Public Act 100-0252
 
HB0616 EnrolledLRB100 06097 AWJ 16129 b


  
    AN ACT concerning local government.
  
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:
  
 
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended  by 
changing Sections 10-1-7.1, 10-2.1-4, and 10-2.1-6.3 as 
follows:
 
    (65 ILCS 5/10-1-7.1)
    Sec. 10-1-7.1. Original appointments; full-time fire 
department.
    (a) Applicability. Unless a commission elects to follow the 
provisions of Section 10-1-7.2, this Section shall apply to all 
original appointments to an affected full-time fire 
department.  Existing registers of eligibles shall continue to 
be valid until their expiration dates, or up to a maximum of 2 
years after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 
97th General Assembly.
    Notwithstanding any statute, ordinance, rule, or other law 
to the contrary, all original appointments to an affected 
department to which this Section applies shall be administered 
in the manner provided for in this Section.  Provisions of the 
Illinois Municipal Code, municipal ordinances, and rules 
adopted pursuant to such authority and other laws relating to 
initial hiring of firefighters in affected departments shall 
continue to apply to the extent they are compatible with this 
Section, but in the event of a conflict between this Section 
and any other law, this Section shall control.
    A home rule or non-home rule municipality may not 
administer its fire department process for original 
appointments in a manner that is less stringent than this 
Section.  This Section is a limitation under subsection (i) of 
Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution on the 
concurrent exercise by home rule units of the powers and 
functions exercised by the State.
    A municipality that is operating under a court order or 
consent decree regarding original appointments to a full-time 
fire department before the effective date of this amendatory 
Act of the 97th General Assembly is exempt from the 
requirements of this Section for the duration of the court 
order or consent decree. 
    Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection 
(a), this Section does not apply to a municipality with more 
than 1,000,000 inhabitants. 
    (b) Original appointments. All original appointments made 
to an affected fire department shall be made from a register of 
eligibles established in accordance with the processes 
established by this Section.  Only persons who meet or exceed 
the performance standards required by this Section shall be 
placed on a register of eligibles for original appointment to 
an affected fire department.
    Whenever an appointing authority authorizes action to hire 
a person to perform the duties of a firefighter or to hire a 
firefighter-paramedic to fill a position that is a new position 
or vacancy due to resignation, discharge, promotion, death, the 
granting of a disability or retirement pension, or any other 
cause, the appointing authority shall appoint to that position 
the person with the highest ranking on the final eligibility 
list.  If the appointing authority has reason to conclude that 
the highest ranked person fails to meet the minimum standards 
for the position or if the appointing authority believes an 
alternate candidate would better serve the needs of the 
department, then the appointing authority has the right to pass 
over the highest ranked person and appoint either: (i) any 
person who has a ranking in the top 5% of the register of 
eligibles or (ii) any person who is among the top 5 highest 
ranked persons on the list of eligibles if the number of people 
who have a ranking in the top 5% of the register of eligibles 
is less than 5 people.
    Any candidate may pass on an appointment once without 
losing his or her position on the register of eligibles.  Any 
candidate who passes a second time may be removed from the list 
by the appointing authority provided that such action shall not 
prejudice a person's opportunities to participate in future 
examinations, including an examination held during the time a 
candidate is already on the municipality's register of 
eligibles.
    The sole authority to issue certificates of appointment 
shall be vested in the Civil Service Commission.  All 
certificates of appointment issued to any officer or member of 
an affected department shall be signed by the chairperson and 
secretary, respectively, of the commission upon appointment of 
such officer or member to the affected department by the 
commission. After being selected from the register of eligibles 
to fill a vacancy in the affected department, each appointee 
shall be presented with his or her certificate of appointment 
on the day on which he or she is sworn in as a classified member 
of the affected department. Firefighters who were not issued a 
certificate of appointment when originally appointed shall be 
provided with a certificate within 10 days after making a 
written request to the chairperson of the Civil Service 
Commission.  Each person who accepts a certificate of 
appointment and successfully completes his or her probationary 
period shall be enrolled as a firefighter and as a regular 
member of the fire department.
    For the purposes of this Section, "firefighter" means any 
person who has been prior to, on, or after the effective date 
of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly appointed 
to a fire department or fire protection district or employed by 
a State university and sworn or commissioned to perform 
firefighter duties or paramedic duties, or both, except that 
the following persons are not included: part-time 
firefighters; auxiliary, reserve, or voluntary firefighters, 
including paid-on-call firefighters; clerks and dispatchers or 
other civilian employees of a fire department or fire 
protection district who are not routinely expected to perform 
firefighter duties; and elected officials.
    (c) Qualification for placement on register of eligibles. 
The purpose of establishing a register of eligibles is to 
identify applicants who possess and demonstrate the mental 
aptitude and physical ability to perform the duties required of 
members of the fire department in order to provide the highest 
quality of service to the public.  To this end, all applicants 
for original appointment to an affected fire department shall 
be subject to examination and testing which shall be public, 
competitive, and open to all applicants unless the municipality 
shall by ordinance limit applicants to residents of the 
municipality, county or counties in which the municipality is 
located, State, or nation. Any examination and testing 
procedure utilized under subsection (e) of this Section shall 
be supported by appropriate validation evidence and shall 
comply with all applicable State and federal laws.  
Municipalities may establish educational, emergency medical 
service licensure, and other pre-requisites for participation 
in an examination or for hire as a firefighter.  Any 
municipality may charge a fee to cover the costs of the 
application process.
    Residency requirements in effect at the time an individual 
enters the fire service of a municipality cannot be made more 
restrictive for that individual during his or her period of 
service for that municipality, or be made a condition of 
promotion, except for the rank or position of fire chief and 
for no more than 2 positions that rank immediately below that 
of the chief rank which are appointed positions pursuant to the 
Fire Department Promotion Act.
    No person who is 35 years of age or older shall be eligible 
to take an examination for a position as a firefighter unless 
the person has had previous employment status as a firefighter 
in the regularly constituted fire department of the 
municipality, except as provided in this Section.  The age 
limitation does not apply to:
        (1) any person previously employed as a full-time 
    firefighter in a regularly constituted fire department of 
    (i) any municipality or fire protection district located in 
    Illinois, (ii) a fire protection district whose 
    obligations were assumed by a municipality under Section 21 
    of the Fire Protection District Act, or (iii) a 
    municipality whose obligations were taken over by a fire 
    protection district,
        (2) any person who has served a municipality as a 
    regularly enrolled volunteer, paid-on-call, or part-time 
    firefighter for the 5 years immediately preceding the time 
    that the municipality begins to use full-time firefighters 
    to provide all or part of its fire protection service, or
        (3) any person who turned 35 while serving as a member 
    of the active or reserve components of any of the branches 
    of the Armed Forces of the United States or the National 
    Guard of any state, whose service was characterized as 
    honorable or under honorable, if separated from the 
    military, and is currently under the age of 40. 
    No person who is under 21 years of age shall be eligible 
for employment as a firefighter.
    No applicant shall be examined concerning his or her 
political or religious opinions or affiliations. The 
examinations shall be conducted by the commissioners of the 
municipality or their designees and agents.
    No municipality shall require that any firefighter 
appointed to the lowest rank serve a probationary employment 
period of longer than one year of actual active employment, 
which may exclude periods of training, or injury or illness 
leaves, including duty related leave, in excess of 30 calendar 
days. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section, 
the probationary employment period limitation may be extended 
for a firefighter who is required, as a condition of 
employment, to be a licensed paramedic, during which time the 
sole reason that a firefighter may be discharged without a 
hearing is for failing to meet the requirements for paramedic 
licensure.
    In the event that any applicant who has been found eligible 
for appointment and whose name has been placed upon the final 
eligibility register provided for in this Division 1 has not 
been appointed to a firefighter position within one year after 
the date of his or her physical ability examination, the 
commission may cause a second examination to be made of that 
applicant's physical ability prior to his or her appointment. 
If, after the second examination, the physical ability of the 
applicant shall be found to be less than the minimum standard 
fixed by the rules of the commission, the applicant shall not 
be appointed. The applicant's name may be retained upon the 
register of candidates eligible for appointment and when next 
reached for certification and appointment that applicant may be 
again examined as  provided in this Section, and if the physical 
ability of that applicant is found to be less than the minimum 
standard fixed by the rules of the commission, the applicant 
shall not be appointed, and the name of the applicant shall be 
removed from the register.
    (d) Notice, examination, and testing components. Notice of 
the time, place, general scope, merit criteria for any 
subjective component, and fee of every examination shall be 
given by the commission, by a publication at least 2 weeks 
preceding the examination: (i) in one or more newspapers 
published in the municipality, or if no newspaper is published 
therein, then in one or more newspapers with a general 
circulation within the municipality, or (ii) on the 
municipality's Internet website.  Additional notice of the 
examination may be given as the commission shall prescribe.
    The examination and qualifying standards for employment of 
firefighters shall be based on: mental aptitude, physical 
ability, preferences, moral character, and health.  The mental 
aptitude, physical ability, and preference components shall 
determine an applicant's qualification for and placement on the 
final register of eligibles. The examination may also include a 
subjective component based on merit criteria as determined by 
the commission. Scores from the examination must be made 
available to the public.
    (e) Mental aptitude. No person who does not possess at 
least a high school diploma or an equivalent high school 
education shall be placed on a register of eligibles.    
Examination of an applicant's mental aptitude shall be based 
upon a written examination. The examination shall be practical 
in character and relate to those matters that fairly test the 
capacity of the persons examined to discharge the duties 
performed by members of a fire department. Written examinations 
shall be administered in a manner that ensures the security and 
accuracy of the scores achieved.
    (f) Physical ability. All candidates shall be required to 
undergo an examination of their physical ability to perform the 
essential functions included in the duties they may be called 
upon to perform as a member of a fire department.  For the 
purposes of this Section, essential functions of the job are 
functions associated with duties that a firefighter may be 
called upon to perform in response to emergency calls.  The 
frequency of the occurrence of those duties as part of the fire 
department's regular routine shall not be a controlling factor 
in the design of examination criteria or evolutions selected 
for testing.  These physical examinations shall be open, 
competitive, and based on industry standards designed to test 
each applicant's physical abilities in the following 
dimensions:
        (1) Muscular strength to perform tasks and evolutions 
    that may be required in the performance of duties including 
    grip strength, leg strength, and arm strength.  Tests shall 
    be conducted under anaerobic as well as aerobic conditions 
    to test both the candidate's speed and endurance in 
    performing tasks and evolutions.  Tasks tested may be based 
    on standards developed, or approved, by the local 
    appointing authority.
        (2) The ability to climb ladders, operate from heights, 
    walk or crawl in the dark along narrow and uneven surfaces, 
    and operate in proximity to hazardous environments.
        (3) The ability to carry out critical, time-sensitive, 
    and complex problem solving during physical exertion in 
    stressful and hazardous environments. The testing 
    environment may be hot and dark with tightly enclosed 
    spaces, flashing lights, sirens, and other distractions.
    The tests utilized to measure each applicant's

capabilities in each of these dimensions may be tests based on

industry standards currently in use or equivalent tests 
approved by the Joint Labor-Management Committee of the Office 
of the State Fire Marshal.
    Physical ability examinations administered under this 
Section shall be conducted with a reasonable number of proctors 
and monitors, open to the public, and subject to reasonable 
regulations of the commission.
    (g) Scoring of examination components. Appointing 
authorities may create a preliminary eligibility register. A 
person shall be placed on the list based upon his or her 
passage of the written examination or the passage of the 
written examination and the physical ability component. 
Passage of the written examination means attaining the minimum 
score set by the commission. Minimum scores should be set by 
the commission so as to demonstrate a candidate's ability to 
perform the essential functions of the job. The minimum score 
set by the commission shall be supported by appropriate 
validation evidence and shall comply with all applicable State 
and federal laws. The appointing authority may conduct the 
physical ability component and any subjective components 
subsequent to the posting of the preliminary eligibility 
register.
    The examination components for an initial eligibility 
register shall be graded on a 100-point scale. A person's  
position on the list shall be determined by the following: (i)

the person's score on the written examination, (ii) the person

successfully passing the physical ability component, and (iii) 
the
person's results on any subjective component as described 
in
subsection (d). 
    In order to qualify for placement on the final eligibility 
register, an applicant's score on the written examination, 
before any applicable preference points or subjective points 
are applied, shall be at or above the minimum score set by the 
commission. The local appointing authority may prescribe the 
score to qualify for placement on the final eligibility 
register, but the score shall not be less than the minimum 
score set by the commission.
    The commission shall prepare and keep a register of persons 
whose total score is not less than the minimum score for 
passage and who have passed the physical ability examination.  
These persons shall take rank upon the register as candidates 
in the order of their relative excellence based on the highest 
to the lowest total points scored on the mental aptitude, 
subjective component, and preference components of the test 
administered in accordance with this Section. No more than 60 
days after each examination, an initial eligibility list shall 
be posted by the commission.  The list shall include the final 
grades of the candidates without reference to priority of the 
time of examination and subject to claim for preference credit.
    Commissions may conduct additional examinations, including 
without limitation a polygraph test, after a final eligibility 
register is established and before it expires with the 
candidates ranked by total score without regard to date of 
examination.  No more than 60 days after each examination, an 
initial eligibility list shall be posted by the commission 
showing the final grades of the candidates without reference to 
priority of time of examination and subject to claim for 
preference credit.
    (h) Preferences. The following are preferences:
        (1) Veteran preference.  Persons who were engaged in the 
    military service of the United States for a period of at 
    least one year of active duty and who were honorably 
    discharged therefrom, or who are now or have been members 
    on inactive or reserve duty in such military or naval 
    service, shall be preferred for appointment to and 
    employment with the fire department of an affected 
    department.
        (2) Fire cadet preference. Persons who have 
    successfully completed 2 years of study in fire techniques 
    or cadet training within a cadet program established under 
    the rules of the Joint Labor and Management Committee 
    (JLMC), as defined in Section 50 of the Fire Department 
    Promotion Act, may be preferred for appointment to and 
    employment with the fire department.
        (3) Educational preference.  Persons who have 
    successfully obtained an associate's degree in the field of 
    fire service or emergency medical services, or a bachelor's 
    degree from an accredited college or university may be 
    preferred for appointment to and employment with the fire 
    department.
        (4) Paramedic preference.  Persons who have obtained a 
    license as a paramedic may be preferred for appointment to 
    and employment with the fire department of an affected 
    department providing emergency medical services.
        (5) Experience preference. All persons employed by a 
    municipality who have been paid-on-call or part-time 
    certified Firefighter II, certified Firefighter III, State 
    of Illinois or nationally licensed EMT, EMT-I, A-EMT, or 
    paramedic, or any combination of those capacities may be 
    awarded up to a maximum of 5 points. However, the applicant 
    may not be awarded more than 0.5 points for each complete 
    year of paid-on-call or part-time service. Applicants from 
    outside the municipality who were employed as full-time 
    firefighters or firefighter-paramedics by a fire 
    protection district or another municipality may be awarded 
    up to 5 experience preference points. However, the 
    applicant may not be awarded more than one point for each 
    complete year of full-time service.
        Upon request by the commission, the governing body of 
    the municipality or in the case of applicants from outside 
    the municipality the governing body of any fire protection 
    district or any other municipality shall certify to the 
    commission, within 10 days after the request, the number of 
    years of successful paid-on-call, part-time, or full-time 
    service of any person. A candidate may not receive the full 
    amount of preference points under this subsection if the 
    amount of points awarded would place the candidate before a 
    veteran on the eligibility list.  If more than one candidate 
    receiving experience preference points is prevented from 
    receiving all of their points due to not being allowed to 
    pass a veteran, the candidates shall be placed on the list 
    below the veteran in rank order based on the totals 
    received if all points under this subsection were to be 
    awarded.  Any remaining ties on the list shall be determined 
    by lot. 
        (6) Residency preference. Applicants whose principal 
    residence is located within the fire department's 
    jurisdiction may be preferred for appointment to and 
    employment with the fire department.
        (7) Additional preferences.  Up to 5 additional 
    preference points may be awarded for unique categories 
    based on an applicant's experience or background as 
    identified by the commission.
        (8) Scoring of preferences. The commission shall give 
    preference for original appointment to persons designated 
    in item (1)
by adding to the final grade that they receive 
    5 points
for the recognized preference achieved. The 
    commission shall determine the number of preference points 
    for each category except (1).  The number of preference 
    points for each category shall range from 0 to 5.  In 
    determining the number of preference points, the 
    commission shall prescribe that if a candidate earns the 
    maximum number of preference points in all categories, that 
    number may not be less than 10 nor more than 30.  The 
    commission shall give preference for original appointment 
    to persons designated in items (2) through (7) by adding 
    the requisite number of points to the final grade for each 
    recognized preference achieved. The numerical result thus 
    attained shall be applied by the commission in determining 
    the final eligibility list and appointment from the 
    eligibility list. The local appointing authority may 
    prescribe the total number of preference points awarded 
    under this Section, but the total number of preference 
    points shall not be less than 10 points or more than 30 
    points.
    No person entitled to any preference shall be required to 
claim the credit before any examination held under the 
provisions of this Section, but the preference shall be given 
after the posting or publication of the initial eligibility 
list or register at the request of a person entitled to a 
credit before any certification or appointments are made from 
the eligibility register, upon the furnishing of verifiable 
evidence and proof of qualifying preference credit.  Candidates 
who are eligible for preference credit shall make a claim in 
writing within 10 days after the posting of the initial 
eligibility list, or the claim shall be deemed waived.  Final 
eligibility registers shall be established after the awarding 
of verified preference points. All employment shall be subject 
to the commission's initial hire background review including, 
but not limited to, criminal history, employment history, moral 
character, oral examination, and medical and psychological 
examinations, all on a pass-fail basis. The medical and 
psychological examinations must be conducted last, and may only 
be performed after a conditional offer of employment has been 
extended.
    Any person placed on an eligibility list who exceeds the 
age requirement before being appointed to a fire department 
shall remain eligible for appointment until the list is 
abolished, or his or her name has been on the list for a period 
of 2 years.  No person who has attained the age of 35 years 
shall be inducted into a fire department, except as otherwise 
provided in this Section.
    The commission shall strike off the names of candidates for 
original appointment after the names have been on the list for 
more than 2 years.
    (i) Moral character. No person shall be appointed to a fire 
department unless he or she is a person of good character; not 
a habitual drunkard, a gambler, or a person who has been 
convicted of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude.  
However, no person shall be disqualified from appointment to 
the fire department because of the person's record of 
misdemeanor convictions except those under Sections 11-6, 
11-7, 11-9, 11-14, 11-15, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 12-2, 12-6, 
12-15, 14-4, 16-1, 21.1-3, 24-3.1, 24-5, 25-1, 28-3, 31-1, 
31-4, 31-6, 31-7, 32-1, 32-2, 32-3, 32-4, 32-8, and subsections 
1, 6, and 8 of Section 24-1 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the 
Criminal Code of 2012, or arrest for any cause without 
conviction thereon.  Any such person who is in the department 
may be removed on charges brought for violating this subsection 
and after a trial as hereinafter provided.
    A classifiable set of the fingerprints of every person who 
is offered employment as a certificated member of an affected 
fire department whether with or without compensation, shall be 
furnished to the Illinois Department of State Police and to the 
Federal Bureau of Investigation by the commission.
    Whenever a commission is authorized or required by law to 
consider some aspect of criminal history record information for 
the purpose of carrying out its statutory powers and 
responsibilities, then, upon request and payment of fees in 
conformance with the requirements of Section 2605-400 of the 
State Police Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois, 
the Department of State Police is authorized to furnish, 
pursuant to positive identification, the information contained 
in State files as is necessary to fulfill the request.
    (j) Temporary appointments. In order to prevent a stoppage 
of public business, to meet extraordinary exigencies, or to 
prevent material impairment of the fire department, the 
commission may make temporary appointments, to remain in force 
only until regular appointments are made under the provisions 
of this Division, but never to exceed 60 days. No temporary 
appointment of any one person shall be made more than twice in 
any calendar year.
    (k) A person who knowingly divulges or receives test 
questions or answers before a written examination, or otherwise 
knowingly violates or subverts any requirement of this Section, 
commits a violation of this Section and may be subject to 
charges for official misconduct.
    A person who is the knowing recipient of test information 
in advance of the examination shall be disqualified from the 
examination or discharged from the position  to which he or she 
was appointed, as applicable, and otherwise subjected to 
disciplinary actions.

(Source: P.A. 98-760, eff. 7-16-14; 98-973, eff. 8-15-14; 
99-78, eff. 7-20-15; 99-379, eff. 8-17-15.)
 


    (65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-4)  (from Ch. 24, par. 10-2.1-4)


    Sec. 10-2.1-4. Fire and police departments; Appointment of

members; Certificates of appointments.
    The board of fire and police commissioners shall appoint 
all officers
and members of the fire and police departments of 
the municipality,
including the chief of police and the chief 
of the fire department,
unless the council or board of trustees 
shall by ordinance as to them
otherwise provide; except as 
otherwise provided in this Section, and
except that in any 
municipality which adopts or has
adopted this Division 2.1 and 
also adopts or has adopted Article 5 of
this Code, the chief of 
police and the chief of the fire department
shall be appointed 
by the municipal manager, if it is provided by
ordinance in 
such municipality that such chiefs, or either of them,
shall 
not be appointed by the board of fire and police commissioners.

    If the chief of the fire department or the chief of the 
police department
or both of them are appointed in the manner 
provided by ordinance, they
may be removed or discharged by the 
appointing authority.  In such case
the appointing authority 
shall file with the corporate authorities the reasons
for such 
removal or discharge, which removal or discharge shall not 
become
effective unless confirmed by a majority vote of the 
corporate authorities.

    If a member of the department is appointed chief of police 
or chief
of the fire department prior to being eligible to 
retire on pension, he
shall be considered as on furlough from 
the rank he held immediately
prior to his appointment as chief. 
If he resigns as chief or is
discharged as chief prior to 
attaining eligibility to retire on pension,
he shall revert to 
and be established in whatever rank he currently holds,
except 
for previously appointed positions, and thereafter
be entitled 
to all the benefits and emoluments of that rank,
without regard 
as to whether a vacancy then exists in that rank.

    All appointments to each department other than that of the 
lowest
rank, however, shall be from the rank next below that to 
which the
appointment is made except as otherwise provided in 
this Section, and
except that the chief of police and the chief 
of the
fire department may be appointed from among members of 
the police and
fire departments, respectively, regardless of 
rank, unless the council
or board of trustees shall have by 
ordinance as to them otherwise provided.
 A chief of police or 
the chief of the fire department, having been appointed
from 
among members
of the police or fire department, respectively, 
shall be permitted, regardless
of rank, to
take promotional

exams and be promoted to a higher classified rank than he 
currently holds,
without having to
resign as chief of police or 
chief of the fire department.

    The sole authority to issue certificates of appointment 
shall be
vested in the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners 
and all
certificates of appointments issued to any officer or 
member of the fire
or police department of a municipality shall 
be signed by the chairman
and secretary respectively of the 
board of fire and police commissioners
of such municipality, 
upon appointment of such officer or member of the
fire and 
police department of such municipality by action of the board

of fire and police commissioners. After being selected from the 
register of eligibles to fill a vacancy in the affected 
department, each appointee shall be presented with his or her 
certificate of appointment on the day on which he or she is 
sworn in as a classified member of the affected department. 
Firefighters who were not issued a certificate of appointment 
when originally appointed shall be provided with a certificate 
within 10 days after making a written request to the 
chairperson of the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners. In 
any municipal fire department that employs full-time 
firefighters and is subject to a collective bargaining 
agreement, a person who has not qualified for regular 
appointment under the provisions of this Division 2.1 shall not 
be used as a temporary or permanent substitute for classified 
members of a municipality's fire department or for regular 
appointment as a classified member of a municipality's fire 
department unless mutually agreed to by the employee's 
certified bargaining agent. Such agreement shall be considered 
a permissive subject of bargaining.  Municipal fire departments 
covered by the changes made by this amendatory Act of the 95th 
General Assembly that are using non-certificated employees as 
substitutes immediately prior to the effective date of this 
amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly may, by mutual 
agreement with the certified bargaining agent, continue the 
existing practice or a modified practice and that agreement 
shall be considered a permissive subject of bargaining. A home 
rule unit may not regulate the hiring of temporary or 
substitute members of the municipality's fire department in a 
manner that is inconsistent with this Section.  This Section is 
a limitation under subsection (i) of Section 6 of Article VII 
of the Illinois Constitution on the concurrent exercise by home 
rule units of powers and functions exercised by the State.


    The term "policemen" as used in this Division does not 
include
auxiliary police officers except as provided for in 
Section 10-2.1-6.

    Any full time member of a regular fire or police department 
of any
municipality which comes under the provisions of this 
Division or adopts
this Division 2.1 or which has adopted any 
of the prior Acts pertaining to
fire and police commissioners, 
is a city officer.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, the 
Chief of
Police of a department in a non-home rule municipality 
of more than 130,000
inhabitants may, without the advice or 
consent of the Board of
Fire and Police Commissioners, appoint 
up to 6 officers who shall be known
as deputy chiefs or 
assistant deputy chiefs, and whose rank shall be
immediately 
below that of Chief.  The deputy or assistant deputy chiefs may

be appointed from any rank of sworn officers of that 
municipality, but no
person who is not such a sworn officer may 
be so appointed.  Such deputy
chief or assistant deputy chief 
shall have the authority to direct and
issue orders to all 
employees of the Department holding the rank of captain
or any 
lower rank.
 A deputy chief of police or assistant deputy chief 
of police, having been
appointed from any rank
of sworn 
officers of that municipality, shall be permitted, regardless 
of rank,
to take promotional
exams and be promoted to a higher 
classified rank than he currently holds,
without having to

resign as deputy chief of police or assistant deputy chief of 
police.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, a 
non-home rule
municipality of 130,000 or fewer inhabitants, 
through its council or board
of trustees, may, by ordinance, 
provide for a position of deputy chief to be
appointed by the 
chief of the police department.  The ordinance shall provide
for 
no more than one deputy chief position if the police department 
has fewer
than 25 full-time police officers and for no more 
than 2 deputy chief positions
if the police department has 25 
or more full-time police officers.  The deputy
chief position

shall be an exempt rank immediately below that of Chief.  The 
deputy chief may
be appointed from any rank of sworn, full-time 
officers of the municipality's
police department, but must have 
at least 5 years of full-time service as a
police officer in 
that department.  A deputy chief shall serve at the
discretion 
of the Chief and, if removed from the position,
shall revert to 
the rank currently held, without regard as to whether a
vacancy 
exists in
that rank. A deputy chief
of police, having been 
appointed from any rank of sworn full-time officers of
that 
municipality's
police department, shall be permitted, 
regardless of rank, to take promotional
exams and be
promoted 
to a higher classified rank than he currently holds, without 
having to
resign as deputy
chief of police.

    No municipality having a population less than 1,000,000 
shall require
that any firefighter appointed to the lowest
rank 
serve a probationary employment period of longer than one year.  
The
limitation on periods of probationary employment provided 
in this
amendatory Act of 1989 is an exclusive power and 
function of the State.
Pursuant to subsection (h) of Section 6 
of Article VII of the Illinois
Constitution, a home rule 
municipality having a population less than 1,000,000
must 
comply with this limitation on periods of probationary 
employment, which
is a denial and limitation of home rule 
powers.  Notwithstanding anything to
the contrary in this 
Section, the probationary employment period limitation
may be 
extended for a firefighter who is required, as a condition of 
employment, to be a licensed paramedic, during which time the 
sole reason that a firefighter may be discharged without a 
hearing is for failing to meet the requirements for paramedic 
licensure.

    To the extent that this Section or any other Section in 
this Division conflicts with Section 10-2.1-6.3 or 10-2.1-6.4, 
then Section 10-2.1-6.3 or 10-2.1-6.4 shall control. 
(Source: P.A. 97-251, eff. 8-4-11; 97-813, eff. 7-13-12; 
98-973, eff. 8-15-14.)

 
    (65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-6.3)
    Sec. 10-2.1-6.3. Original appointments; full-time fire 
department.
    (a) Applicability. Unless a commission elects to follow the 
provisions of Section 10-2.1-6.4, this Section shall apply to 
all original appointments to an affected full-time fire 
department. Existing registers of eligibles shall continue to 
be valid until their expiration dates, or up to a maximum of 2 
years after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 
97th General Assembly.
    Notwithstanding any statute, ordinance, rule, or other law 
to the contrary, all original appointments to an affected 
department to which this Section applies shall be administered 
in the manner provided for in this Section.  Provisions of the 
Illinois Municipal Code, municipal ordinances, and rules 
adopted pursuant to such authority and other laws relating to 
initial hiring of firefighters in affected departments shall 
continue to apply to the extent they are compatible with this 
Section, but in the event of a conflict between this Section 
and any other law, this Section shall control.
    A home rule or non-home rule municipality may not 
administer its fire department process for original 
appointments in a manner that is less stringent than this 
Section. This Section is a limitation under subsection (i) of 
Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution on the 
concurrent exercise by home rule units of the powers and 
functions exercised by the State.
    A municipality that is operating under a court order or 
consent decree regarding original appointments to a full-time 
fire department before the effective date of this amendatory 
Act of the 97th General Assembly is exempt from the 
requirements of this Section for the duration of the court 
order or consent decree.
    Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection 
(a), this Section does not apply to a municipality with more 
than 1,000,000 inhabitants. 
    (b) Original appointments. All original appointments made 
to an affected fire department shall be made from a register of 
eligibles established in accordance with the processes 
established by this Section.  Only persons who meet or exceed 
the performance standards required by this Section shall be 
placed on a register of eligibles for original appointment to 
an affected fire department.
    Whenever an appointing authority authorizes action to hire 
a person to perform the duties of a firefighter or to hire a 
firefighter-paramedic to fill a position that is a new position 
or vacancy due to resignation, discharge, promotion, death, the 
granting of a disability or retirement pension, or any other 
cause, the appointing authority shall appoint to that position 
the person with the highest ranking on the final eligibility 
list.  If the appointing authority has reason to conclude that 
the highest ranked person fails to meet the minimum standards 
for the position or if the appointing authority believes an 
alternate candidate would better serve the needs of the 
department, then the appointing authority has the right to pass 
over the highest ranked person and appoint either: (i) any 
person who has a ranking in the top 5% of the register of 
eligibles or (ii) any person who is among the top 5 highest 
ranked persons on the list of eligibles if the number of people 
who have a ranking in the top 5% of the register of eligibles 
is less than 5 people.
    Any candidate may pass on an appointment once without 
losing his or her position on the register of eligibles.  Any 
candidate who passes a second time may be removed from the list 
by the appointing authority provided that such action shall not 
prejudice a person's opportunities to participate in future 
examinations, including an examination held during the time a 
candidate is already on the municipality's register of 
eligibles.
    The sole authority to issue certificates of appointment 
shall be vested in the board of fire and police commissioners. 
All certificates of appointment issued to any officer or member 
of an affected department shall be signed by the chairperson 
and secretary, respectively, of the board upon appointment of 
such officer or member to the affected department by action of 
the board. After being selected from the register of eligibles 
to fill a vacancy in the affected department, each appointee 
shall be presented with his or her certificate of appointment 
on the day on which he or she is sworn in as a classified member 
of the affected department. Firefighters who were not issued a 
certificate of appointment when originally appointed shall be 
provided with a certificate within 10 days after making a 
written request to the chairperson of the board of fire and 
police commissioners.  Each person who accepts a certificate of 
appointment and successfully completes his or her probationary 
period shall be enrolled as a firefighter and as a regular 
member of the fire department.
    For the purposes of this Section, "firefighter" means any 
person who has been prior to, on, or after the effective date 
of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly appointed 
to a fire department or fire protection district or employed by 
a State university and sworn or commissioned to perform 
firefighter duties or paramedic duties, or both, except that 
the following persons are not included: part-time 
firefighters; auxiliary, reserve, or voluntary firefighters, 
including paid-on-call firefighters; clerks and dispatchers or 
other civilian employees of a fire department or fire 
protection district who are not routinely expected to perform 
firefighter duties; and elected officials.
    (c) Qualification for placement on register of eligibles. 
The purpose of establishing a register of eligibles is to 
identify applicants who possess and demonstrate the mental 
aptitude and physical ability to perform the duties required of 
members of the fire department in order to provide the highest 
quality of service to the public.  To this end, all applicants 
for original appointment to an affected fire department shall 
be subject to examination and testing which shall be public, 
competitive, and open to all applicants unless the municipality 
shall by ordinance limit applicants to residents of the 
municipality, county or counties in which the municipality is 
located, State, or nation. Any examination and testing 
procedure utilized under subsection (e) of this Section shall 
be supported by appropriate validation evidence and shall 
comply with all applicable State and federal laws.  
Municipalities may establish educational, emergency medical 
service licensure, and other pre-requisites for participation 
in an examination or for hire as a firefighter.  Any 
municipality may charge a fee to cover the costs of the 
application process.
    Residency requirements in effect at the time an individual 
enters the fire service of a municipality cannot be made more 
restrictive for that individual during his or her period of 
service for that municipality, or be made a condition of 
promotion, except for the rank or position of fire chief and 
for no more than 2 positions that rank immediately below that 
of the chief rank which are appointed positions pursuant to the 
Fire Department Promotion Act.
    No person who is 35 years of age or older shall be eligible 
to take an examination for a position as a firefighter unless 
the person has had previous employment status as a firefighter 
in the regularly constituted fire department of the 
municipality, except as provided in this Section.  The age 
limitation does not apply to:
        (1) any person previously employed as a full-time 
    firefighter in a regularly constituted fire department of 
    (i) any municipality or fire protection district located in 
    Illinois, (ii) a fire protection district whose 
    obligations were assumed by a municipality under Section 21 
    of the Fire Protection District Act, or (iii) a 
    municipality whose obligations were taken over by a fire 
    protection district,
        (2) any person who has served a municipality as a 
    regularly enrolled volunteer, paid-on-call, or part-time 
    firefighter for the 5 years immediately preceding the time 
    that the municipality begins to use full-time firefighters 
    to provide all or part of its fire protection service, or
        (3) any person who turned 35 while serving as a member 
    of the active or reserve components of any of the branches 
    of the Armed Forces of the United States or the National 
    Guard of any state, whose service was characterized as 
    honorable or under honorable, if separated from the 
    military, and is currently under the age of 40. 
    No person who is under 21 years of age shall be eligible 
for employment as a firefighter.
    No applicant shall be examined concerning his or her 
political or religious opinions or affiliations. The 
examinations shall be conducted by the commissioners of the 
municipality or their designees and agents.
    No municipality shall require that any firefighter 
appointed to the lowest rank serve a probationary employment 
period of longer than one year of actual active employment, 
which may exclude periods of training, or injury or illness 
leaves, including duty related leave, in excess of 30 calendar 
days. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section, 
the probationary employment period limitation may be extended 
for a firefighter who is required, as a condition of 
employment, to be a licensed paramedic, during which time the 
sole reason that a firefighter may be discharged without a 
hearing is for failing to meet the requirements for paramedic 
licensure.
    In the event that any applicant who has been found eligible 
for appointment and whose name has been placed upon the final 
eligibility register provided for in this Section has not been 
appointed to a firefighter position within one year after the 
date of his or her physical ability examination, the commission 
may cause a second examination to be made of that applicant's 
physical ability prior to his or her appointment. If, after the 
second examination, the physical ability of the applicant shall 
be found to be less than the minimum standard fixed by the 
rules of the commission, the applicant shall not be appointed. 
The applicant's name may be retained upon the register of 
candidates eligible for appointment and when next reached for 
certification and appointment that applicant may be again 
examined as provided in this Section, and if the physical 
ability of that applicant is found to be less than the minimum 
standard fixed by the rules of the commission, the applicant 
shall not be appointed, and the name of the applicant shall be 
removed from the register.
    (d) Notice, examination, and testing components. Notice of 
the time, place, general scope, merit criteria for any 
subjective component, and fee of every examination shall be 
given by the commission, by a publication at least 2 weeks 
preceding the examination: (i) in one or more newspapers 
published in the municipality, or if no newspaper is published 
therein, then in one or more newspapers with a general 
circulation within the municipality, or (ii) on the 
municipality's Internet website. Additional notice of the 
examination may be given as the commission shall prescribe.
    The examination and qualifying standards for employment of 
firefighters shall be based on: mental aptitude, physical 
ability, preferences, moral character, and health.  The mental 
aptitude, physical ability, and preference components shall 
determine an applicant's qualification for and placement on the 
final register of eligibles. The examination may also include a 
subjective component based on merit criteria as determined by 
the commission. Scores from the examination must be made 
available to the public.
    (e) Mental aptitude. No person who does not possess at 
least a high school diploma or an equivalent high school 
education shall be placed on a register of eligibles.    
Examination of an applicant's mental aptitude shall be based 
upon a written examination. The examination shall be practical 
in character and relate to those matters that fairly test the 
capacity of the persons examined to discharge the duties 
performed by members of a fire department. Written examinations 
shall be administered in a manner that ensures the security and 
accuracy of the scores achieved.
    (f) Physical ability. All candidates shall be required to 
undergo an examination of their physical ability to perform the 
essential functions included in the duties they may be called 
upon to perform as a member of a fire department.  For the 
purposes of this Section, essential functions of the job are 
functions associated with duties that a firefighter may be 
called upon to perform in response to emergency calls. The 
frequency of the occurrence of those duties as part of the fire 
department's regular routine shall not be a controlling factor 
in the design of examination criteria or evolutions selected 
for testing.  These physical examinations shall be open, 
competitive, and based on industry standards designed to test 
each applicant's physical abilities in the following 
dimensions:
        (1) Muscular strength to perform tasks and evolutions 
    that may be required in the performance of duties including 
    grip strength, leg strength, and arm strength.  Tests shall 
    be conducted under anaerobic as well as aerobic conditions 
    to test both the candidate's speed and endurance in 
    performing tasks and evolutions.  Tasks tested may be based 
    on standards developed, or approved, by the local 
    appointing authority.
        (2) The ability to climb ladders, operate from heights, 
    walk or crawl in the dark along narrow and uneven surfaces, 
    and operate in proximity to hazardous environments.
        (3) The ability to carry out critical, time-sensitive, 
    and complex problem solving during physical exertion in 
    stressful and hazardous environments. The testing 
    environment may be hot and dark with tightly enclosed 
    spaces, flashing lights, sirens, and other distractions.
    The tests utilized to measure each applicant's

capabilities in each of these dimensions may be tests based on

industry standards currently in use or equivalent tests 
approved by the Joint Labor-Management Committee of the Office 
of the State Fire Marshal. 
    Physical ability examinations administered under this 
Section shall be conducted with a reasonable number of proctors 
and monitors, open to the public, and subject to reasonable 
regulations of the commission.
    (g) Scoring of examination components. Appointing 
authorities may create a preliminary eligibility register. A 
person shall be placed on the list based upon his or her 
passage of the written examination or the passage of the 
written examination and the physical ability component. 
Passage of the written examination means attaining the minimum 
score set by the commission. Minimum scores should be set by 
the commission so as to demonstrate a candidate's ability to 
perform the essential functions of the job. The minimum score 
set by the commission shall be supported by appropriate 
validation evidence and shall comply with all applicable State 
and federal laws. The appointing authority may conduct the 
physical ability component and any subjective components 
subsequent to the posting of the preliminary eligibility 
register.
    The examination components for an initial eligibility 
register shall be graded on a 100-point scale. A person's  
position on the list shall be determined by the following: (i)

the person's score on the written examination, (ii) the person

successfully passing the physical ability component, and (iii) 
the
person's results on any subjective component as described 
in
subsection (d). 
    In order to qualify for placement on the final eligibility 
register, an applicant's score on the written examination, 
before any applicable preference points or subjective points 
are applied, shall be at or above the minimum score as set by 
the commission. The local appointing authority may prescribe 
the score to qualify for placement on the final eligibility 
register, but the score shall not be less than the minimum 
score set by the commission.
    The commission shall prepare and keep a register of persons 
whose total score is not less than the minimum score for 
passage and who have passed the physical ability examination.  
These persons shall take rank upon the register as candidates 
in the order of their relative excellence based on the highest 
to the lowest total points scored on the mental aptitude, 
subjective component, and preference components of the test 
administered in accordance with this Section. No more than 60 
days after each examination, an initial eligibility list shall 
be posted by the commission.  The list shall include the final 
grades of the candidates without reference to priority of the 
time of examination and subject to claim for preference credit.
    Commissions may conduct additional examinations, including 
without limitation a polygraph test, after a final eligibility 
register is established and before it expires with the 
candidates ranked by total score without regard to date of 
examination.  No more than 60 days after each examination, an 
initial eligibility list shall be posted by the commission 
showing the final grades of the candidates without reference to 
priority of time of examination and subject to claim for 
preference credit.
    (h) Preferences. The following are preferences:
        (1) Veteran preference.  Persons who were engaged in the 
    military service of the United States for a period of at 
    least one year of active duty and who were honorably 
    discharged therefrom, or who are now or have been members 
    on inactive or reserve duty in such military or naval 
    service, shall be preferred for appointment to and 
    employment with the fire department of an affected 
    department.
        (2) Fire cadet preference. Persons who have 
    successfully completed 2 years of study in fire techniques 
    or cadet training within a cadet program established under 
    the rules of the Joint Labor and Management Committee 
    (JLMC), as defined in Section 50 of the Fire Department 
    Promotion Act, may be preferred for appointment to and 
    employment with the fire department.
        (3) Educational preference. Persons who have 
    successfully obtained an associate's degree in the field of 
    fire service or emergency medical services, or a bachelor's 
    degree from an accredited college or university may be 
    preferred for appointment to and employment with the fire 
    department.
        (4) Paramedic preference. Persons who have obtained a 
    license as a paramedic shall be preferred for appointment 
    to and employment with the fire department of an affected 
    department providing emergency medical services.
        (5) Experience preference. All persons employed by a 
    municipality who have been paid-on-call or part-time 
    certified Firefighter II, State of Illinois or nationally 
    licensed EMT, EMT-I, A-EMT, or any combination of those 
    capacities shall be awarded 0.5 point for each year of 
    successful service in one or more of those capacities, up 
    to a maximum of 5 points. Certified Firefighter III and 
    State of Illinois or nationally licensed paramedics shall 
    be awarded one point per year up to a maximum of 5 points. 
    Applicants from outside the municipality who were employed 
    as full-time firefighters or firefighter-paramedics by a 
    fire protection district or another municipality for at 
    least 2 years shall be awarded 5 experience preference 
    points. These additional points presuppose a rating scale 
    totaling 100 points available for the eligibility list. If 
    more or fewer points are used in the rating scale for the 
    eligibility list, the points awarded under this subsection 
    shall be increased or decreased by a factor equal to the 
    total possible points available for the examination 
    divided by 100.
        Upon request by the commission, the governing body of 
    the municipality or in the case of applicants from outside 
    the municipality the governing body of any fire protection 
    district or any other municipality shall certify to the 
    commission, within 10 days after the request, the number of 
    years of successful paid-on-call, part-time, or full-time 
    service of any person. A candidate may not receive the full 
    amount of preference points under this subsection if the 
    amount of points awarded would place the candidate before a 
    veteran on the eligibility list.  If more than one candidate 
    receiving experience preference points is prevented from 
    receiving all of their points due to not being allowed to 
    pass a veteran, the candidates shall be placed on the list 
    below the veteran in rank order based on the totals 
    received if all points under this subsection were to be 
    awarded.  Any remaining ties on the list shall be determined 
    by lot. 
        (6) Residency preference. Applicants whose principal 
    residence is located within the fire department's 
    jurisdiction shall be preferred for appointment to and 
    employment with the fire department.
        (7) Additional preferences.  Up to 5 additional 
    preference points may be awarded for unique categories 
    based on an applicant's experience or background as 
    identified by the commission.
        (8) Scoring of preferences. The commission shall give 
    preference for original appointment
to persons designated 
    in item (1)
by adding to the final grade that they receive 
    5 points
for the recognized preference achieved. The 
    commission shall determine the number of preference points 
    for each category except (1).  The number of preference 
    points for each category shall range from 0 to 5.  In 
    determining the number of preference points, the 
    commission shall prescribe that if a candidate earns the 
    maximum number of preference points in all categories, that 
    number may not be less than 10 nor more than 30.  The 
    commission shall give preference for original appointment 
    to persons designated in items (2) through (7) by adding 
    the requisite number of points to the final grade for each 
    recognized preference achieved. The numerical result thus 
    attained shall be applied by the commission in determining 
    the final eligibility list and appointment from the 
    eligibility list. The local appointing authority may 
    prescribe the total number of preference points awarded 
    under this Section, but the total number of preference 
    points shall not be less than 10 points or more than 30 
    points.
    No person entitled to any preference shall be required to 
claim the credit before any examination held under the 
provisions of this Section, but the preference shall be given 
after the posting or publication of the initial eligibility 
list or register at the request of a person entitled to a 
credit before any certification or appointments are made from 
the eligibility register, upon the furnishing of verifiable 
evidence and proof of qualifying preference credit.    Candidates 
who are eligible for preference credit shall make a claim in 
writing within 10 days after the posting of the initial 
eligibility list, or the claim shall be deemed waived.  Final 
eligibility registers shall be established after the awarding 
of verified preference points. All employment shall be subject 
to the commission's initial hire background review including, 
but not limited to, criminal history, employment history, moral 
character, oral examination, and medical and psychological 
examinations, all on a pass-fail basis. The medical and 
psychological examinations must be conducted last, and may only 
be performed after a conditional offer of employment has been 
extended.
    Any person placed on an eligibility list who exceeds the 
age requirement before being appointed to a fire department 
shall remain eligible for appointment until the list is 
abolished, or his or her name has been on the list for a period 
of 2 years.  No person who has attained the age of 35 years 
shall be inducted into a fire department, except as otherwise 
provided in this Section.
    The commission shall strike off the names of candidates for 
original appointment after the names have been on the list for 
more than 2 years.
    (i) Moral character. No person shall be appointed to a fire 
department unless he or she is a person of good character; not 
a habitual drunkard, a gambler, or a person who has been 
convicted of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude.  
However, no person shall be disqualified from appointment to 
the fire department because of the person's record of 
misdemeanor convictions except those under Sections 11-6, 
11-7, 11-9, 11-14, 11-15, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 12-2, 12-6, 
12-15, 14-4, 16-1, 21.1-3, 24-3.1, 24-5, 25-1, 28-3, 31-1, 
31-4, 31-6, 31-7, 32-1, 32-2, 32-3, 32-4, 32-8, and subsections 
1, 6, and 8 of Section 24-1 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the 
Criminal Code of 2012, or arrest for any cause without 
conviction thereon.  Any such person who is in the department 
may be removed on charges brought for violating this subsection 
and after a trial as hereinafter provided.
    A classifiable set of the fingerprints of every person who 
is offered employment as a certificated member of an affected 
fire department whether with or without compensation, shall be 
furnished to the Illinois Department of State Police and to the 
Federal Bureau of Investigation by the commission.
    Whenever a commission is authorized or required by law to 
consider some aspect of criminal history record information for 
the purpose of carrying out its statutory powers and 
responsibilities, then, upon request and payment of fees in 
conformance with the requirements of Section 2605-400 of the 
State Police Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois, 
the Department of State Police is authorized to furnish, 
pursuant to positive identification, the information contained 
in State files as is necessary to fulfill the request.
    (j) Temporary appointments. In order to prevent a stoppage 
of public business, to meet extraordinary exigencies, or to 
prevent material impairment of the fire department, the 
commission may make temporary appointments, to remain in force 
only until regular appointments are made under the provisions 
of this Division, but never to exceed 60 days. No temporary 
appointment of any one person shall be made more than twice in 
any calendar year.
    (k) A person who knowingly divulges or receives test 
questions or answers before a written examination, or otherwise 
knowingly violates or subverts any requirement of this Section, 
commits a violation of this Section and may be subject to 
charges for official misconduct.
    A person who is the knowing recipient of test information 
in advance of the examination shall be disqualified from the 
examination or discharged from the position  to which he or she 
was appointed, as applicable, and otherwise subjected to 
disciplinary actions.

(Source: P.A. 98-760, eff. 7-16-14; 98-973, eff. 8-15-14; 
99-78, eff. 7-20-15; 99-379, eff. 8-17-15.)
 
    Section 10. The Fire Protection District Act is amended  by 
changing Sections 16.04a and 16.06b as follows:
 



    (70 ILCS 705/16.04a)  (from Ch. 127 1/2, par. 37.04a)


    Sec. 16.04a. 
The board of fire commissioners shall appoint 
all
officers and members of the fire departments of the 
district, except the
Chief of the fire department.  The board of 
trustees shall appoint the Chief
of the fire department, who 
shall serve at the pleasure of the board, and may
enter into a 
multi-year contract not exceeding 3 years with the Chief. 

    If a member of the department is appointed Chief of the 
fire department
prior to being eligible to retire on pension he 
shall be considered as on
furlough from the rank he held 
immediately prior to his appointment as
Chief.  If he resigns as 
Chief or is discharged as Chief prior to attaining
eligibility 
to retire on pension, he shall revert to and be established in

such prior rank, and thereafter be entitled to all the benefits 
and
emoluments of such prior rank, without regard as to whether 
a vacancy then
exists in such rank. In such instances, the 
Chief shall be deemed to have
continued to accrue seniority in 
the department during his period of
service as Chief, or time 
in grade in his former rank to which he shall
revert during his 
period of service as Chief, except solely for purposes of
any 
layoff as provided in Section 16.13b hereafter.

    All appointments to each department other than that of the 
lowest rank,
however, shall be from the rank next below that to 
which the appointment is
made, except that the Chief of the 
fire department may be appointed from
among members of the fire 
department, regardless of rank.

    The sole authority to issue certificates of appointment 
shall be vested
in the board of fire commissioners and all 
certificates of appointments
issued to any officer or member of 
the fire department shall be signed by
the chairman and 
secretary respectively of the board of fire commissioners
upon 
appointment of such officer or member of the fire department by 
action
of the board of fire commissioners. After being selected 
from the register of eligibles to fill a vacancy in the 
affected department, each appointee shall be presented with his 
or her certificate of appointment on the day on which he or she 
is sworn in as a classified member of the affected department. 
Firefighters who were not issued a certificate of appointment 
when originally appointed shall be provided with a certificate 
within 10 days after making a written request to the 
chairperson of the board of fire commissioners. 

    To the extent that this Section or any other Section in 
this Act conflicts with Section 16.06b or 16.06c, then Section 
16.06b or 16.06c shall control. 
(Source: P.A. 97-251, eff. 8-4-11.)

 
    (70 ILCS 705/16.06b)
    Sec. 16.06b. Original appointments; full-time fire 
department.
    (a) Applicability. Unless a commission elects to follow the 
provisions of Section 16.06c, this Section shall apply to all 
original appointments to an affected full-time fire 
department.  Existing registers of eligibles shall continue to 
be valid until their expiration dates, or up to a maximum of 2 
years after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 
97th General Assembly.
    Notwithstanding any statute, ordinance, rule, or other law 
to the contrary, all original appointments to an affected 
department to which this Section applies shall be administered 
in a no less stringent manner than the manner provided for in 
this Section.  Provisions of the Illinois Municipal Code, Fire 
Protection District Act, fire district ordinances, and rules 
adopted pursuant to such authority and other laws relating to 
initial hiring of firefighters in affected departments shall 
continue to apply to the extent they are compatible with this 
Section, but in the event of a conflict between this Section 
and any other law, this Section shall control.
    A fire protection district that is operating under a court 
order or consent decree regarding original appointments to a 
full-time fire department before the effective date of this 
amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly is exempt from the 
requirements of this Section for the duration of the court 
order or consent decree.
    (b) Original appointments. All original appointments made 
to an affected fire department shall be made from a register of 
eligibles established in accordance with the processes 
required by this Section.  Only persons who meet or exceed the 
performance standards required by the Section shall be placed 
on a register of eligibles for original appointment to an 
affected fire department.
    Whenever an appointing authority authorizes action to hire 
a person to perform the duties of a firefighter or to hire a 
firefighter-paramedic to fill a position that is a new position 
or vacancy due to resignation, discharge, promotion, death, the 
granting of a disability or retirement pension, or any other 
cause, the appointing authority shall appoint to that position 
the person with the highest ranking on the final eligibility 
list.  If the appointing authority has reason to conclude that 
the highest ranked person fails to meet the minimum standards 
for the position or if the appointing authority believes an 
alternate candidate would better serve the needs of the 
department, then the appointing authority has the right to pass 
over the highest ranked person and appoint either: (i) any 
person who has a ranking in the top 5% of the register of 
eligibles or (ii) any person who is among the top 5 highest 
ranked persons on the list of eligibles if the number of people 
who have a ranking in the top 5% of the register of eligibles 
is less than 5 people.
    Any candidate may pass on an appointment once without 
losing his or her position on the register of eligibles.  Any 
candidate who passes a second time may be removed from the list 
by the appointing authority provided that such action shall not 
prejudice a person's opportunities to participate in future 
examinations, including an examination held during the time a 
candidate is already on the fire district's register of 
eligibles.
    The sole authority to issue certificates of appointment 
shall be vested in the board of fire commissioners, or board of 
trustees serving in the capacity of a board of fire 
commissioners.  All certificates of appointment issued to any 
officer or member of an affected department shall be signed by 
the chairperson and secretary, respectively, of the commission 
upon appointment of such officer or member to the affected 
department by action of the commission. After being selected 
from the register of eligibles to fill a vacancy in the 
affected department, each appointee shall be presented with his 
or her certificate of appointment on the day on which he or she 
is sworn in as a classified member of the affected department. 
Firefighters who were not issued a certificate of appointment 
when originally appointed shall be provided with a certificate 
within 10 days after making a written request to the 
chairperson of the board of fire commissioners, or board of 
trustees serving in the capacity of a board of fire 
commissioners.  Each person who accepts a certificate of 
appointment and successfully completes his or her probationary 
period shall be enrolled as a firefighter and as a regular 
member of the fire department.
    For the purposes of this Section, "firefighter" means any 
person who has been prior to, on, or after the effective date 
of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly appointed 
to a fire department or fire protection district or employed by 
a State university and sworn or commissioned to perform 
firefighter duties or paramedic duties, or both, except that 
the following persons are not included: part-time 
firefighters; auxiliary, reserve, or voluntary firefighters, 
including paid-on-call firefighters; clerks and dispatchers or 
other civilian employees of a fire department or fire 
protection district who are not routinely expected to perform 
firefighter duties; and elected officials.
    (c) Qualification for placement on register of eligibles. 
The purpose of establishing a register of eligibles is to 
identify applicants who possess and demonstrate the mental 
aptitude and physical ability to perform the duties required of 
members of the fire department in order to provide the highest 
quality of service to the public.  To this end, all applicants 
for original appointment to an affected fire department shall 
be subject to examination and testing which shall be public, 
competitive, and open to all applicants unless the district 
shall by ordinance limit applicants to residents of the 
district, county or counties in which the district is located, 
State, or nation. Any examination and testing procedure 
utilized under subsection (e) of this Section shall be 
supported by appropriate validation evidence and shall comply 
with all applicable State and federal laws.  Districts may 
establish educational, emergency medical service licensure, 
and other pre-requisites for participation in an examination or 
for hire as a firefighter.  Any fire protection district may 
charge a fee to cover the costs of the application process.
    Residency requirements in effect at the time an individual 
enters the fire service of a district cannot be made more 
restrictive for that individual during his or her period of 
service for that district, or be made a condition of promotion, 
except for the rank or position of fire chief and for no more 
than 2 positions  that rank immediately below that of the chief 
rank which are appointed positions pursuant to the Fire 
Department Promotion Act.
    No person who is 35 years of age or older shall be eligible 
to take an examination for a position as a firefighter unless 
the person has had previous employment status as a firefighter 
in the regularly constituted fire department of the district, 
except as provided in this Section.  The age limitation does not 
apply to:
        (1) any person previously employed as a full-time 
    firefighter in a regularly constituted fire department of 
    (i) any municipality or fire protection district located in 
    Illinois, (ii) a fire protection district whose 
    obligations were assumed by a municipality under Section 21 
    of the Fire Protection District Act, or (iii) a 
    municipality whose obligations were taken over by a fire 
    protection district;
        (2) any person who has served a fire district as a 
    regularly enrolled volunteer, paid-on-call, or part-time 
    firefighter for the 5 years immediately preceding the time 
    that the district begins to use full-time firefighters to 
    provide all or part of its fire protection service; or
        (3) any person who turned 35 while serving as a member 
    of the active or reserve components of any of the branches 
    of the Armed Forces of the United States or the National 
    Guard of any state, whose service was characterized as 
    honorable or under honorable, if separated from the 
    military, and is currently under the age of 40. 
    No person who is under 21 years of age shall be eligible 
for employment as a firefighter.
    No applicant shall be examined concerning his or her 
political or religious opinions or affiliations. The 
examinations shall be conducted by the commissioners of the 
district or their designees and agents.
    No district shall require that any firefighter appointed to 
the lowest rank serve a probationary employment period of 
longer than one year of actual active employment, which may 
exclude periods of training, or injury or illness leaves, 
including duty related leave, in excess of 30 calendar days. 
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section, the 
probationary employment period limitation may be extended for a 
firefighter who is required, as a condition of employment, to 
be a licensed paramedic, during which time the sole reason that 
a firefighter may be discharged without a hearing is for 
failing to meet the requirements for paramedic licensure.
    In the event that any applicant who has been found eligible 
for appointment and whose name has been placed upon the final 
eligibility register provided for in this Section has not been 
appointed to a firefighter position within one year after the 
date of his or her physical ability examination, the commission 
may cause a second examination to be made of that applicant's 
physical ability prior to his or her appointment. If, after the 
second examination, the physical ability of the applicant shall 
be found to be less than the minimum standard fixed by the 
rules of the commission, the applicant shall not be appointed. 
The applicant's name may be retained upon the register of 
candidates eligible for appointment and when next reached for 
certification and appointment that applicant may be again 
examined as provided in this Section, and if the physical 
ability of that applicant is found to be less than the minimum 
standard fixed by the rules of the commission, the applicant 
shall not be appointed, and the name of the applicant shall be 
removed from the register.
    (d) Notice, examination, and testing components. Notice of 
the time, place, general scope, merit criteria for any 
subjective component, and fee of every examination shall be 
given by the commission, by a publication at least 2 weeks 
preceding the examination: (i) in one or more newspapers 
published in the district, or if no newspaper is published 
therein, then in one or more newspapers with a general 
circulation within the district, or (ii) on the fire protection 
district's Internet website. Additional notice of the 
examination may be given as the commission shall prescribe.
    The examination and qualifying standards for employment of 
firefighters shall be based on: mental aptitude, physical 
ability, preferences, moral character, and health.  The mental 
aptitude, physical ability, and preference components shall 
determine an applicant's qualification for and placement on the 
final register of eligibles. The examination may also include a 
subjective component based on merit criteria as determined by 
the commission. Scores from the examination must be made 
available to the public.
    (e) Mental aptitude. No person who does not possess at 
least a high school diploma or an equivalent high school 
education shall be placed on a register of eligibles.    
Examination of an applicant's mental aptitude shall be based 
upon a written examination. The examination shall be practical 
in character and relate to those matters that fairly test the 
capacity of the persons examined to discharge the duties 
performed by members of a fire department. Written examinations 
shall be administered in a manner that ensures the security and 
accuracy of the scores achieved.
    (f) Physical ability. All candidates shall be required to 
undergo an examination of their physical ability to perform the 
essential functions included in the duties they may be called 
upon to perform as a member of a fire department.  For the 
purposes of this Section, essential functions of the job are 
functions associated with duties that a firefighter may be 
called upon to perform in response to emergency calls. The 
frequency of the occurrence of those duties as part of the fire 
department's regular routine shall not be a controlling factor 
in the design of examination criteria or evolutions selected 
for testing.  These physical examinations shall be open, 
competitive, and based on industry standards designed to test 
each applicant's physical abilities in the following 
dimensions:
        (1) Muscular strength to perform tasks and evolutions 
    that may be required in the performance of duties including 
    grip strength, leg strength, and arm strength.  Tests shall 
    be conducted under anaerobic as well as aerobic conditions 
    to test both the candidate's speed and endurance in 
    performing tasks and evolutions.  Tasks tested may be based 
    on standards developed, or approved, by the local 
    appointing authority.
        (2) The ability to climb ladders, operate from heights, 
    walk or crawl in the dark along narrow and uneven surfaces, 
    and operate in proximity to hazardous environments.
        (3) The ability to carry out critical, time-sensitive, 
    and complex problem solving during physical exertion in 
    stressful and hazardous environments. The testing 
    environment may be hot and dark with tightly enclosed 
    spaces, flashing lights, sirens, and other distractions.
    The tests utilized to measure each applicant's

capabilities in each of these dimensions may be tests based on

industry standards currently in use or equivalent tests 
approved by the Joint Labor-Management Committee of the Office 
of the State Fire Marshal. 
    Physical ability examinations administered under this 
Section shall be conducted with a reasonable number of proctors 
and monitors, open to the public, and subject to reasonable 
regulations of the commission.
    (g) Scoring of examination components. Appointing 
authorities may create a preliminary eligibility register. A 
person shall be placed on the list based upon his or her 
passage of the written examination or the passage of the 
written examination and the physical ability component. 
Passage of the written examination means attaining the minimum 
score set by the commission. Minimum scores should be set by 
the appointing authorities so as to demonstrate a candidate's 
ability to perform the essential functions of the job. The 
minimum score set by the commission shall be supported by 
appropriate validation evidence and shall comply with all 
applicable State and federal laws. The appointing authority may 
conduct the physical ability component and any subjective 
components subsequent to the posting of the preliminary 
eligibility register.
    The examination components for an initial eligibility 
register shall be graded on a 100-point scale. A person's  
position on the list shall be determined by the following: (i)

the person's score on the written examination, (ii) the person

successfully passing the physical ability component, and (iii) 
the
person's results on any subjective component as described 
in
subsection (d). 
    In order to qualify for placement on the final eligibility 
register, an applicant's score on the written examination, 
before any  applicable preference points or subjective points 
are applied, shall be at or above the minimum score set by the 
commission. The local appointing authority may prescribe the 
score to qualify for placement on the final eligibility 
register, but the score shall not be less than the minimum 
score set by the commission.
    The commission shall prepare and keep a register of persons 
whose total score is not less than the minimum score for 
passage and who have passed the physical ability examination.  
These persons shall take rank upon the register as candidates 
in the order of their relative excellence based on the highest 
to the lowest total points scored on the mental aptitude, 
subjective component, and preference components of the test 
administered in accordance with this Section. No more  than 60 
days after each examination, an initial eligibility list shall 
be posted by the commission.  The list shall include the final 
grades of the candidates without reference to priority of the 
time of examination and subject to claim for preference credit.
    Commissions may conduct additional examinations, including 
without limitation a polygraph test, after a final eligibility 
register is established and before it expires with the 
candidates ranked by total score without regard to date of 
examination.  No more than 60 days after each examination, an 
initial eligibility list shall be posted by the commission 
showing the final grades of the candidates without reference to 
priority of time of examination and subject to claim for 
preference credit.
    (h) Preferences. The following are preferences:
        (1) Veteran preference. Persons who were engaged in the 
    military service of the United States for a period of at 
    least one year of active duty and who were honorably 
    discharged therefrom, or who are now or have been members 
    on inactive or reserve duty in such military or naval 
    service, shall be preferred for appointment to and 
    employment with the fire department of an affected 
    department.
        (2) Fire cadet preference. Persons who have 
    successfully completed 2 years of study in fire techniques 
    or cadet training within a cadet program established under 
    the rules of the Joint Labor and Management Committee 
    (JLMC), as defined in Section 50 of the Fire Department 
    Promotion Act,  may be preferred for appointment to and 
    employment with the fire department.
        (3) Educational preference. Persons who have 
    successfully obtained an associate's degree in the field of 
    fire service or emergency medical services, or a bachelor's 
    degree from an accredited college or university may be 
    preferred for appointment to and employment with the fire 
    department.
        (4) Paramedic preference. Persons who have obtained a 
    license as a paramedic may be preferred for appointment to 
    and employment with the fire department of an affected 
    department providing emergency medical services.
        (5) Experience preference. All persons employed by a 
    district who have been paid-on-call or part-time certified 
    Firefighter II, certified Firefighter III, State of 
    Illinois or nationally licensed EMT, EMT-I, A-EMT, or 
    paramedic, or any combination of those capacities may be 
    awarded up to a maximum of 5 points.  However, the applicant 
    may not be awarded more than 0.5 points for each complete 
    year of paid-on-call or part-time service. Applicants from 
    outside the district who were employed as full-time 
    firefighters or firefighter-paramedics by a fire 
    protection district or municipality for at least 2 years 
    may be awarded up to 5 experience preference points.  
    However, the applicant may not be awarded more than one 
    point for each complete year of full-time service.
        Upon request by the commission, the governing body of 
    the district or in the case of applicants from outside the 
    district the governing body of any other fire protection 
    district or any municipality shall certify to the 
    commission, within 10 days after the request, the number of 
    years of successful paid-on-call, part-time, or full-time 
    service of any person. A candidate may not receive the full 
    amount of preference points under this subsection if the 
    amount of points awarded would place the candidate before a 
    veteran on the eligibility list.  If more than one candidate 
    receiving experience preference points is prevented from 
    receiving all of their points due to not being allowed to 
    pass a veteran, the candidates shall be placed on the list 
    below the veteran in rank order based on the totals 
    received if all points under this subsection were to be 
    awarded.  Any remaining ties on the list shall be determined 
    by lot. 
        (6) Residency preference. Applicants whose principal 
    residence is located within the fire department's 
    jurisdiction may be preferred for appointment to and 
    employment with the fire department.
        (7) Additional preferences.  Up to 5 additional 
    preference points may be awarded for unique categories 
    based on an applicant's experience or background as 
    identified by the commission.
        (8) Scoring of preferences. The
commission shall give 
    preference for original appointment
to persons designated 
    in item (1)
by adding to the final grade that they receive 
    5 points
for the recognized preference achieved. The 
    commission shall determine the number of preference points 
    for each category except (1).  The number of preference 
    points for each category shall range from 0 to 5.  In 
    determining the number of preference points, the 
    commission shall prescribe that if a candidate earns the 
    maximum number of preference points in all categories, that 
    number may not be less than 10 nor more than 30.  The 
    commission shall give preference for original appointment 
    to persons designated in items (2) through (7) by adding 
    the requisite number of points to the final grade for each 
    recognized preference achieved. The numerical result thus 
    attained shall be applied by the commission in determining 
    the final eligibility list and appointment from the 
    eligibility list. The local appointing authority may 
    prescribe the total number of preference points awarded 
    under this Section, but the total number of preference 
    points shall not be less than 10 points or more than 30 
    points.
    No person entitled to any preference shall be required to 
claim the credit before any examination held under the 
provisions of this Section, but the preference shall be given 
after the posting or publication of the initial eligibility 
list or register at the request of a person entitled to a 
credit before any certification or appointments are made from 
the eligibility register, upon the furnishing of verifiable 
evidence and proof of qualifying preference credit.  Candidates 
who are eligible for preference credit shall make a claim in 
writing within 10 days after the posting of the initial 
eligibility list, or the claim shall be deemed waived.  Final 
eligibility registers shall be established after the awarding 
of verified preference points. All employment shall be subject 
to the commission's initial hire background review including, 
but not limited to, criminal history, employment history, moral 
character, oral examination, and medical and psychological 
examinations, all on a pass-fail basis. The medical and 
psychological examinations must be conducted last, and may only 
be performed after a conditional offer of employment has been 
extended.
    Any person placed on an eligibility list who exceeds the 
age requirement before being appointed to a fire department 
shall remain eligible for appointment until the list is 
abolished, or his or her name has been on the list for a period 
of 2 years.  No person who has attained the age of 35 years 
shall be inducted into a fire department, except as otherwise 
provided in this Section.
    The commission shall strike off the names of candidates for 
original appointment after the names have been on the list for 
more than 2 years.
    (i) Moral character. No person shall be appointed to a fire 
department unless he or she is a person of good character; not 
a habitual drunkard, a gambler, or a person who has been 
convicted of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude.  
However, no person shall be disqualified from appointment to 
the fire department because of the person's record of 
misdemeanor convictions except those under Sections 11-6, 
11-7, 11-9, 11-14, 11-15, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 12-2, 12-6, 
12-15, 14-4, 16-1, 21.1-3, 24-3.1, 24-5, 25-1, 28-3, 31-1, 
31-4, 31-6, 31-7, 32-1, 32-2, 32-3, 32-4, 32-8, and subsections 
1, 6, and 8 of Section 24-1 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the 
Criminal Code of 2012, or arrest for any cause without 
conviction thereon.  Any such person who is in the department 
may be removed on charges brought for violating this subsection 
and after a trial as hereinafter provided.
    A classifiable set of the fingerprints of every person who 
is offered employment as a certificated member of an affected 
fire department whether with or without compensation, shall be 
furnished to the Illinois Department of State Police and to the 
Federal Bureau of Investigation by the commission.
    Whenever a commission is authorized or required by law to 
consider some aspect of criminal history record information for 
the purpose of carrying out its statutory powers and 
responsibilities, then, upon request and payment of fees in 
conformance with the requirements of Section 2605-400 of the 
State Police Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois, 
the Department of State Police is authorized to furnish, 
pursuant to positive identification, the information contained 
in State files as is necessary to fulfill the request.
    (j) Temporary appointments. In order to prevent a stoppage 
of public business, to meet extraordinary exigencies, or to 
prevent material impairment of the fire department, the 
commission may make temporary appointments, to remain in force 
only until regular appointments are made under the provisions 
of this Section, but never to exceed 60 days. No temporary 
appointment of any one person shall be made more than twice in 
any calendar year.
    (k) A person who knowingly divulges or receives test 
questions or answers before a written examination, or otherwise 
knowingly violates or subverts any requirement of this Section, 
commits a violation of this Section and may be subject to 
charges for official misconduct.
    A person who is the knowing recipient of test information 
in advance of the examination shall be disqualified from the 
examination or discharged from the position  to which he or she 
was appointed, as applicable, and otherwise subjected to 
disciplinary actions.

(Source: P.A. 98-760, eff. 7-16-14; 98-973, eff. 8-15-14; 
98-995, eff. 8-18-14; 99-78, eff. 7-20-15.)
 
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.