Frequently Asked Questions

The Notice is being sent in connection with a class action lawsuit involving CTA retiree health benefits (the “Lawsuit”). If you received the Notice, records indicate you are a member of the above-defined Class (“Class Member”). The purpose of the Notice is to advise you of a proposed settlement (the “Settlement”) between the Class and Defendants, the Retirement Plan for Chicago Transit Authority Employees (“Plan”) and its Board of Trustees (together, “Plan Defendants”) and the Retiree Health Care Trust (“Trust”) and its Board of Trustees (together, “Trust Defendants”). 

This is a class action Lawsuit in which one or more persons known as “Class Representatives” sue on behalf of themselves and others who have similar claims. Here, the Class Representatives are CTA retirees Jerry Williams and Larry Whitehead.  The Class Representatives sued Defendants, alleging they violated the Pension Protection Clause of the Illinois Constitution and breached the CTA Retirement Plan Agreement by charging the Class Members monthly premiums for health care coverage.

On July 1, 2009, the Trust began charging the Class Members monthly health care premiums and the Plan began deducting those premiums from the monthly pension checks of certain Class Members. Plaintiffs contend in the Lawsuit that Class Members are entitled to lifetime, premium-free retiree health coverage.  Defendants have vigorously defended against these claims for 15 years, deny the claims in this Lawsuit, and deny that they are doing anything wrong by charging the Class Members monthly premiums or otherwise.

The Class Representatives and Defendants have reached a Settlement of all claims asserted in the Lawsuit. The Settlement has been preliminarily approved by the Court and will be the subject of a Settlement Hearing. The Settlement is not an admission of liability or wrongdoing by Defendants. If you are a Class Member, you will receive benefits from the Settlement if the Court gives its final approval at the Settlement Hearing, and after any appeals have been resolved.

If the Class Member to whom the Notice is addressed is deceased, a court-appointed estate representative, surviving spouse or relative of the deceased Class Member (“Estate Representative”) may be entitled to receive the Class Member’s individual settlement amount by following the instructions set forth included with the Notice.

The Court has not decided this Lawsuit in favor of the Class or Defendants. While you may be aware that there have been various rulings by the Court throughout this litigation in favor of either the Class or Defendants, the Court never issued a final ruling resolving the claims or defenses of the parties in the Lawsuit. Instead of continuing the litigation and obtaining a final decision, both sides have agreed to a Settlement. By settling, they avoid the costs and delay of a trial and likely appeals, and settlement benefits go to the Class Members now. The Class Representatives and Class Counsel feel strongly that this Settlement is in the best interests of the Class Members, taking into account the benefits of the Settlement, the uncertain outcome and the risks of continuing to litigate this highly complex case, and the extensive delay in obtaining relief for the Class if the Lawsuit continues, even if Plaintiffs prevail.

Yes. All Class Members are represented by Class Counsel Robinson Curley P.C. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense but it is not necessary.

The principal terms of the proposed Settlement are as follows:

A. Settlement Fund: If the Settlement Agreement gains final approval from the Court, the Trust will pay $80,000,000 to fully and finally settle the entire case. This is the total amount that will be paid on behalf of all Defendants to settle the case.  

Before the Settlement funds are divided among the Class Members and their Estate Representatives, amounts approved by the Court will be deducted for the following:

(a) the cost to send the Notice and distribute the settlement funds (“Notice and Administration Expenses”);

(b) any taxes owed by the Settlement Fund;

(c) up to 33⅓ percent of the Settlement Fund for the attorneys’ fees of Class Counsel for their work on the case for 15 years;

(d) reimbursement of approximately $480,000 of costs and expenses advanced by Class Counsel in the case; and

(e) a combined total of up to $75,000 for Service Awards to the three Class Representatives (or their heirs) to compensate them for their substantial time and effort in prosecuting the case and making the Settlement possible.

The amount of Settlement Funds remaining after the above deductions is referred to as the “Net Settlement Fund.”

B. Settlement Payments: Each Class Member will be eligible to receive a payment from the Net Settlement Fund in accordance with the Plan of Distribution set forth below in the Notice.

C. Release: Each Class Member will release certain claims against Defendants and their Related Parties (as defined in the Settlement Agreement).  This is referred to as the “Release.”  If the Settlement is approved, all Class Members will be deemed to have released any and all claims that were brought or could have been brought in the Lawsuit. This includes claims arising from the charging of premiums by the Trust for retiree health coverage both in the past and the future, subject to the anti-discrimination provision described below in Section D. If final approval is given, you may not assert any of these claims in any other lawsuit or proceeding. This includes any other lawsuit or proceeding already in progress. The final judgment order entered by the Court in this case will bind all Class Members. 

The Release is effective and binding as to every Class Member who did not request exclusion from the Class in accordance with the Class Notice sent in October 2020, regardless of whether the Class Member receives and cashes a settlement payment check.

D. Future Allowed Actions By the Plan and the Trust To Charge or Deduct Premiums: Under the terms of the Settlement Agreement, for those Class Members who elect to obtain or continue coverage from the Trust in the future, the Trust may continue to charge a monthly premium and the Plan may continue to deduct those premiums from the pension checks of retirees who pay for health care coverage through a pension deduction. The Settlement Agreement has no impact on the Trust’s current (a) eligibility requirements for retiree coverage of Class Members, (b) eligibility requirements for dependents and surviving spouses of Class Members, or (c) ability to charge retirees a premium for individual retiree and/or dependent and surviving spouse health care coverage. This means the Trust may maintain or even increase the current premium levels charged to Class Members, their surviving spouses and dependents. The Settlement requires, however, that the Trust not discriminate against Class Members by imposing more stringent eligibility rules, or by charging Class Members higher premiums, deductibles, co-pays, or out-of-pocket limits for retiree, surviving spouse or dependent coverage, than it charges non-Class retirees who are similarly situated to Class Members.

E. Dismissal of the Lawsuit: All claims in the Lawsuit will be dismissed with prejudice.

Sections A-E above provide only a general summary of the proposed Settlement.  You may consult the Settlement Agreement for more information about the exact terms of the Settlement.  The Settlement Agreement is available in the Documents section of this website located here.

1. Determining Each Class Member’s “Claim”: The starting point for quantifying each Class Member’s individual settlement amount is determining the amount of each Class Member’s individual “Claim.”
2. Time Period for Claim Determinations: Claim amounts will be determined for the period beginning July 1, 2009, and ending on March 31, 2023 (“Claim Period”).
3. Participant and Non-Participant Claims:

• During the Claim Period, the premiums paid by retirees covered only approximately one-third of the actual cost of health coverage provided to retirees. In other words, even after imposing the premiums, the Trust subsidized (paid) approximately two-thirds of the cost of coverage for retirees.
• The Class consists of some Class Members who paid premiums and obtained coverage from the Trust for the entire Claim Period, others who elected not to obtain coverage from the Trust and never paid premiums during the Claim Period, and others who paid premiums and obtained coverage during some but not all of the Claim Period.
• For each month during the Claim Period that a Class Member paid a premium to the Trust and participated in the Trust’s health plan, the Class Member is referred to as a “Participant.”
• For each month during the Claim Period that a Class Member did not pay the premium and therefore did not obtain coverage from the Trust, the Class Member is referred to as a “Non-Participant.”
• Class Members who paid premiums and obtained coverage for some but not all of the Claim Period are Participants during the months they paid premiums, and Non-Participants during the months they did not.

The Court must determine that the Settlement is fair and reasonable and give final approval to the Settlement before it can go into effect. If the Settlement is approved, a final Judgment will be entered and the Claims Administrator will mail checks to the Class Members or their Estate Representatives for the individual settlement amounts within 30 days after the Judgment becomes final and any appeals are resolved. If there is any appeal filed, distribution of the individual settlement amounts will be delayed while the appeal is being resolved, which can take significant time, sometimes a year or longer.

If the Court does not approve the Settlement or the Settlement is terminated on any grounds provided in the Settlement Agreement, then the Parties will be returned to their previous positions in the Lawsuit and the case will proceed as if no Settlement had occurred.  If this occurs, no individual settlement amounts will be distributed to Class Members.

Class Members have the following options in responding to the Notice:

DO NOTHING

You will receive a check for your final Individual Settlement Amount and be bound by the Settlement Agreement. You will give up the claims that are released by the Settlement Agreement.

FILE A STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OR OBJECTION

You may submit a timely written statement in support of or objection to the Settlement. If the Settlement is approved despite any objection you submit, you will remain a member of the Class and still give up your rights to bring any claims that are released by the Settlement Agreement. Class Members need not submit a statement in support of the Settlement to obtain their Individual Settlement Amount.

If the address to which the Notice has been sent is no longer valid, the Change of Address form included with the Notice must be completed, notarized and mailed to the Claims Administrator. Checks will be mailed to the same address to which the Notice was sent unless a completed Change of Address Form is sent to the Claims Administrator postmarked or received by September 25, 2023. Checks may be cashed or deposited only by the payee and not any third party. Checks not cashed or deposited within 90 days will be void and replacement checks will not be provided. If a check is lost or destroyed and a request is received by the Claims Administrator within those 90 days, a replacement check may be issued. 

Defendants’ records establish that approximately 2,346 Class Members are deceased as of March 31, 2023.  To obtain any deceased Class Member’s individual settlement amount, the Estate Representative of a deceased Class Member must complete and send the Proof of Kinship Form provided with the Notice to the Claims Administrator, postmarked or received on or before September 8, 2023. An Estate Representative can be the court-appointed representative of a deceased Class Member or, if there is no court-appointed representative, the surviving spouse, children, parents, or any other properly verified next of kin of the deceased Class Member, in that order of priority.

The Proof of Kinship Form must be sworn in person before a Notary Public. If a proper Proof of Kinship Form is not submitted to the Claims Administrator, or if the Notice addressed to a deceased Class Member is returned as undeliverable to the Claims Administrator, no payment will be made from the Settlement Fund on behalf of the deceased Class Member unless, after reasonable investigation, the Claims Administrator is able to identify and locate the deceased Class Member’s court-appointed representative or next of kin.

You may receive an IRS form 1099 for your individual settlement amount for each tax year in which any part of your individual settlement amount is paid to you. You should consult with your tax professional regarding whether these payments must be reported on your federal and state income tax returns and any taxes you may owe as a result of receiving your individual settlement amount.

You can object to the Settlement if you do not like any part of the Settlement Agreement, the Plan of Distribution, or the Fee and Expense Application, and the Court will consider your objection. Any such objection must (a) clearly indicate your name, mailing address, telephone number, and e-mail address; (b) identify what aspect(s) of the Settlement you are objecting to and the reasons for the objection, including legal support, if any; and (c) be signed by you. Any such objection must be filed with the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois on or before September 25, 2023 and delivered by hand, overnight delivery service, or U.S. First Class Mail to Class Counsel and Defendants’ counsel at the addresses listed here. You are not required to appear at the Settlement Hearing if you object to the settlement. Nevertheless, if you wish to address the Court personally during the Settlement Hearing concerning your objection, you must so indicate in your objection letter. If the Court rejects your objection, you will still be bound by the terms of the Settlement.

The Court will hold a hearing via the Zoom teleconferencing service on October 23, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. CT to decide whether to give final approval to the Settlement. The hearing date may be changed without notice to the Class, and you should check this website or the public court file for this Lawsuit for any updates. During the hearing, the Court will consider whether the Settlement, the Plan of Distribution, and the Fee and Expense Application are fair, reasonable, and adequate. If there are objections, the Court will consider them. You may attend but you are not required to do so. You can also speak in favor of or against the Settlement at the Settlement Hearing, but only if you have indicated your intention to do so in your written statement in support or objection. You may view the proceedings by Zoom using any one of the log-in methods below, but you may not speak or address the Court unless you have indicated your intention to do so in a timely submitted, written statement in support or objection.