How Illinois calculates your weekly check
While your doctor keeps you off work, Illinois pays temporary total disability (TTD) benefits of 66 2/3% of your average weekly wage. The result is limited to a weekly maximum that Illinois resets on a fixed schedule. Your limits are the ones in effect on your date of injury.
- Maximum: $2,045.63 a week (injuries from July 15, 2026 to January 14, 2027).
- Previous maximum: $2,008.60 for injuries January 15 to July 14, 2026.
- When the cap applies: an average weekly wage above $3,068.45 reaches the maximum.
The maximum is 133 1/3% of the statewide average weekly wage and changes every January 15 and July 15.
Illinois also sets a minimum based on the minimum wage and your number of dependents, but never more than your actual wage. Ask the Commission for the current figure.
| Average weekly wage | Weekly benefit | Share of wage | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| $600 | $400.00 | 67% | Standard rate |
| $1,000 | $666.67 | 67% | Standard rate |
| $1,500 | $1,000.00 | 67% | Standard rate |
| $2,200 | $1,466.67 | 67% | Standard rate |
Waiting period
No pay for the first 3 working days. If incapacity lasts 14 days or more, those days are paid back. The waiting period applies to wage benefits only; medical treatment is covered from the first day.
How long benefits last
No week limit. Paid as long as temporary total incapacity lasts.
Permanent disability and settlements
Scheduled injuries are paid at 60% of your average weekly wage times the weeks for the body part in section 8(e), times the percentage loss of use. Injuries to the back, neck and other parts not on the schedule are paid as a percentage of the "person as a whole," 500 weeks. A worker who cannot return to their old job may instead elect a wage-differential award.
The permanent partial weekly maximum is reset each January 15. We could not confirm the 2026 figure from the Commission, so the settlement calculator shows Illinois awards without that cap.
Example: A 10% rating of the person as a whole is 50 weeks. At a $1,000 weekly wage the rate is $600.00 a week, for a statutory value of about $30,000.
| Body part | Weeks | Example value |
|---|---|---|
| Arm | 253 | $15,180 (10%) |
| Hand | 205 | $12,300 (10%) |
| Thumb | 76 | $4,560 (10%) |
| First (index) finger | 43 | $2,580 (10%) |
| Second finger | 38 | $2,280 (10%) |
| Third finger | 27 | $1,620 (10%) |
| Fourth (little) finger | 22 | $1,320 (10%) |
| Leg | 215 | $12,900 (10%) |
| Foot | 167 | $10,020 (10%) |
| Great toe | 38 | $2,280 (10%) |
| Each other toe | 13 | $780 (10%) |
| Eye | 162 | $9,720 (10%) |
| Hearing, both ears | 215 | $12,900 (10%) |
| Hearing, one ear | 54 | $3,240 (10%) |
| Person as a whole (back, neck, shoulder and other unscheduled injuries) | 500 | $30,000 (10%) |