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1 | AN ACT concerning civil law.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Whistleblower Act is amended by changing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5 | Sections 5 and 15 and by adding Section 40 as follows:
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6 | (740 ILCS 174/5)
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7 | Sec. 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
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8 | "Employer" means: an individual, sole proprietorship, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
9 | partnership, firm,
corporation, association, and any other | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10 | entity that has one or more
employees in this State, including | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
11 | a political subdivision of the State and a unit of local | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
12 | government, school district, or authority including a | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
13 | department, division, bureau, board, commission, or other | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
14 | agency of these entities; any person acting within the scope of | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
15 | his or her authority express or implied on behalf of those | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
16 | entities in dealing with its employers: a school district, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
17 | combination of school districts, or governing body of a joint | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
18 | agreement of any type formed by two or more school districts; a | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
19 | community college district, State college or university, and | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
20 | any State agency whose major function is providing educational | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
21 | services
except that "employer" does not include any
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22 | governmental entity .
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23 | "Employee" means any individual who is employed on a |
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1 | full-time,
part-time, or contractual basis by an employer.
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2 | (Source: P.A. 93-544, eff. 1-1-04.)
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3 | (740 ILCS 174/15)
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4 | Sec. 15. Retaliation for certain disclosures prohibited.
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5 | (a) An employer may not retaliate against an employee who | ||||||
6 | discloses information in a court, an administrative hearing, or | ||||||
7 | before a legislative commission or committee, or in any other | ||||||
8 | proceeding, where the employee has reasonable cause to believe | ||||||
9 | that the information discloses a violation of a State or | ||||||
10 | federal law, rule, or regulation. | ||||||
11 | (b) An employer
may not retaliate against an employee for | ||||||
12 | disclosing information to a
government or law enforcement | ||||||
13 | agency, where the employee has reasonable
cause to believe that | ||||||
14 | the information discloses a violation of a State
or federal | ||||||
15 | law, rule, or regulation.
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16 | (Source: P.A. 93-544, eff. 1-1-04.)
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17 | (740 ILCS 174/40 new) | ||||||
18 | Sec. 40. Home Rule Limitation. It is the public policy of | ||||||
19 | this State, pursuant to paragraphs (h) and (i) of Section 6 of | ||||||
20 | Article VII of the Illinois Constitution that the provisions of | ||||||
21 | this Act are the exclusive exercise by the State of powers and | ||||||
22 | functions which might otherwise be exercised by other home rule | ||||||
23 | units. Such powers and functions may not be exercised | ||||||
24 | concurrently, either directly or indirectly by any unit of |
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1 | local government, including any home rule unit except as | ||||||
2 | otherwise authorized by this Act. | ||||||
3 | Section 10. The Whistleblower Reward and Protection Act is | ||||||
4 | amended by changing Sections 2 and 3 as follows:
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5 | (740 ILCS 175/2) (from Ch. 127, par. 4102)
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6 | Sec. 2. Definitions. As used in this Act:
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7 | (a) "State" means the State of Illinois; any agency of | ||||||
8 | State
government; the system of State colleges and | ||||||
9 | universities, any school district, community college district, | ||||||
10 | county, municipality, municipal corporation, unit of local | ||||||
11 | government, and any combination of the above under an | ||||||
12 | intergovernmental agreement that includes provisions for a | ||||||
13 | governing body of the agency created by the agreement.
and any | ||||||
14 | of the following entities which may elect to adopt the
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15 | provisions of this Act by ordinance or resolution, a copy of | ||||||
16 | which shall be
filed with the Attorney General within 30 days | ||||||
17 | of its adoption: the system of
State colleges and universities, | ||||||
18 | any school district, any public community
college district, any | ||||||
19 | municipality, municipal corporations, units of local
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20 | government, and any combination of the above under an | ||||||
21 | intergovernmental
agreement that includes provisions for a | ||||||
22 | governing body of the agency created
by the agreement.
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23 | (b) "Guard" means the Illinois National Guard.
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24 | (c) "Investigation" means any inquiry conducted by any |
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1 | investigator for
the purpose of ascertaining whether any person | ||||||
2 | is or has been engaged in
any violation of this Act.
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3 | (d) "Investigator" means a person who is charged by the | ||||||
4 | Department of
State Police with the duty of conducting any | ||||||
5 | investigation under this Act, or
any officer or employee of the | ||||||
6 | State acting under the direction and
supervision of the | ||||||
7 | Department of State Police, through the Division of
Operations | ||||||
8 | or the Division of Internal
Investigation, in the course of
an | ||||||
9 | investigation.
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10 | (e) "Documentary material" includes the original or any | ||||||
11 | copy of any
book, record, report, memorandum, paper, | ||||||
12 | communication, tabulation,
chart, or other document, or data | ||||||
13 | compilations stored in or accessible
through computer or other | ||||||
14 | information retrieval systems, together with
instructions and | ||||||
15 | all other materials necessary to use or interpret such
data | ||||||
16 | compilations, and any product of discovery.
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17 | (f) "Custodian" means the custodian, or any deputy | ||||||
18 | custodian, designated
by the Attorney General under subsection | ||||||
19 | (i)(1) of Section 6.
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20 | (g) "Product of discovery" includes:
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21 | (1) the original or duplicate of any deposition, | ||||||
22 | interrogatory,
document, thing, result of the inspection | ||||||
23 | of land or other property,
examination, or admission, which | ||||||
24 | is obtained by any method of discovery in
any judicial or | ||||||
25 | administrative proceeding of an adversarial nature;
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26 | (2) any digest, analysis, selection, compilation, or |
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1 | derivation of any
item listed in paragraph (1); and
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2 | (3) any index or other manner of access to any item | ||||||
3 | listed in
paragraph (1).
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4 | (Source: P.A. 91-760, eff. 1-1-01.)
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5 | (740 ILCS 175/3) (from Ch. 127, par. 4103)
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6 | Sec. 3. False claims.
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7 | (a) Liability for certain acts. Any person who:
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8 | (1) knowingly presents, or causes to be presented, to | ||||||
9 | an officer or
employee of the State or a member of the | ||||||
10 | Guard a false or fraudulent claim
for payment or approval;
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11 | (2) knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or | ||||||
12 | used, a false record
or statement to get a false or | ||||||
13 | fraudulent claim paid or approved by the State;
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14 | (3) conspires to defraud the State by getting a false | ||||||
15 | or fraudulent
claim allowed or paid;
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16 | (4) has possession, custody, or control of property or | ||||||
17 | money used, or to
be used, by the State and, intending to | ||||||
18 | defraud the State or willfully to
conceal the property, | ||||||
19 | delivers, or causes to be delivered, less property
than the | ||||||
20 | amount for which the person receives a certificate or | ||||||
21 | receipt;
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22 | (5) authorized to make or deliver a document certifying | ||||||
23 | receipt of
property used, or to be used, by the State and, | ||||||
24 | intending to defraud the
State, makes or delivers the | ||||||
25 | receipt without completely knowing that the
information on |
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1 | the receipt is true;
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2 | (6) knowingly buys, or receives as a pledge of an | ||||||
3 | obligation or debt,
public property from an officer or | ||||||
4 | employee of the State, or a member of
the Guard, who | ||||||
5 | lawfully may not sell or pledge the property; or
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6 | (7) knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or | ||||||
7 | used, a false record
or statement to conceal, avoid or | ||||||
8 | decrease an obligation to pay or transmit
money or property | ||||||
9 | to the State ; , | ||||||
10 | (8) knowingly takes adverse employment action against | ||||||
11 | an employee for disclosing information to a government or | ||||||
12 | law enforcement agency, if the employee has reasonable | ||||||
13 | cause to believe that the information discloses a violation | ||||||
14 | of State or federal law, rule, or regulation; or | ||||||
15 | (9) knowingly retaliates against an employee who has | ||||||
16 | disclosed information in a court, an administrative | ||||||
17 | hearing, before a legislative commission or committee, or | ||||||
18 | in another proceeding and discloses information, if the | ||||||
19 | employee has reasonable cause to believe that the | ||||||
20 | information discloses a violation of State or federal law, | ||||||
21 | rule, or regulation,
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22 | is liable to the State for a civil penalty of not less than | ||||||
23 | $5,500 and not
more than $11,000, plus 3 times the amount of | ||||||
24 | damages which the State
sustains because of the act of that | ||||||
25 | person. A person violating
this subsection (a) shall also be | ||||||
26 | liable to the State for the costs of a civil
action brought to |
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1 | recover any such penalty or damages.
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2 | (b) Knowing and knowingly defined. As used in this Section, | ||||||
3 | the terms
"knowing" and "knowingly" mean that a person, with | ||||||
4 | respect to information:
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5 | (1) has actual knowledge of the information;
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6 | (2) acts in deliberate ignorance of the truth or | ||||||
7 | falsity of the
information; or
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8 | (3) acts in reckless disregard of the truth or falsity | ||||||
9 | of the
information, and no proof of specific intent to | ||||||
10 | defraud is required.
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11 | (c) Claim defined. As used in this Section, "claim" | ||||||
12 | includes any
request or demand, whether under a contract or | ||||||
13 | otherwise, for money or
property which is made to a contractor, | ||||||
14 | grantee, or other recipient if the
State provides any portion | ||||||
15 | of the money or property which is requested or
demanded, or if | ||||||
16 | the State will reimburse such contractor, grantee, or other
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17 | recipient for any portion of the money or property which is | ||||||
18 | requested
or demanded. A claim also includes a request or | ||||||
19 | demand for money damages or injunctive relief on behalf of an | ||||||
20 | employee who has suffered an adverse employment action taken in | ||||||
21 | violation of paragraphs (8) or (9) of subsection (a).
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22 | (d) Exclusion. This Section does not apply to claims, | ||||||
23 | records, or
statements made under the Illinois Income Tax Act.
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24 | (Source: P.A. 94-1059, eff. 7-31-06.)
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