99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
SB1694

 

Introduced 2/20/2015, by Sen. Sue Rezin

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
5 ILCS 465/10
5 ILCS 465/15 new
765 ILCS 605/18.6
30 ILCS 805/8.39 new

    Amends the Flag Display Act. Designates the Honor and Remember Flag as the symbol of the State's concern for and commitment to honoring and remembering the lives of all members of the United States armed forces who have lost their lives while serving or as a result of service and their families. Provides for the dates when and the locations where the Honor and Remember Flag must be displayed. Amends the Condominium Property Act. Adds the Honor and Remember Flag under the definition of "military flag" that is permitted to be flown by a unit owner under certain circumstances. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement.


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STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT
MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning government, which may be referred to as
2the Honor and Remember Flag Recognition Act.
 
3    WHEREAS, Since the Revolutionary War, more than 1,000,000
4members of the armed forces of the United States have paid the
5ultimate price by sacrificing their lives in the line of duty;
6the contribution of those fallen members of the armed forces
7are deserving of recognition by the State of Illinois; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Currently, there is no officially recognized
9symbol that specifically acknowledges members of the armed
10forces who have died in the line of duty; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The Honor and Remember Flag's red field represents
12the blood shed by brave men and women who sacrificed their
13lives for freedom and the flag's white field and border
14recognizes the purity of that sacrifice; the flag's blue star
15is a symbol of active service in military conflict that dates
16back to World War I; the flag's gold star signifies the
17ultimate sacrifice of a warrior in active service who is not
18returning home and reflects the value of the life given; the
19folded flag element highlights this nation's final tribute to a
20fallen service member and a family's sacrifice; the flag's
21flame symbolizes the eternal spirit of the departed; and
 
22    WHEREAS, The Honor and Remember Flag is a unifying symbol
23recognizing this State's solemn debt to the estimated 1,600,000

 

 

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1fallen service members throughout history and the families and
2communities who mourn their loss; therefore
 
3    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4represented in the General Assembly:
 
5    Section 5. The Flag Display Act is amended by changing
6Section 10 and adding Section 15 as follows:
 
7    (5 ILCS 465/10)
8    Sec. 10. Death of resident military member, law enforcement
9officer, firefighter, or members of EMS crews.
10    (a) The Governor shall issue an official notice to fly the
11following flags at half-staff upon the death of a resident of
12this State killed (i) by hostile fire as a member of the United
13States armed forces, (ii) in the line of duty as a law
14enforcement officer, (iii) in the line of duty as a
15firefighter, or (iv) in the line of duty as a member of an
16Emergency Medical Services (EMS) crew: the United States
17national flag, the State flag of Illinois, and, in the case of
18the death of the member of the United States armed forces, the
19appropriate military flag as defined in subsection (b) of
20Section 18.6 of the Condominium Property Act and the Honor and
21Remember Flag designated under Section 15 of this Act. Upon the
22Governor's notice, each person or entity required by this Act
23to ensure the display of the United States national flag on a

 

 

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1flagstaff shall ensure that the flags described in the notice
2are displayed at half-staff on the day designated for the
3resident's funeral and the 2 days preceding that day.
4    (b) The Department of Veterans' Affairs shall notify the
5Governor of the death by hostile fire of an Illinois resident
6member of the United States armed forces. The Department of
7State Police shall notify the Governor of the death in the line
8of duty of an Illinois resident law enforcement officer. The
9Office of the State Fire Marshal shall notify the Governor of
10the death in the line of duty of an Illinois resident
11firefighter. The Department of Public Health shall notify the
12Governor of the death in the line of duty of an Illinois
13resident member of an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) crew.
14Notice to the Governor shall include at least the resident's
15name and Illinois address, the date designated for the funeral,
16and the circumstances of the death.
17    (c) For the purpose of this Section, the United States
18armed forces includes: (i) the United States Army, Navy, Marine
19Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard; (ii) any reserve component
20of each of the forces listed in item (i); and (iii) the
21National Guard.
22    (d) Nothing in this Section requires the removal or
23relocation of any existing flags currently displayed in the
24State. This Section does not apply to a State facility if the
25requirements of this Section cannot be satisfied without a
26physical modification to that facility.

 

 

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1(Source: P.A. 98-234, eff. 1-1-14.)
 
2    (5 ILCS 465/15 new)
3    Sec. 15. Honor and Remember Flag.
4    (a) The Honor and Remember Flag is designated as the symbol
5of the State's concern for and commitment to honoring and
6remembering the lives of all members of the United States armed
7forces who have lost their lives while serving or as a result
8of service and their families.
9    (b) The Honor and Remember Flag shall be displayed at the
10locations specified in subsection (c) of this Section on the
11following days:
12        (1) Armed Forces Day, the third Saturday in May.
13        (2) Memorial Day, the last Monday in May.
14        (3) Flag Day, June 14.
15        (4) Fourth of July.
16        (5) National POW/MIA Recognition Day, the third Friday
17    of September.
18        (6) Gold Star Mother's Day, the last Sunday of
19    September.
20        (7) Veterans Day, November 11.
21        (8) Whenever there is a State military casualty.
22    The Honor and Remember Flag should be displayed at all
23State military memorials and State veteran cemeteries whenever
24the flag of the United States is flown.
25    (c) The Honor and Remember Flag shall be displayed at the

 

 

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1State Capitol and the locations designated in Sections 1, 2,
2and 3b of this Act in the manner specified by those Sections.
 
3    Section 10. The Condominium Property Act is amended by
4changing Section 18.6 as follows:
 
5    (765 ILCS 605/18.6)
6    Sec. 18.6. Display of American flag or military flag.
7    (a) Notwithstanding any provision in the declaration,
8bylaws, rules, regulations, or agreements or other instruments
9of a condominium association or a master association or a
10common interest community association or a board's
11construction of any of those instruments, a board may not
12prohibit the display of the American flag or a military flag,
13or both, on or within the limited common areas and facilities
14of a unit owner or on the immediately adjacent exterior of the
15building in which the unit of a unit owner is located. A board
16may adopt reasonable rules and regulations, consistent with
17Sections 4 through 10 of Chapter 1 of Title 4 of the United
18States Code, regarding the placement and manner of display of
19the American flag and a board may adopt reasonable rules and
20regulations regarding the placement and manner of display of a
21military flag. A board may not prohibit the installation of a
22flagpole for the display of the American flag or a military
23flag, or both, on or within the limited common areas and
24facilities of a unit owner or on the immediately adjacent

 

 

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1exterior of the building in which the unit of a unit owner is
2located, but a board may adopt reasonable rules and regulations
3regarding the location and size of flagpoles.
4    (b) As used in this Section:
5    "American flag" means the flag of the United States (as
6defined in Section 1 of Chapter 1 of Title 4 of the United
7States Code and the Executive Orders entered in connection with
8that Section) made of fabric, cloth, or paper displayed from a
9staff or flagpole or in a window, but "American flag" does not
10include a depiction or emblem of the American flag made of
11lights, paint, roofing, siding, paving materials, flora, or
12balloons, or any other similar building, landscaping, or
13decorative component.
14    "Board" includes a board of managers or a board of a master
15association or a common interest community association.
16    "Military flag" means a flag of any branch of the United
17States armed forces or the Illinois National Guard and the
18Honor and Remember Flag made of fabric, cloth, or paper
19displayed from a staff or flagpole or in a window, but
20"military flag" does not include a depiction or emblem of a
21military flag made of lights, paint, roofing, siding, paving
22materials, flora, or balloons, or any other similar building,
23landscaping, or decorative component.
24(Source: P.A. 93-481, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
25    Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding

 

 

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1Section 8.39 as follows:
 
2    (30 ILCS 805/8.39 new)
3    Sec. 8.39. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8
4of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for the
5implementation of any mandate created by this amendatory Act of
6the 99th General Assembly.