David on Wed, 09/04/2013 - 12:34 The Groove-Subaru Masters Women's team is holding a second recruiting ride this Sat. 9/28. We are seeking those who enjoy racing road, cyclocross and/or track. All levels of riders are invited to meet some current team members for a casual ride of no more than two hours. Plan on meeting at 10:00 a.m. at Spruce Confections in North Boulder. We look forward to seeing some new and familiar faces. Contact Sandy Mercurio at colosandy AT comcast DOT net if there are any questions. Read more about 2013 - Groove Subaru Master Womens RidesAdd new comment
2013 - Outdoor DIVAS Cycling - New Member Ride Submitted by David on Tue, 09/03/2013 - 10:19 Outdoor DIVAS Cycling is hosting three New Member Rides in September and October. Join us on September 14 and Spetmeber 22, leaving Outdoor DIVAS store (next to Whole Foods) at 10:00 am. The final ride is October 7, leaving Boulder Beer at 5:45 pm. If you have questions, please send an email to info AT outdoordivascycling DOT com Read more about 2013 - Outdoor DIVAS Cycling - New Member RideAdd new comment
2013 - BRAC Happy Hour Submitted by David on Tue, 08/06/2013 - 11:43 BRAC Happy Hour at Great Divide. Oct 23 4:30 to 7pm Read more about 2013 - BRAC Happy HourAdd new comment


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Advice on market rental values and negotiating rental terms on behalf of landlords or tenants on review, and other terms of a lease on renewal. Presentations for expert witness, arbitration or court hearings. General advice on landlord and tenant matters and procedures.
Management of commercial and mixed investments and portfolios, for private property company and institutional landlords. Service charges calculations. Ground lease management of flats. Multiple tenant occupational management. Schedules of dilapidation and conditions.


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Extra Extra!
Read all about the newsworthy, 100,000sf tenant fit-out project for Daily News over two floors. The sixth floor was a renovation of the existing office space while the seventh floor was a completely new fit-out. A steel interconnecting stair was constructed for access between the floors as well.
The state-of-the-art space features a media hub—a wall with 18 large, flat screen televisions with scrolling news items— and a photo and video studio. In addition the floor includes:
- open and private office spaces
- conference/training room
- data center
- pantry
- copy/print room
- storage
The scope of work also entailed some ancillary construction within in the building including the installation of storage in the basement and a reconfiguration of an existing mailroom near the loading dock into a parking garage.
Deadline Driven
This fast track, 12-week project included the construction of a data center, which had to be on-line eight weeks prior to the overall project completion. Our expert technical services team pre-purchased PDUs and CRAC units to meet the schedule requirements. The overall infrastructure installed also included a UPS system.


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Inspiration Board: Simply Seleta
We draw inspiration from design bloggers. Where do they draw their inspiration from? We asked Seleta Hayes Howard from Simply Seleta a few questions and from her answers, imagined what an inspiration board in her home might look like.
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Tools and techniques for creating custom Linux systems
Tools such as Linux From Scratch, NimbleX Live CD Generator, Kiwi image system, and the Ubuntu Customization Kit can help you create your own custom Linux system.
If you can't find a Linux that strikes your fancy, why not roll your own? A new generation of Linux tools helps you build a custom Linux system. You can use these distro-building tools to create Live CDs – bootable discs suitable for troubleshooting, mass installation, and even ordinary end-user tasks. Add a missing driver to the base system and remaster a modified DVD, then start your familiar home environment from anywhere – without disturbing the contents of the hard drive.
Read full article as PDF:
Build_Your_Own_Distro_Intro.pdf (468.43 kB)Tag Cloud
New Mint Minted
Version 16 of the popular Linux desktop reveals new tools, edge-snapping, and performance improvements.
New Worm Attacks Linux Devices
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Dell renews its quest for the ultimate developer machine.
Sneaky New Linux Attack Discovered in the Wild
Innovative back door looks like normal SSH traffic.
CeBIT Call for Papers
One of CeBITs most successful forums opens the new year with a new name. The popular Open Source Forum continues in 2014 under the name Special Conference: Open Source. This year, the forum will be bigger and offer a wider range of possibilities for sponsors.
Linus Announces Linux Kernel 3.12
New release offers better graphics drivers and expands filesystem support.
Dark Alliance Reinvents Email Security
New mail protocol will shut out the NSA and prevent snooping on metadata.
DDos Attack Map Charts Denial of Service
A new web application helps users visualize distributed denial-of-service attacks.
Saucy Salamander Gets Legs
Ubuntu 13.10 takes a step toward convergence, with lots of mobility, but Mir only partly here.
Intel and Arduino Create Pi-Like System
Galileo board is targeted to embedded developers and educational institutions.


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Survey of Energy Resources 2007
Uranium Country Notes
Exploration for uranium began in 1949, since when deposits have been located in many parts of the country. Exploratory activity is continuing, with expenditure of around US$ 20 million per annum. Uranium has been produced at the Jaduguda mine in the eastern state of Bihar since 1967. In 2005, output from this and three other mines in the same area (Narwapahar, Bhatin and Turamdih) was some 230 tonnes. The recovery of uranium as a by-product of copper refining has been temporarily suspended.
RAR (with their cost range unassigned) are reported as 54 800 tonnes. Other Identified Resources consist of just over 29 800 tonnes classified as IR, also without an assigned cost range (both were allocated to the less than US$ 130/kgU category in the Red Book). Both these amounts are expressed on an in-situ basis, thus recoverable tonnages would be substantially lower. IAEA/NEA estimates imply average recovery factors of approximately 78% for India's RAR and about 75% for its IR. Undiscovered conventional resources consist of 12 100 tonnes of PR and 17 000 tonnes of SR. Unconventional resources have been estimated to amount to about 6 600 tonnes, recoverable from copper mine tailings in the Singhbhum district of the state of Jharkhand.
An ion-exchange/acid leaching (IX/AL) plant at Jaduguda processes ore from the Jaduguda, Bhatin and Narwapahar production centres, and is scheduled to process the output of a new underground mine at Bagjata, 30 km to the east. A new IX/AL plant being built at Turamdih will take ore from the adjacent mine as well as from the uranium production centres planned for Banduhurang and Mohuldih. New production centres planned for Lambapur-Peddagattu in Andhra Pradesh and Domiasiat in Meghalaya State will have their own ore-processing facilities at Seripally (IX/AL) and Domiasiat (solvent extraction/acid leaching), respectively.


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Quick Points
Prototype 2 is the sequel to the 2009 game by Radical Entertainment which is an open-world game about the aftermath of a viral contamination of New York Zero. The sequel brings a new protagonist Sgt. James Heller who is infected by Alex Mercer and is on a mission to kill him after he learns that Mercer killed his family. Mercer hopes that Heller will join his side because of Heller's unique response to the virus. The story is nothing special and is basically just there to move you along and sets Mercer as the final enemy. Heller being new to being infected starts off with basic powers and builds up to the point where he can easily take out an army. The main power for Heller is his shape-shifting ability that allows him to take on the shape of the people he consumes. This tactic is used to gain access to bases, upgrade your powers, get new missions, or to evade alert. Nearly all missions in the game have you eventually consuming someone to gain access to an area denoted by a special marker above their head. Markers for powers and missions will also show up over the heads of people or the infected along with the mini-map on screen. The alert system, at least in normal, isn't particularly hard to evade and takes a lot to activate. You can run up a building or fly around in front of soldiers and they will show very little concern. When you do activate it all it takes to evade is to get out of the line of sight of the soldiers and shape-shift to another person. There are two meters representing the alert level of each form you can take. There are 5 different attack powers in the game which you will gain through the story missions with only two immediately available to you to attack. The power select menu is mapped to the L1 button where you can select which power you want on either triangle or square. Some of the enemies will be resistant to some of the attacks and weaker against others but I found that sticking with the claws which is one of the first powers in the game to work better than the others against the majority of the enemies. Throughout the game I felt no real challenge with the fights except for a few occasions where the game didn't act like I expected. With an upgraded locomotion Heller can be harder to control in tighter arenas which there are several of. When you get to the second island you'll probably be upgraded enough to not even care about getting into alert status because it doesn't take much to kill the army sent after you. You have several upgrade trees in the game which upgrade in when you consume certain enemies or when you get enough XP to get Heller to the next level. There isn't much variety with the mission structures which usually consist of finding a person and consuming them for more information. The game usually values stealth over straight out action with in-mission challenge such as not getting into alert status during the mission. This is also extremely simple with the game telling when you're being watched and not allowing you to consume people while you're being watched. One of my least favorite features that have shown up this generation is also in the game, talking on cell phones. For some reason when talking on cell phones you can do anything even if you're a mutated person who game create blades. This game has a bit of a twist that can lead to amusing stand offs with enemies as they will wait for you to finish your conversation before trying to kill them which is nice of them. Apart from the story missions there are three types of side missions called collectables which the game gives you an easy way to find them. Each of the three have you find something, either black boxes from soldiers, lairs, or street level missions that have you killing everyone involved. Each doesn't have specific points on the map but on the menu map there are indicators that show approximately where they would be. This can also make you easily overpowered for you missions because it is extremely tempting to just go around and collect these before even starting the story missions on each island. The game is pretty solid in its mechanics and pretty fun to beat, rip apart, and to destroy things but doesn't go beyond that. Having not played the first I can't compare it with that but it should be a good follow up to anyone that likes this series. It does do some stuff to lessen the frustration that is seen in other open world games with things like the collectibles maps and the movement mechanic that allows you to easily run up buildings and fly around which makes traversal far easier than others like it. |


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Sunday, December 08, 2013
The latest local news, weather and high school sports from the Heartland
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Centerville Community Schools look ahead to future
Laura Simon
Posted: 08.23.2013 at 5:51 PM
Teachers, staff and students belonging to the district began classes on Monday.
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More Education News
Heartland sophomore students attend a career fair
Friday, December 06, 2013
Tenth graders from area schools packed the hallways of the Kirksville Area Technical Center for an opportunity they'll forever appreciate.
read story
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Truman State receives agriculture education grant
Thursday, December 05, 2013
Truman State is one of 5 universities in the state of Missouri to receive a grant for furthering agriculture education.
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Sneak Peak at this Weekend's Missouri Livestock Symposium
Wednesday, December 04, 2013
The 14th annual Missouri Livestock Symposium will be held this Friday and Saturday, December 6 & 7, 2013 at William Matthew Middle School in Kirksville.
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Preventative Exams for Women
Monday, December 02, 2013
Angie Shuey, a Women's Health Nurse Practitioner from Complete Family Medicine, talks about the importance of preventative exams for women and which ones you should do.
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Truman State professor writes mystery novel
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
A local university professor's new book will make a great stocking stuffer for mystery lovers.
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Safe Thanksgiving Day Food for our Pets
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Dr. Jenny Lindquist, from Lindquist Veterinary Care Center showed us which foods are safe and which ones are dangerous to our four-legged friends.
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Novinger students take 'Just Drive' pledge
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Students at one local high school took the 'Just Drive' pledge Tuesday afternoon.
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Statin Drugs and What it Means for Patients
Monday, November 25, 2013
Dr. Puckett goes over Statin Drugs and the new guidelines
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Nixon proposes changes for Missouri scholarship program
Monday, November 25, 2013
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Ottumwa Schools superintendent explains process of snow days
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Dr.Davis Eidahl says school officials are paying attention to the forecast each night to determine if they need to send people out the next morning to survey the roads in the district.
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Harmony School District holds first annual Thanksgiving Day feast
Friday, November 22, 2013
The Harmony School District commenced a new tradition today with their first annual Thanksgiving Day feast.
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Yahoo! Language centers have been deprecated. If you have any concerns or questions, please don't hesitate to contact us in General Discussion at YDN forum.
Featured Application: Aquarium
A fun application using ASTRA components.
More: Aquarium
Flash Theater
A screencast on Yahoo! ActionScript 3 Maps.
On Flash and Flex:
Welcome Flash Developers
The Yahoo! Flash Developer Center is an ever growing collection of Flash tools, resources and information, all freely available for your use. Check back often for updates, and join the ydn-flash Yahoo! Group to exchange information with Flash developers just like yourself.
YDN-Flash Yahoo! Group
Join the ydn-flash group to connect to other developers like you and send comments and suggestions (and even bug reports!) to Yahoo!'s Flash Platform team.
ASTRA: ActionScript Toolkit for Rich Applications
ASTRA, the ActionScript Toolkit for Rich Applications, is a collection of Flash and Flex components, code libraries, toolkits and utilities developed by Yahoo! for ActionScript developers. These libraries available under the terms of the open source BSD license.
Flash Components (deprecated)
Yahoo! offers the ASTRA Flash components to complement the existing set provided in Adobe Flash CS3. These components are easily skinnable and fully documented, and wide selection of examples are available to help developers get started quickly.
Flex Components (deprecated)
Yahoo! offers the ASTRA Flex components for use in your Adobe Flex 3 applications. These Flex components are designed to work like any other components for Flex with familiar properties, styles, and events. They're fully documented, and each component comes with multiple examples that demonstrate its various uses.
Utilities Library (deprecated)
Yahoo! offers the ASTRA Utilities for use in any ActionScript-based project, whether in Flash CS3 or Flex Builder. These utility classes build a foundation for more advanced functionality in Rich Internet Applications that is portable across different frameworks and component sets.
Web APIs Library (deprecated)
Our Yahoo! Web APIs package for ActionScript 3 and Flex allows you to connect your application to any one of a variety of data services provided by Yahoo!.
Building Yahoo! Social Applications with Flash
Use the expressiveness and cross-browser goodness that Flash and Flex provide to build a fun and powerful application using the Yahoo! Social APIs on your own website, or within the YAP environment. The component is distributed with full source code, a Flex 3 SWC, documentation and a Yahoo! styled CSS skin.
Yahoo! Maps AS3 Component
The all-new Yahoo! Maps component for Flash and Flex 3 enables you to add a map to a wide range of web and desktop applications. Included in the API is support for other Yahoo! APIs including geocoding, local search and traffic APIs along with an advanced marker and overlay system to allow you to easily render geo-data on the map.