HB2920 Enrolled LRB095 06288 HLH 26383 b

1     AN ACT concerning local government.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 5. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by
5 changing Section 10-2.1-6 as follows:
 
6     (65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-6)  (from Ch. 24, par. 10-2.1-6)
7     Sec. 10-2.1-6. Examination of applicants;
8 disqualifications.
9     (a) All applicants for a position in either the fire or
10 police department of the municipality shall be under 35 years
11 of age, shall be subject to an examination that shall be
12 public, competitive, and open to all applicants (unless the
13 council or board of trustees by ordinance limit applicants to
14 electors of the municipality, county, state or nation) and
15 shall be subject to reasonable limitations as to residence,
16 health, habits, and moral character. The municipality may not
17 charge or collect any fee from an applicant who has met all
18 prequalification standards established by the municipality for
19 any such position.
20     (b) Residency requirements in effect at the time an
21 individual enters the fire or police service of a municipality
22 (other than a municipality that has more than 1,000,000
23 inhabitants) cannot be made more restrictive for that

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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1 board of fire and police commissioners may, by its rules,
2 require police applicants to have obtained an associate's
3 degree or a bachelor's degree as a prerequisite for employment.
4 The examinations shall include tests of physical
5 qualifications and health. No person shall be appointed to the
6 police or fire department if he or she has suffered the
7 amputation of any limb unless the applicant's duties will be
8 only clerical or as a radio operator. No applicant shall be
9 examined concerning his or her political or religious opinions
10 or affiliations. The examinations shall be conducted by the
11 board of fire and police commissioners of the municipality as
12 provided in this Division 2.1.
13     (i) No person who is classified by his local selective
14 service draft board as a conscientious objector, or who has
15 ever been so classified, may be appointed to the police
16 department.
17     (j) No person shall be appointed to the police or fire
18 department unless he or she is a person of good character and
19 not an habitual drunkard, gambler, or a person who has been
20 convicted of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude. No
21 person, however, shall be disqualified from appointment to the
22 fire department because of his or her record of misdemeanor
23 convictions except those under Sections 11-6, 11-7, 11-9,
24 11-14, 11-15, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 12-2, 12-6, 12-15, 14-4,
25 16-1, 21.1-3, 24-3.1, 24-5, 25-1, 28-3, 31-1, 31-4, 31-6, 31-7,
26 32-1, 32-2, 32-3, 32-4, 32-8, and subsections (1), (6) and (8)

 

 

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1 of Section 24-1 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or arrest for any
2 cause without conviction on that cause. Any such person who is
3 in the department may be removed on charges brought and after a
4 trial as provided in this Division 2.1.
5 (Source: P.A. 94-29, eff. 6-14-05; 94-984, eff. 6-30-06.)