Q: Does my employer in Illinois need to pay out my PTO....WARN act?

A: If you're not reporting back, I'm not sure how your "last day is 1/7/19." It sounds like you've already been separated from your employment. I am answering this question on the premise that you PTO is equivalent to vacation and could be used as such. Section 5 of the Illinois Wage Payment and collection Act provides as follows:

"Sec. 5. Every employer shall pay the final compensation of separated employees in full, at the time of separation, if possible, but in no case later than the next regularly scheduled payday for such employee. Where such employee requests in writing that his final compensation be paid by check and mailed to him, the employer shall comply with this request.

"Unless otherwise provided in a collective bargaining agreement, whenever a contract of employment or employment policy provides for paid vacations, and an employee resigns or is terminated without having taken all vacation time earned in accordance with such contract of employment or employment policy, the monetary equivalent of all earned vacation shall be paid to him or her as part of his or her final compensation at his or her final rate of pay and no employment contract or employment policy shall provide for forfeiture of earned vacation time upon separation."

If you're separated from your employment, the employer must pay you your accrued time by the deadline indicated above (which will fall well before Dec. 31). If you're not separated from the employment, and the PTO can be taken as vacation pay, start taking vacation. What's the employer going to do, fire you? If he does, he's liable for the pay.

I STRONGLY encourage you to meet with an Illinois employment law attorney ASAP to discuss this situation. PTO can be an odd thing that may or may not qualify as vacation under the law. My answer above is based on the assumption that it qualifies as vacation -- but my assumption may be wrong. You need to meet with an attorney who can help you sort this out by asking probing questions that this format simply can't provide.

When you meet with the attorney, bring copies of every single document you have dealing with this matter, including a copy of the union contract (if there is one), a copy of the employee handbook or manual (if there is one), and copies of any other written policies of the employer (if they exist -- this includes printed images from the employer's website, if any of them deal with this question). Last but not least, bring copies of as many of your 2018 paycheck stubs as you can gather, or other payroll records.