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SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Public Pension Fund Association (IPPFA) today praised the signing of the Illinois First Responders Suicide Prevention Act, a new law the IPPFA drafted that will help fight the number one cause of duty-related deaths in the state. Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the legislation today at the Illinois State Police headquarters in Springfield, and the law takes effect immediately.

“This new law is a major step toward saving the lives of everyday heroes, those who run toward danger rather than away from it and have for years suffered silently because of it,” said IPPFA President James McNamee. “This will give police officers and firefighters the assistance they need to save their own lives while they work every day to save ours.”

The legislation, which overwhelmingly passed the Illinois General Assembly as House Bill 2766, provides that any emergency services or public safety employee may refer any fellow first responder for mental health services through an employee assistance or peer counseling program. If such a program is not available through the employee’s agency, the legislation authorizes that help may be sought from any available mental health assistance program. Most importantly, the bill mandates that any oral or written information communicated during these mental health sessions would be strictly confidential and could not be used in any judicial hearing, arbitration, or other adjudicatory proceeding.

The IPPFA drafted the bill more than two years ago. It was written by IPPFA board member and first responder Shawn Curry, and the legislation gained steam following several recent first responder suicides in Illinois.

“Crimes, fires and other emergencies have not gone down, and as we place more duties on fewer people, those people need to have access to confidential help when they need it,” McNamee said. “The attempted suicide rate for first responders such as police officers and firefighters is more than ten times the rate of the general public, and this new law will literally save lives.”

This spring and summer the IPPFA partnered with the Northern Illinois University Psychology Department to develop training for first responder mental health service providers. This training will be  accredited through the university and can be taught through the state’s  university system.

A recent study by the Ruderman Family Foundation examined depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and other issues affecting first responders and the rates of suicide in departments nationwide. The study determined that first responder suicides outnumber all line of duty deaths in the United States, making it the number one cause of death for firefighters, police officers, probation and corrections officers, paramedics and ambulance personnel.

The IPPFA was founded in 1985 as a not-for-profit organization whose mandate was to educate public pension fund trustees. In 2009 the IPPFA became the primary education provider for public pension fund trustees in the state of Illinois, and its members manage more than $18 billion in pension assets.

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To download a copy of the press release, please click here.

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Registration Now Open for the 2019 MidAmerican Pension Conference.

For over 30 years the IPPFA has offered Public Pension Trustees the best and latest in trustee training. With the recent far reaching changes in pension law and with the difficult challenges yet to come, the IPPFA strives to prepare pension trustees for the future. Please join us for Training in Ethics, Investment Procedures, Fiduciary Responsibilities, Legal and Legislative Updates, and much, much more and all with nationally renowned speakers.

The Trustee Workshop will be offered on Tuesday October 1st, designed for those trustees that need a refresher or are new to a board. And as every year the IPPFA Golf Outing will be held before the conference on October 1st.

After a busy day attending the conference, enjoy one of the many recreational facilities the Grand Geneva has to offer or dine, relax and network at one of the several restaurants and lounges on site. Need to get out?  Drive less than 10 minutes to one of Downtown Lake Geneva’s many restaurants.

Register Now

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Northern Illinois University is hosting two seminars this month to train police officers on the risks of post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide.

The programs are happening as the result of a grant of nearly $36,000 from the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority.  Watch 23WIFR coverage of NIU grant.

The seminars will be conducted by NIU psychology professor Michelle Lilly, who specializes in PTSD and trauma recovery, and Sgt. Shawn Curry of the Peoria Police Department, who is also the vice president of the Illinois Public Pension Fund Association (IPPFA), which is co-sponsoring the seminars with the university.

“It’s time we give back and really save blue lives,” says Northern Illinois University associate professor of clinical psychology Michelle Lilly. “It’s just really important to remember that most people run away from danger… they’re running toward danger to protect all of us.”

The first seminar is scheduled at the Hoffman Estates campus of NIU on June 12 and 13. Another is scheduled June 26 and 27 in Naperville.  Both Seminars are currently full.

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