103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB5790

 

Introduced 3/22/2024, by Rep. John M. Cabello - Dennis Tipsword, Jr.

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
55 ILCS 5/3-6033  from Ch. 34, par. 3-6033
55 ILCS 5/3-7008  from Ch. 34, par. 3-7008
65 ILCS 5/10-1-7  from Ch. 24, par. 10-1-7
65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-6  from Ch. 24, par. 10-2.1-6

    Amends the Counties Code. Restores certain provisions of the Counties Code and the Illinois Municipal Code concerning citizenship of employees of a sheriff's department and police officer applicants to the form in which they existed before their amendment by Public Act 103-357. Effective immediately.


LRB103 40015 AWJ 71366 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB5790LRB103 40015 AWJ 71366 b

1    AN ACT concerning local government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 3. The Counties Code is amended by changing
5Sections 3-6033 and 3-7008 as follows:
 
6    (55 ILCS 5/3-6033)  (from Ch. 34, par. 3-6033)
7    Sec. 3-6033. Citizenship and residence. The It is unlawful
8for the sheriff of any county of fewer than 1,000,000
9inhabitants, or the corporate authorities of any municipality
10may city, town or village to authorize, empower, employ, or
11permit a any person to act as deputy sheriff or special
12policeman for the purpose of preserving the peace, who is not a
13citizen of the United States, who is legally authorized under
14federal law to work in the United States and is authorized
15under federal law to obtain, carry, or purchase or otherwise
16possess a firearm, or who is an individual against whom
17immigration action has been deferred by the U.S. Citizenship
18and Immigration Services under the federal Deferred Action for
19Childhood Arrivals (DACA) process and is authorized under
20federal law to obtain, carry, or purchase or otherwise possess
21a firearm.
22(Source: P.A. 86-962; 87-357; 103-357, eff. 1-1-24.)
 

 

 

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1    (55 ILCS 5/3-7008)  (from Ch. 34, par. 3-7008)
2    Sec. 3-7008. Appointments. The appointment of deputy
3sheriffs in the Police Department, full-time deputy sheriffs
4not employed as county police officers or county corrections
5officers and of employees in the Department of Corrections
6shall be made from those applicants who have been certified by
7the Board as being qualified for appointment. Certification
8for appointment in one department shall not constitute
9certification for appointment in another department.
10Certification may be made at any point prior to appointment
11and may be made in conjunction with the Sheriff's application
12process. All persons so appointed shall, at the time of their
13appointment, be not less than 21 years of age, or 20 years of
14age and have successfully completed 2 years of law enforcement
15studies at an accredited college or university. Any person
16appointed subsequent to successful completion of 2 years of
17such law enforcement studies shall not have power of arrest,
18nor shall he or she be permitted to carry firearms, until he or
19she reaches 21 years of age. Any person appointed shall be a
20citizen of the United States, an individual who is legally
21authorized to work in the United States under federal law and
22is authorized under federal law to obtain, carry, or purchase
23or otherwise possess a firearm, or an individual against whom
24immigration action has been deferred by the U.S. Citizenship
25and Immigration Services under the federal Deferred Action for
26Childhood Arrivals (DACA) process and who is authorized under

 

 

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1federal law to obtain, carry, or purchase or otherwise possess
2a firearm. In addition, all persons so appointed shall be not
3more than the maximum age limit fixed by the Board from time to
4time, be of sound mind and body, be of good moral character, be
5citizens of the United States, have not been convicted of a
6crime which the Board considers to be detrimental to the
7applicant's ability to carry out his or her duties, possess
8such prerequisites of training, education and experience as
9the Board may from time to time prescribe, and shall be
10required to pass successfully mental, physical, psychiatric
11and other tests and examinations as may be prescribed by the
12Board. Preference shall be given in such appointments to
13persons who have honorably served in the military or naval
14services of the United States. All appointees shall serve a
15probationary period of 12 months and during that period may be
16discharged at the will of the Sheriff. However, civil service
17employees of the house of correction who have certified status
18at the time of the transfer of the house of correction to the
19County Department of Corrections are not subject to this
20probationary period, and they shall retain their job titles,
21such tenure privileges as are now enjoyed and any subsequent
22title changes shall not cause reduction in rank or elimination
23of positions.
24(Source: P.A. 100-912, eff. 8-17-18; 103-357, eff. 1-1-24.)
 
25    Section 5. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by

 

 

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1changing Sections 10-1-7 and 10-2.1-6 as follows:
 
2    (65 ILCS 5/10-1-7)  (from Ch. 24, par. 10-1-7)
3    Sec. 10-1-7. Examination of applicants; disqualifications.
4    (a) All applicants for offices or places in the classified
5service, except those mentioned in Section 10-1-17, are
6subject to examination. The examination shall be public,
7competitive, and open to all citizens of the United States,
8with specified limitations as to residence, age, health,
9habits, and moral character. An individual who is not a
10citizen but is legally authorized to work in the United States
11under federal law or is an individual against whom immigration
12action has been deferred by the U.S. Citizenship and
13Immigration Services under the federal Deferred Action for
14Childhood Arrivals (DACA) process is authorized to apply for
15the position of police officer, subject to (i) all
16requirements and limitations, other than citizenship, to which
17other applicants are subject and (ii) the individual being
18authorized under federal law to obtain, carry, or purchase or
19otherwise possess a firearm.
20    (b) Residency requirements in effect at the time an
21individual enters the fire or police service of a municipality
22(other than a municipality that has more than 1,000,000
23inhabitants) cannot be made more restrictive for that
24individual during his or her period of service for that
25municipality, or be made a condition of promotion, except for

 

 

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1the rank or position of Fire or Police Chief.
2    (c) No person with a record of misdemeanor convictions
3except those under Sections 11-1.50, 11-6, 11-7, 11-9, 11-14,
411-15, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 11-30, 11-35, 12-2, 12-6, 12-15,
514-4, 16-1, 21.1-3, 24-3.1, 24-5, 25-1, 28-3, 31-1, 31-4,
631-6, 31-7, 32-1, 32-2, 32-3, 32-4, and 32-8, subdivisions
7(a)(1) and (a)(2)(C) of Section 11-14.3, and paragraphs (1),
8(6), and (8) of subsection (a) of Section 24-1 of the Criminal
9Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 or arrested for any
10cause but not convicted on that cause shall be disqualified
11from taking the examination on grounds of habits or moral
12character, unless the person is attempting to qualify for a
13position on the police department, in which case the
14conviction or arrest may be considered as a factor in
15determining the person's habits or moral character.
16    (d) Persons entitled to military preference under Section
1710-1-16 shall not be subject to limitations specifying age
18unless they are applicants for a position as a fireman or a
19policeman having no previous employment status as a fireman or
20policeman in the regularly constituted fire or police
21department of the municipality, in which case they must not
22have attained their 35th birthday, except any person who has
23served as an auxiliary police officer under Section 3.1-30-20
24for at least 5 years and is under 40 years of age.
25    (e) All employees of a municipality of less than 500,000
26population (except those who would be excluded from the

 

 

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1classified service as provided in this Division 1) who are
2holding that employment as of the date a municipality adopts
3this Division 1, or as of July 17, 1959, whichever date is the
4later, and who have held that employment for at least 2 years
5immediately before that later date, and all firemen and
6policemen regardless of length of service who were either
7appointed to their respective positions by the board of fire
8and police commissioners under the provisions of Division 2 of
9this Article or who are serving in a position (except as a
10temporary employee) in the fire or police department in the
11municipality on the date a municipality adopts this Division
121, or as of July 17, 1959, whichever date is the later, shall
13become members of the classified civil service of the
14municipality without examination.
15    (f) The examinations shall be practical in their
16character, and shall relate to those matters that will fairly
17test the relative capacity of the persons examined to
18discharge the duties of the positions to which they seek to be
19appointed. The examinations shall include tests of physical
20qualifications, health, and (when appropriate) manual skill.
21If an applicant is unable to pass the physical examination
22solely as the result of an injury received by the applicant as
23the result of the performance of an act of duty while working
24as a temporary employee in the position for which he or she is
25being examined, however, the physical examination shall be
26waived and the applicant shall be considered to have passed

 

 

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1the examination. No questions in any examination shall relate
2to political or religious opinions or affiliations. Results of
3examinations and the eligible registers prepared from the
4results shall be published by the commission within 60 days
5after any examinations are held.
6    (g) The commission shall control all examinations, and
7may, whenever an examination is to take place, designate a
8suitable number of persons, either in or not in the official
9service of the municipality, to be examiners. The examiners
10shall conduct the examinations as directed by the commission
11and shall make a return or report of the examinations to the
12commission. If the appointed examiners are in the official
13service of the municipality, the examiners shall not receive
14extra compensation for conducting the examinations unless the
15examiners are subject to a collective bargaining agreement
16with the municipality. The commission may at any time
17substitute any other person, whether or not in the service of
18the municipality, in the place of any one selected as an
19examiner. The commission members may themselves at any time
20act as examiners without appointing examiners. The examiners
21at any examination shall not all be members of the same
22political party.
23    (h) In municipalities of 500,000 or more population, no
24person who has attained his or her 35th birthday shall be
25eligible to take an examination for a position as a fireman or
26a policeman unless the person has had previous employment

 

 

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1status as a policeman or fireman in the regularly constituted
2police or fire department of the municipality, except as
3provided in this Section.
4    (i) In municipalities of more than 5,000 but not more than
5200,000 inhabitants, no person who has attained his or her
635th birthday shall be eligible to take an examination for a
7position as a fireman or a policeman unless the person has had
8previous employment status as a policeman or fireman in the
9regularly constituted police or fire department of the
10municipality, except as provided in this Section.
11    (j) In all municipalities, applicants who are 20 years of
12age and who have successfully completed 2 years of law
13enforcement studies at an accredited college or university may
14be considered for appointment to active duty with the police
15department. An applicant described in this subsection (j) who
16is appointed to active duty shall not have power of arrest, nor
17shall the applicant be permitted to carry firearms, until he
18or she reaches 21 years of age.
19    (k) In municipalities of more than 500,000 population,
20applications for examination for and appointment to positions
21as firefighters or police shall be made available at various
22branches of the public library of the municipality.
23    (l) No municipality having a population less than
241,000,000 shall require that any fireman appointed to the
25lowest rank serve a probationary employment period of longer
26than one year. The limitation on periods of probationary

 

 

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1employment provided in Public Act 86-990 is an exclusive power
2and function of the State. Pursuant to subsection (h) of
3Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution, a home
4rule municipality having a population less than 1,000,000 must
5comply with this limitation on periods of probationary
6employment, which is a denial and limitation of home rule
7powers. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this
8Section, the probationary employment period limitation may be
9extended for a firefighter who is required, as a condition of
10employment, to be a licensed paramedic, during which time the
11sole reason that a firefighter may be discharged without a
12hearing is for failing to meet the requirements for paramedic
13licensure.
14    (m) To the extent that this Section or any other Section in
15this Division conflicts with Section 10-1-7.1 or 10-1-7.2,
16then Section 10-1-7.1 or 10-1-7.2 shall control.
17(Source: P.A. 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 103-357, eff. 1-1-24.)
 
18    (65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-6)  (from Ch. 24, par. 10-2.1-6)
19    Sec. 10-2.1-6. Examination of applicants;
20disqualifications.
21    (a) All applicants for a position in either the fire or
22police department of the municipality shall be under 35 years
23of age, shall be subject to an examination that shall be
24public, competitive, and open to all applicants (unless the
25council or board of trustees by ordinance limit applicants to

 

 

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1electors of the municipality, county, state, or nation) and
2shall be subject to reasonable limitations as to residence,
3health, habits, and moral character. An individual who is not
4a citizen but is legally authorized to work in the United
5States under federal law or is an individual against whom
6immigration action has been deferred by the U.S. Citizenship
7and Immigration Services under the federal Deferred Action for
8Childhood Arrivals (DACA) process is authorized to apply for
9the position of police officer, subject to (i) all
10requirements and limitations, other than citizenship, to which
11other applicants are subject and (ii) the individual being
12authorized under federal law to obtain, carry, or purchase or
13otherwise possess a firearm. The municipality may not charge
14or collect any fee from an applicant who has met all
15prequalification standards established by the municipality for
16any such position. With respect to a police department, a
17veteran shall be allowed to exceed the maximum age provision
18of this Section by the number of years served on active
19military duty, but by no more than 10 years of active military
20duty.
21    (b) Residency requirements in effect at the time an
22individual enters the fire or police service of a municipality
23(other than a municipality that has more than 1,000,000
24inhabitants) cannot be made more restrictive for that
25individual during his period of service for that municipality,
26or be made a condition of promotion, except for the rank or

 

 

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1position of Fire or Police Chief.
2    (c) No person with a record of misdemeanor convictions
3except those under Sections 11-1.50, 11-6, 11-7, 11-9, 11-14,
411-15, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 11-30, 11-35, 12-2, 12-6, 12-15,
514-4, 16-1, 21.1-3, 24-3.1, 24-5, 25-1, 28-3, 31-1, 31-4,
631-6, 31-7, 32-1, 32-2, 32-3, 32-4, and 32-8, subdivisions
7(a)(1) and (a)(2)(C) of Section 11-14.3, and paragraphs (1),
8(6), and (8) of subsection (a) of Section 24-1 of the Criminal
9Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012, or arrested for any
10cause but not convicted on that cause shall be disqualified
11from taking the examination to qualify for a position in the
12fire department on grounds of habits or moral character.
13    (d) The age limitation in subsection (a) does not apply
14(i) to any person previously employed as a policeman or
15fireman in a regularly constituted police or fire department
16of (I) any municipality, regardless of whether the
17municipality is located in Illinois or in another state, or
18(II) a fire protection district whose obligations were assumed
19by a municipality under Section 21 of the Fire Protection
20District Act, (ii) to any person who has served a municipality
21as a regularly enrolled volunteer fireman for 5 years
22immediately preceding the time that municipality begins to use
23full time firemen to provide all or part of its fire protection
24service, or (iii) to any person who has served as an auxiliary
25police officer under Section 3.1-30-20 for at least 5 years
26and is under 40 years of age, (iv) to any person who has served

 

 

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1as a deputy under Section 3-6008 of the Counties Code and
2otherwise meets necessary training requirements, or (v) to any
3person who has served as a sworn officer as a member of the
4Illinois State Police.
5    (e) Applicants who are 20 years of age and who have
6successfully completed 2 years of law enforcement studies at
7an accredited college or university may be considered for
8appointment to active duty with the police department. An
9applicant described in this subsection (e) who is appointed to
10active duty shall not have power of arrest, nor shall the
11applicant be permitted to carry firearms, until he or she
12reaches 21 years of age.
13    (f) Applicants who are 18 years of age and who have
14successfully completed 2 years of study in fire techniques,
15amounting to a total of 4 high school credits, within the cadet
16program of a municipality may be considered for appointment to
17active duty with the fire department of any municipality.
18    (g) The council or board of trustees may by ordinance
19provide that persons residing outside the municipality are
20eligible to take the examination.
21    (h) The examinations shall be practical in character and
22relate to those matters that will fairly test the capacity of
23the persons examined to discharge the duties of the positions
24to which they seek appointment. No person shall be appointed
25to the police or fire department if he or she does not possess
26a high school diploma or an equivalent high school education.

 

 

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1A board of fire and police commissioners may, by its rules,
2require police applicants to have obtained an associate's
3degree or a bachelor's degree as a prerequisite for
4employment. The examinations shall include tests of physical
5qualifications and health. A board of fire and police
6commissioners may, by its rules, waive portions of the
7required examination for police applicants who have previously
8been full-time sworn officers of a regular police department
9in any municipal, county, university, or State law enforcement
10agency, provided they are certified by the Illinois Law
11Enforcement Training Standards Board and have been with their
12respective law enforcement agency within the State for at
13least 2 years. No person shall be appointed to the police or
14fire department if he or she has suffered the amputation of any
15limb unless the applicant's duties will be only clerical or as
16a radio operator. No applicant shall be examined concerning
17his or her political or religious opinions or affiliations.
18The examinations shall be conducted by the board of fire and
19police commissioners of the municipality as provided in this
20Division 2.1.
21    The requirement that a police applicant possess an
22associate's degree under this subsection may be waived if one
23or more of the following applies: (1) the applicant has served
24for 24 months of honorable active duty in the United States
25Armed Forces and has not been discharged dishonorably or under
26circumstances other than honorable; (2) the applicant has

 

 

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1served for 180 days of active duty in the United States Armed
2Forces in combat duty recognized by the Department of Defense
3and has not been discharged dishonorably or under
4circumstances other than honorable; or (3) the applicant has
5successfully received credit for a minimum of 60 credit hours
6toward a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or
7university.
8    The requirement that a police applicant possess a
9bachelor's degree under this subsection may be waived if one
10or more of the following applies: (1) the applicant has served
11for 36 months of honorable active duty in the United States
12Armed Forces and has not been discharged dishonorably or under
13circumstances other than honorable or (2) the applicant has
14served for 180 days of active duty in the United States Armed
15Forces in combat duty recognized by the Department of Defense
16and has not been discharged dishonorably or under
17circumstances other than honorable.
18    (i) No person who is classified by his local selective
19service draft board as a conscientious objector, or who has
20ever been so classified, may be appointed to the police
21department.
22    (j) No person shall be appointed to the police or fire
23department unless he or she is a person of good character and
24not an habitual drunkard, gambler, or a person who has been
25convicted of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude. No
26person, however, shall be disqualified from appointment to the

 

 

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1fire department because of his or her record of misdemeanor
2convictions except those under Sections 11-1.50, 11-6, 11-7,
311-9, 11-14, 11-15, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 11-30, 11-35, 12-2,
412-6, 12-15, 14-4, 16-1, 21.1-3, 24-3.1, 24-5, 25-1, 28-3,
531-1, 31-4, 31-6, 31-7, 32-1, 32-2, 32-3, 32-4, and 32-8,
6subdivisions (a)(1) and (a)(2)(C) of Section 11-14.3, and
7paragraphs (1), (6), and (8) of subsection (a) of Section 24-1
8of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012, or
9arrest for any cause without conviction on that cause. Any
10such person who is in the department may be removed on charges
11brought and after a trial as provided in this Division 2.1.
12(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22;
13103-357, eff. 1-1-24.)
 
14    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
15becoming law.