Kane County Reporter

Dan Ugaste introduced HB1259 in the Illinois House on Jan. 10, 2025, during the general assembly session 104, according to the Illinois General Assembly.

According to the Illinois General Assembly site, the legislature summarized the bill's official text as follows: "Amends the Workers' Compensation Act. Provides that for purposes of computing compensation for an employee who had a prior compensated injury to the spine, the prior compensation shall be deducted from compensation awarded for a subsequent injury to the same part of the spine. Effective immediately."

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill amends the Workers' Compensation Act to stipulate that if an employee who was previously compensated for a spinal injury sustains a subsequent injury to the same part of the spine, the compensation previously awarded must be deducted from any new compensation granted for the later injury. The intention appears to be ensuring that compensation reflects only new injuries rather than duplicating compensation for earlier injuries to the same spinal area. Effective immediately, the bill aims to address issues related to cumulative claims and possible overcompensation for repeated spinal injuries, likely intending to balance compensation allocation with fairness and accuracy in injury claims.

Dan Ugaste has proposed another seven bills since the beginning of the 104th session.

Ugaste graduated from Lake Forest College in 1985 with a BS and again in 1988 from DePaul University College of Law with a JD.

Dan Ugaste is currently serving in the Illinois State House, representing the state's 65th House District. He replaced previous state representative Steven Andersson in 2019.

Bills in Illinois follow a multi-step legislative process, beginning with introduction in either the House or Senate, followed by committee review, floor debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching the governor for approval or veto. The General Assembly operates on a biennial schedule, and while typically thousands of bills are introduced each session, only a fraction successfully pass through the process to become law.

You can read more about bills and other measures here.

Bill Number	Date Introduced	Short Description
HB1259	01/10/2025	Amends the Workers' Compensation Act. Provides that for purposes of computing compensation for an employee who had a prior compensated injury to the spine, the prior compensation shall be deducted from compensation awarded for a subsequent injury to the same part of the spine. Effective immediately.
HB1253	01/10/2025	Amends the Workers' Compensation Act. Provides that an injury arises out of and in the course of employment only if the accident significantly caused or contributed to both the resulting condition and the disability. Provides that an injury does not arise out of and in the course of employment if (1) the hazard or risk was not incidental to employment and was a hazard or risk to which the general public is also exposed, (2) the injury did not occur at a time and place and under circumstances reasonably required by the employment, or (3) the disability resulted from a personal risk. Limits conditions under which repetitive or cumulative trauma is compensable. Provides that gradual deterioration or progressive degeneration of the body caused by aging is not compensable as repetitive or cumulative trauma. Effective immediately.
HB1254	01/10/2025	Amends the Workers' Compensation Act. Makes changes to the compensation periods for accidental injuries resulting in the loss of or the permanent and complete loss of use of the thumb, fingers, or toes; the amputation of an arm, foot, or leg; the enucleation of an eye; and other injuries to reduce the compensation to the amounts in effect for injuries occurring before February 1, 2006. Effective immediately.
HB1255	01/10/2025	Amends the Workers' Compensation Act. Provides that, in computing the compensation to be paid to an employee who, before the accident for which the employee claims compensation, had before that time sustained an injury resulting in a permanency award or settlement, the award or settlement shall be deducted from any award made for the subsequent injury. Provides that, if an employee received an award or settlement for a shoulder injury between 2012 and the effective date of the amendatory Act, then the award or settlement shall be converted to the appropriate number of weeks for an arm and the credit taken against any award or settlement shall be taken on the arm. Effective immediately.
HB1256	01/10/2025	Amends the Workers' Compensation Act in relation to custom compound medications. Sets forth conditions for approval of payment. Provides that charges shall be based upon the specific amount of each component drug and its original manufacturer's National Drug Code number and also upon specified criteria. Provides that a provider may prescribe a one-time 7-day supply unless a prescription for more than 7 days is preauthorized by the employer. Effective immediately.
HB1257	01/10/2025	Amends the Workers' Compensation Act concerning injuries sustained by employees during travel. Provides that accidental injuries sustained while traveling to or from work do not arise out of and in the course of employment, except under specified circumstances. Provides that the injury may arise out of and in the course of employment if, at the time of the injury, the employee was performing acts the employer instructed the employee to perform, acts that the employee had a common law or statutory duty to perform while performing duties for his or her employer, or acts that the employee might be reasonably expected to perform incident to his or her assigned duties. Effective immediately.
HB1258	01/10/2025	Amends the Workers' Compensation Act. Provides that, for purposes of awarding compensation for injuries, an injury to the shoulder shall be considered an injury to a part of the arm and an injury to the hip shall be considered an injury to a part of the leg. Effective immediately.
HB0009	01/09/2025	Amends the School Code. Provides that the State Board of Education shall establish and administer a program to award property tax relief grants to school districts in this State. Provides that, in exchange for receiving a grant, a school district's maximum aggregate property tax extension for the taxable year that begins on January 1 of the fiscal year for which the grant is awarded may not exceed an adjusted maximum aggregate property tax extension for that taxable year. Creates the Education Property Tax Relief Fund as a special fund in the State treasury for the purpose of awarding grants. Sets forth provisions concerning the Education Property Tax Relief Fund. Amends the State Finance Act to make conforming changes. Effective immediately.