Firefighter's Cancer Death: Buffalo Grove Appeals Pension Ruling

BUFFALO GROVE, IL – Village officials in Buffalo Grove will appeal pension benefits awarded by the five-member Buffalo Grove Fire Pension Board to the widow of Kevin Hauber, a former firefighter/paramedics who died from colon cancer. In a statement Wednesday, Buffalo Grove officials said the village filed a complaint requesting an administrative review in the 19th Judicial Circuit Court in Lake County regarding the enhanced pension award to Hauber's family. The five-member Buffalo Grove Fire Pension Board in a 3-2 vote approved the enhanced pension on March 23 and reaffirmed that decision in a recent meeting last month, according to a news release.

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The application for the enhanced 100-percent line-of-duty death pension benefit claimed that Hauber's colon cancer was caused by his work as a firefighter. The award was the first of its kind in Illinois, village officials said.

Regarding their decision to appeal the claim, the village of Buffalo Grove wrote in a statement Wednesday:

The decision to appeal this unprecedented claim was made due to the absence of clear evidence or research proving that firefighting has a direct or indirect causal relationship with colon cancer and that the petitioner provided insufficient evidence showing Kevin Hauber was exposed to cancer causing agents while he was a Buffalo Grove firefighter. Village staff and elected officials determined the only appropriate and fiduciary response was to appeal this decision; an estimate of the enhanced pension award would conservatively create an additional liability of $1.7 million to the Pension Fund, compared to a lesser benefit that Kevin Hauber’s widow was qualified to receive – which is 75-percent of Mr. Hauber’s final salary.

“This is a sensitive and emotional issue for all of us. Kevin was beloved in Buffalo Grove, and is greatly missed,” said Village President Beverly Sussman. “The village believes Kimberly Hauber and her children are entitled to the surviving spouse benefit equal to 75-percent of Kevin’s final salary. As leaders, we must ensure any increased pension liabilities that raise the property tax burden on residents, businesses and property owners are fairly levied; we believe this case does not meet the legal standard to justify a 100 percent line-of-duty death benefit.”

Village officials said this case highlights the larger challenges that municipalities throughout Illinois face with regard to public safety pension funding.

"Firefighters’ pension contributions are fixed as a percentage of salary, therefore, any enhanced pension benefit awarded is paid from taxpayer dollars, and to a smaller extent, from investment returns," according to village officials.

The pension board, which is made up of two current firefighters, one retired firefighter and two village-appointed members. The group voted 3-2 to approve the enhanced pension benefit with the firefighters all casting the affirmative votes, according to the news release.

The composition of all fire pension boards is identical to that of the Buffalo Grove Firefighters Pension Board (three current or former firefighter members, and two appointed by the municipality), as required by state law.

In the statement, Buffalo Grove officials wrote:

Given the myriad of issues municipalities face in funding public safety pension obligations, it is the Village’s fiduciary responsibility to ensure that any pension enhancements meet statutory requirements. This case presents issues for citizens across the State, due to the possibility that this ruling could set a precedent for years to come in relation to an already broken pension system.

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