Kankakee Times

Yesterday, State Representative Jackie Haas from Kankakee took a significant step in supporting law enforcement and enhancing school protection by successfully passing a bill in the House. The bill achieved unanimous support on the floor.

House Bill 79 addresses the current situation where retired sheriff’s officers are classified as full-time employees if they work more than 599 hours annually, leading to the suspension of their pension benefits. The bill proposes an increase in the hourly limit to 999 hours per year. This change is aimed at ensuring that retired sheriff’s officers who choose to work as school safety officers can retain their pension benefits.

“This bill helps protect annual annuities for retired sheriff’s officers and keeps our schools safe,” Haas stated. She emphasized the importance of the bill for those retired officers wishing to contribute to school safety without sacrificing their earned benefits. Haas also expressed her anticipation of continued bipartisan support for the bill.

More details about Representative Jackie Haas can be found on her website, RepHaas.com.