Public Act 098-0054
 
SB0204 EnrolledLRB098 05391 JDS 35425 b

    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The State Police Act is amended by changing
Section 9 as follows:
 
    (20 ILCS 2610/9)  (from Ch. 121, par. 307.9)
    Sec. 9. Appointment; qualifications.
    (a) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, the
appointment of Department of State Police officers shall be
made from those applicants who have been certified by the Board
as being qualified for appointment. All persons so appointed
shall, at the time of their appointment, be not less than 21
years of age, or 20 years of age and have successfully
completed 2 years of law enforcement studies at an accredited
college or university. Any person appointed subsequent to
successful completion of 2 years of such law enforcement
studies shall not have power of arrest, nor shall he be
permitted to carry firearms, until he reaches 21 years of age.
In addition, all persons so certified for appointment shall be
of sound mind and body, be of good moral character, be citizens
of the United States, have no criminal records, possess such
prerequisites of training, education and experience as the
Board may from time to time prescribe, and shall be required to
pass successfully such mental and physical tests and
examinations as may be prescribed by the Board. Notwithstanding
any Board rule to the contrary, all persons who either: (i)
have been honorably discharged and who have been awarded a
Southwest Asia Service Medal, Kosovo Campaign Medal, Korean
Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq
Campaign Medal, or Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
by the United States Armed Forces or (ii) are active members of
the Illinois National Guard or a reserve component of the
United States Armed Forces and who have been awarded a
Southwest Asia Service Medal, Kosovo Campaign Medal, Korean
Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq
Campaign Medal, or Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
as a result of honorable service during deployment on active
duty, are deemed to have met the collegiate educational
requirements. All persons who have been honorably discharged
and who have been awarded an Afghan or Iraqi campaign medal by
the military or naval services of the United States are deemed
to have met the collegiate educational requirements,
notwithstanding any Board rule. Preference shall be given in
such appointments to persons who have honorably served in the
military or naval services of the United States. All appointees
shall serve a probationary period of 12 months from the date of
appointment and during that period may be discharged at the
will of the Director. However, the Director may in his or her
sole discretion extend the probationary period of an officer up
to an additional 6 months when to do so is deemed in the best
interest of the Department.
    (b) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Act, after
July 1, 1977 and before July 1, 1980, the Director of State
Police may appoint and promote not more than 20 persons having
special qualifications as special agents as he deems necessary
to carry out the Department's objectives. Any such appointment
or promotion shall be ratified by the Board.
    (c) During the 90 days following the effective date of this
amendatory Act of 1995, the Director of State Police may
appoint up to 25 persons as State Police officers. These
appointments shall be made in accordance with the requirements
of this subsection (c) and any additional criteria that may be
established by the Director, but are not subject to any other
requirements of this Act. The Director may specify the initial
rank for each person appointed under this subsection.
    All appointments under this subsection (c) shall be made
from personnel certified by the Board. A person certified by
the Board and appointed by the Director under this subsection
must have been employed by the Illinois Commerce Commission on
November 30, 1994 in a job title subject to the Personnel Code
and in a position for which the person was eligible to earn
"eligible creditable service" as a "noncovered employee", as
those terms are defined in Article 14 of the Illinois Pension
Code.
    Persons appointed under this subsection (c) shall
thereafter be subject to the same requirements and procedures
as other State police officers. A person appointed under this
subsection must serve a probationary period of 12 months from
the date of appointment, during which he or she may be
discharged at the will of the Director.
    This subsection (c) does not affect or limit the Director's
authority to appoint other State Police officers under
subsection (a) of this Section.
(Source: P.A. 97-640, eff. 12-19-11.)