HB1500eng 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB1500 Engrossed LRB094 07108 AJO 37253 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 and 10-2.1-4 as follows:

(65 ILCS 5/10-1-7) (from Ch. 24, par. 10-1-7)

Sec. 10-1-7. Examination of applicants; disqualifications.

(a) All applicants for offices or places in the classified service, except those mentioned in Section 10-1-17, are subject to examination. The examination shall be public, competitive, and open to all citizens of the United States, with specified limitations as to residence, age, health, habits and moral character.

(b) Residency requirements in effect at the time an individual enters the fire or police service of a municipality (other than a municipality that has more than 1,000,000 inhabitants) 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 or Police Chief.

(c) No person with a 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 arrested for any cause but not convicted on that cause shall be disqualified from taking the examination on grounds of habits or moral character, unless the person is attempting to qualify for a position on the police department, in which case the conviction or arrest may be considered as a factor in determining the person's habits or moral character.

(d) Persons entitled to military preference under Section 10-1-16 shall not be subject to limitations specifying age unless they are applicants for a position as a fireman or a policeman having no previous employment status as a fireman or policeman in the regularly constituted fire or police department of the municipality, in which case they must not have attained their 35th birthday, except any person who has served as an auxiliary policeman under Section 3.1-30-20 for at least 5 years and is under 40 years of age.

(e) All employees of a municipality of less than 500,000 population (except those who would be excluded from the classified service as provided in this Division 1) who are holding that employment as of the date a municipality adopts this Division 1, or as of July 17, 1959, whichever date is the later, and who have held that employment for at least 2 years immediately before that later date, and all firemen and policemen regardless of length of service who were either appointed to their respective positions by the board of fire and police commissioners under the provisions of Division 2 of this Article or who are serving in a position (except as a temporary employee) in the fire or police department in the municipality on the date a municipality adopts this Division 1, or as of July 17, 1959, whichever date is the later, shall become members of the classified civil service of the municipality without examination.

(f) The examinations shall be practical in their character, and shall relate to those matters that will fairly test the relative capacity of the persons examined to discharge the duties of the positions to which they seek to be appointed. The examinations shall include tests of physical qualifications, health, and (when appropriate) manual skill. If an applicant is unable to pass the physical examination solely as the result of an injury received by the applicant as the result of the performance of an act of duty while working as a temporary employee in the position for which he or she is being examined, however, the physical examination shall be waived and the applicant shall be considered to have passed the examination. No questions in any examination shall relate to political or religious opinions or affiliations. Results of examinations and the eligible registers prepared from the results shall be published by the commission within 60 days after any examinations are held.

(g) The commission shall control all examinations, and may, whenever an examination is to take place, designate a suitable number of persons, either in or not in the official service of the municipality, to be examiners. The examiners shall conduct the examinations as directed by the commission and shall make a return or report of the examinations to the commission. If the appointed examiners are in the official service of the municipality, the examiners shall not receive extra compensation for conducting the examinations. The commission may at any time substitute any other person, whether or not in the service of the municipality, in the place of any one selected as an examiner. The commission members may themselves at any time act as examiners without appointing examiners. The examiners at any examination shall not all be members of the same political party.

(h) In municipalities of 500,000 or more population, no person who has attained his or her 35th birthday shall be eligible to take an examination for a position as a fireman or a policeman unless the person has had previous employment status as a policeman or fireman in the regularly constituted police or fire department of the municipality, except as provided in this Section.

(i) In municipalities of more than 5,000 but not more than 200,000 inhabitants, no person who has attained his or her 35th birthday shall be eligible to take an examination for a position as a fireman or a policeman unless the person has had previous employment status as a policeman or fireman in the regularly constituted police or fire department of the municipality, except as provided in this Section.

(j) In all municipalities, applicants who are 20 years of age and who have successfully completed 2 years of law enforcement studies at an accredited college or university may be considered for appointment to active duty with the police department. An applicant described in this subsection (j) who is appointed to active duty shall not have power of arrest, nor shall the applicant be permitted to carry firearms, until he or she reaches 21 years of age.

(k) In municipalities of more than 500,000 population, applications for examination for and appointment to positions as firefighters or police shall be made available at various branches of the public library of the municipality.

(l) No municipality having a population less than 1,000,000 shall require that any fireman 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 certified 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 certification shall not apply to a fireman whose position also includes paramedic responsibilities.

(Source: P.A. 86-990; 87-1119.)

(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.

The term "policemen" as used in this Division does not include auxiliary policemen 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-homerule 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-homerule 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 fireman 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 certified 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 certification shall not apply to a fireman whose position also includes paramedic responsibilities.

(Source: P.A. 93-486, eff. 8-8-03.)

Section 10. The Fire Protection District Act is amended by changing Section 16.13b as follows:

(70 ILCS 705/16.13b) (from Ch. 127 1/2, par. 37.13b)

Sec. 16.13b. Unless the employer and a labor organization have agreed to a contract provision providing for final and binding arbitration of disputes concerning the existence of just cause for disciplinary action, no officer or member of the fire department of any protection district who has held that position for one year shall be removed or discharged except for just cause, upon written charges specifying the complainant and the basis for the charges, and after a hearing on those charges before the board of fire commissioners, affording the officer or member an opportunity to be heard in his own defense. In such case the appointing authority shall file with the board of trustees the reasons for such removal or discharge, which removal or discharge shall not become effective unless confirmed by a majority vote of the board of trustees. If written charges are brought against an officer or member, the board of fire commissioners shall conduct a fair and impartial hearing of the charges, to be commenced within 30 days of the filing thereof, which hearing may be continued from time to time. The Chief of the department shall bear the burden of proving the guilt of the officer or member by a preponderance of the evidence. In case an officer or member is found guilty, the board may discharge him, or may suspend him not exceeding 30 calendar days without pay. The board may suspend any officer or member pending the hearing with or without pay, but in no event shall the suspension pending hearing and the ultimate suspension imposed on the officer or member, if any, exceed 30 calendar days without pay in the aggregate. If the board of fire commissioners determines that the charges are not sustained, the officer or member shall be reimbursed for all wages withheld or lost, if any. In the conduct of this hearing, each member of the board shall have power to secure by its subpoena both the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of books and papers relevant to the hearing.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, a probationary employment period may be extended beyond one year for a firefighter who is required as a condition of employment to be a certified 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 certification.

The age for mandatory retirement of firemen in the service of any department of such district is 65 years, unless the board of trustees shall by ordinance provide for an earlier mandatory retirement age of not less than 60 years.

The provisions of the Administrative Review Law, and all amendments and modifications thereof, and the rules adopted pursuant thereto, shall apply to and govern all proceedings for the judicial review of final administrative decisions of the board of fire commissioners hereunder. The term "administrative decision" is defined as in Section 3-101 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

Nothing in this Section shall be construed to prevent the Chief of the fire department from suspending without pay a member of his department for a period of not more than 5 consecutive calendar days, but he shall notify the board in writing of such suspension. Any fireman so suspended may appeal to the board of fire commissioners for a review of the suspension within 5 calendar days after such suspension. Upon such appeal, the Chief of the department shall bear the burden of proof in establishing the guilt of the officer or member by a preponderance of the evidence. The board may sustain the action of the Chief of the department, may reduce the suspension to a lesser penalty, or may reverse it with instructions that the officer or member receive his pay and other benefits withheld for the period involved, or may suspend the officer for an additional period of not more than 30 days, or discharge him, depending upon the facts presented.

(Source: P.A. 86-562.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.