Buenik v. Cicero Police Pension Fund

Plaintiff appealed and asked the appellate court to reverse a final decision of the Board of Trustees of the Cicero Police Pension Fund denying her a surviving spouse pension. Plaintiff married her late husband after he began receiving a line-of-duty disability pension but before he converted that benefit to a service pension. The Board concluded that plaintiff was precluded from receiving the pension by the section of the Illinois Pension Code that denies pension benefits to a surviving spouse if the marriage occurred subsequent to the officer’s retirement pension. The appellate court disagreed with that interpretation and reversed the decision of the board. (MITCHELL and ODEN JOHNSON, concurring)