Linda Calhoun and Laurie Harris v. State of Illinois

OPINION

SPRAGUE, C.J. This claim is before the Court by reason of the death of Torry Devon Harris, who was a private first class in the United States Army, Illinois Army National Guard. PFC Harris’ mother, Linda Calhoun, and sister, Laurie Harris, seek compensation pursuant to the terms and provisions of the Line of Duty Compensation Act. (820 ILCS 315/1, et seq.) The Court has carefully considered the Application for Benefits filed herein, along with various documentation submitted by claimants and the U.S. Army in support of this claim, and the Report of the Attorney General.

A claim was filed herein on January 31, 2005, by Linda Calhoun and Laurie Harris, mother and sister of Private First Class Torry Devon Harris, United States Army, Illinois Army National Guard, who died in connection with Operation Iraqi Freedom on July 13, 2002.

Section 2(e)(3) of the Act defines “killed in the line of duty”, in the case of an Armed Forces member, as “losing one’s life while on active duty in connection with … Operation Iraqi Freedom…” (820 ILCS 315/2(e)(3)) Included with the Application is the Department of the Army’s Report of Casualty. According to the Report of Casualty, PFC Harris died in non-hostile action in Tikrit, Iraq on July 13, 2004. The conflict in which he died is listed as “WAR ON TERRORISM/OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM”. The military’s Certificate of Death lists the cause of death as “gunshot wound of head”, and classified the mode of death as suicide.

According to the Report of Casualty PFC Harris was born in Chicago, Illinois on February 27, 1983, and when he entered the Army on August 12, 2003 he lived in Chicago.

According to a March 3, 2005 handwritten note which Linda Calhoun submitted to the Assistant Attorney General assigned to this matter, PFC Harris was never married, nor did he have any children. Further, according to the Report of Casualty, his father, Paul Harris, is deceased.

Section 3(d)(3) of the Act provides that if no beneficiary is designated or [*227] surviving at the death of the Armed Forces member, and there is neither a surviving spouse nor surviving descendant, the entire sum shall be paid to the parents of the decedent, in equal parts, unless one is dead, then the entire sum to the surviving parent. (820 ILCS 315/3 (d)(3)) We have also reviewed various additional documentation that was filed with the Application for Benefits in relation to this claim.

We find that the foregoing falls within the terms and provisions of the Line of Duty Compensation Act, supra, and the facts reported herein comply with the requirements for an award under the Act.

Section 315/3(b) of the Act provides the amount of compensation: “For an Armed Forces member killed in the line of duty (i) at any time before January 1, 2005, the compensation is $259,038 plus amounts equal to the increases for 2003 and 2004 determined under subsection (c) and (ii) on or after January 1, 2005, the compensation is the amount determined under item (i) plus the applicable increases for 2005 and thereafter determined under subsection (c).” (820 ILCS 315/3(b)) Section 315/3(c) of the Act provides:

(c) Except as provided in subsection (b), for deaths occurring on or after January 1, 2003, the death compensation rate for death in the line of duty occurring in a particular calendar year shall be the death compensation rate for death occurring in the previous calendar year (or in the case of deaths occurring in 2003, the rate in effect on December 31, 2002) increased by a percentage thereof equal to the percentage increase, if any, in the index known as the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: U.S. city average, unadjusted, for all items as published by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, for the 12 months ending with the month of June of that previous calendar year. (820 ILCS 315/3 (c)) In this case, the adjusted death compensation rate for death occurring in 2003 is $262,405.49. In Re App. Of Monique D. DeWit, 03 CC 4783 (2003). According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there has been a 2.4% increase during the statutory time frame set forth in 820 ILCS 315/3 in the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers. This increase results in an increase in the amount of compensation by an additional $6,297.73.

Therefore, we hold that Linda Calhoun is entitled to a death benefit comprised of the compensation rate for death occurring in the previous calendar year, $262,405.49, plus an additional $6,297.73 based on the 2.4% increase in the Consumer Price Index during the time frame set forth in the statute, for a total of $268,703.22 (TWO HUNDRED SIXTY-EIGHT

THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED THREE DOLLARS AND

TWENTY-TWO CENTS) as provided by the Act.

[*228] IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Linda Calhoun, mother of United States Army Private First Class Torry Devon Harris, is hereby awarded

$268,703.22 (TWO HUNDRED SIXTY-EIGHT THOUSAND SEVEN

HUNDRED THREE DOLLARS AND TWENTY-TWO CENTS), Pursuant to the Line of Duty Compensation Act, supra.