Dodaro v. Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission 

(Court opinion corrected 8/27/10.) Claimant was injured while training at police academy to become a police officer for City of Chicago. Under Workers' Compensation Act, the term "employee" excludes any duly appointed member of a police department in any city of greater than 200,000 population. Trainee was not a "duly appointed member" of City's police department, and therefore is not precluded from receiving benefits under the Act. Legislature intended statutory exclusion in the Act to apply to persons who have been formally admitted to the responsibilities and privileges of the Chicago police department. Although evidence indicated that police recruits were treated like sworn police officers as to their eligibility for benefits under Police Pension Fund, recruits and sworn officers are not on equal footing at the department; recruits do not have full police powers until police academy training is completed and they are sworn in, and recruits are not exposed to the same risks as sworn officers on duty. (McCULLOUGH and DONOVAN, concurring; ROBERT E. GORDON, specially concurring.)