Lois K. Ries, a public aid recipient, was paralyzed by alleged medical malpractice in 2011, and her med mal case was pending when she died. After settling the case for $415,000, her two sons — the co-executors of her estate and her sole heirs — received an unpleasant surprise. During the negotiations, the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, which had paid $124,679 for Lois’s medical expenses after she was paralyzed, reduced its lien (under Section 11-22 of the Illinois Public Aid Code) to $20,000. And …