093_HB2247
LRB093 08167 MKM 08373 b
1 AN ACT concerning park districts.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Park District Code is amended by changing
5 Section 8-23 as follows:
6 (70 ILCS 1205/8-23)
7 Sec. 8-23. Criminal background investigations.
8 (a) An applicant for employment with a park district,
9 age 17 years or older, is required as a condition of
10 employment to authorize an investigation to determine if the
11 applicant has been convicted of any of the enumerated
12 criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) of this Section
13 or has been convicted, within 7 years of the application for
14 employment with the park district, of any other felony under
15 the laws of this State or of any offense committed or
16 attempted in any other state or against the laws of the
17 United States that, if committed or attempted in this State,
18 would have been punishable as a felony under the laws of this
19 State. Authorization for the investigation shall be
20 furnished by the applicant to the park district. Upon receipt
21 of this authorization, the park district shall submit the
22 applicant's name, sex, race, date of birth, and social
23 security number to the Department of State Police on forms
24 prescribed by the Department of State Police. The Department
25 of State Police shall conduct an investigation to ascertain
26 if the applicant being considered for employment has been
27 convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses
28 in subsection (c) of this Section or has been convicted,
29 within 7 years of the application for employment with the
30 park district, of any other felony under the laws of this
31 State or of any offense committed or attempted in any other
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1 state or against the laws of the United States that, if
2 committed or attempted in this State, would have been
3 punishable as a felony under the laws of this State. The
4 Department of State Police shall charge the park district a
5 fee for conducting the investigation, which fee shall be
6 deposited in the State Police Services Fund and shall not
7 exceed the cost of the inquiry. The applicant shall not be
8 charged a fee by the park district for the investigation.
9 (b) The Department of State Police shall furnish,
10 pursuant to positive identification, records of convictions,
11 until expunged, to the president of the park district. Any
12 information concerning the record of convictions obtained by
13 the president shall be confidential and may only be
14 transmitted to those persons who are necessary to the
15 decision on whether to hire the applicant for employment. A
16 copy of the record of convictions obtained from the
17 Department of State Police shall be provided to the applicant
18 for employment. Any person who releases any confidential
19 information concerning any criminal convictions of an
20 applicant for employment shall be guilty of a Class A
21 misdemeanor, unless the release of such information is
22 authorized by this Section.
23 (c) No park district shall knowingly employ a person who
24 has been convicted for committing attempted first degree
25 murder or for committing or attempting to commit first degree
26 murder, a Class X felony, or any one or more of the following
27 offenses: (i) those defined in Sections 11-6, 11-9, 11-14,
28 11-15, 11-15.1, 11-16, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 11-19.1, 11-19.2,
29 11-20, 11-20.1, 11-21, 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, and
30 12-16 of the Criminal Code of 1961; (ii) those defined in the
31 Cannabis Control Act, except those defined in Sections 4(a),
32 4(b), and 5(a) of that Act; (iii) those defined in the
33 Illinois Controlled Substances Act; and (iv) any offense
34 committed or attempted in any other state or against the laws
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1 of the United States, which, if committed or attempted in
2 this State, would have been punishable as one or more of the
3 foregoing offenses. Further, no park district shall
4 knowingly employ a person who has been found to be the
5 perpetrator of sexual or physical abuse of any minor under 18
6 years of age pursuant to proceedings under Article II of the
7 Juvenile Court Act of 1987. No park district shall knowingly
8 employ a person for whom a criminal background investigation
9 has not been initiated.
10 (Source: P.A. 91-885, eff. 7-6-00.)