In Re Irwin

OPINION

MARY P. GORMAN, Bankruptcy Judge.

The issue before the Court is whether proceeds the Debtor received from a workers’ compensation settlement, which are exempt under § 305/21 of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act (the “Act”), retained their exempt status when they were used to pay off a lien on an automobile, thereby allowing the Debtor to claim the automobile exempt under the Act. For the reasons set forth below, this Court finds that the proceeds lost their exempt status when they were spent and that the automobile may not be claimed as exempt under the provisions of the Act. 1

The…