An Illinois lawmaker is proposing legislation prohibiting pension benefits for a survivor of an official if the beneficiary is guilty of crimes connected to the deceased relative.

The bill introduced last week is inspired by the case of a suburban Chicago police officer  Charles Joseph Gliniewicz who you may remember staged his own suicide last year after he feared his embezzlement from a youth program would be discovered.

Under the current law, Gliniewicz’s wife is eligible for up to seventy five percent of her husband’s ninety-six thousand dollar salary.

She is awaiting trial on conspiracy charges to which she’s pled not guilty.  

The proposal, if it goes through, would only apply to future cases