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Public Act 097-0586 | ||||
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AN ACT concerning local government.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | ||||
represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Illinois Public Labor Relations Act is | ||||
amended by changing Section 3 as follows: | ||||
(5 ILCS 315/3) (from Ch. 48, par. 1603)
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Sec. 3. Definitions. As used in this Act, unless the | ||||
context
otherwise requires:
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(a) "Board" means the Illinois
Labor Relations Board or, | ||||
with respect to a matter over which the
jurisdiction of the | ||||
Board is assigned to the State Panel or the Local Panel
under | ||||
Section 5, the panel having jurisdiction over the matter.
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(b) "Collective bargaining" means bargaining over terms | ||||
and conditions
of employment, including hours, wages, and other | ||||
conditions of employment,
as detailed in Section 7 and which | ||||
are not excluded by Section 4.
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(c) "Confidential employee" means an employee who, in the | ||||
regular course
of his or her duties, assists and acts in a | ||||
confidential capacity to persons
who formulate, determine, and | ||||
effectuate management policies with regard
to labor relations | ||||
or who, in the regular course of his or her duties, has
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authorized access to information relating to the effectuation
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or review of the employer's collective bargaining policies.
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(d) "Craft employees" means skilled journeymen, crafts | ||
persons, and their
apprentices and helpers.
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(e) "Essential services employees" means those public | ||
employees
performing functions so essential that the | ||
interruption or termination of
the function will constitute a | ||
clear and present danger to the health and
safety of the | ||
persons in the affected community.
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(f) "Exclusive representative", except with respect to | ||
non-State fire
fighters and paramedics employed by fire | ||
departments and fire protection
districts, non-State peace | ||
officers, and peace officers in the
Department of State Police, | ||
means the labor organization that has
been (i) designated by | ||
the Board as the representative of a majority of public
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employees in an appropriate bargaining unit in accordance with | ||
the procedures
contained in this Act, (ii) historically
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recognized by the State of Illinois or
any political | ||
subdivision of the State before July 1, 1984
(the effective | ||
date of this
Act) as the exclusive representative of the | ||
employees in an appropriate
bargaining unit, (iii) after July | ||
1, 1984 (the
effective date of this Act) recognized by an
| ||
employer upon evidence, acceptable to the Board, that the labor
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organization has been designated as the exclusive | ||
representative by a
majority of the employees in an appropriate | ||
bargaining unit;
(iv) recognized as the exclusive | ||
representative of personal care attendants
or personal
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assistants under Executive Order 2003-8 prior to the effective |
date of this
amendatory
Act of the 93rd General Assembly, and | ||
the organization shall be considered to
be the
exclusive | ||
representative of the personal care attendants or personal | ||
assistants
as defined
in this Section; or (v) recognized as the | ||
exclusive representative of child and day care home providers, | ||
including licensed and license exempt providers, pursuant to an | ||
election held under Executive Order 2005-1 prior to the | ||
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General | ||
Assembly, and the organization shall be considered to be the | ||
exclusive representative of the child and day care home | ||
providers as defined in this Section.
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With respect to non-State fire fighters and paramedics | ||
employed by fire
departments and fire protection districts, | ||
non-State peace officers, and
peace officers in the Department | ||
of State Police,
"exclusive representative" means the labor | ||
organization that has
been (i) designated by the Board as the | ||
representative of a majority of peace
officers or fire fighters | ||
in an appropriate bargaining unit in accordance
with the | ||
procedures contained in this Act, (ii)
historically recognized
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by the State of Illinois or any political subdivision of the | ||
State before
January 1, 1986 (the effective date of this | ||
amendatory Act of 1985) as the exclusive
representative by a | ||
majority of the peace officers or fire fighters in an
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appropriate bargaining unit, or (iii) after January 1,
1986 | ||
(the effective date of this amendatory
Act of 1985) recognized | ||
by an employer upon evidence, acceptable to the
Board, that the |
labor organization has been designated as the exclusive
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representative by a majority of the peace officers or fire | ||
fighters in an
appropriate bargaining unit.
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Where a historical pattern of representation exists for the | ||
workers of a water system that was owned by a public utility, | ||
as defined in Section 3-105 of the Public Utilities Act, prior | ||
to becoming certified employees of a municipality or | ||
municipalities once the municipality or municipalities have | ||
acquired the water system as authorized in Section 11-124-5 of | ||
the Illinois Municipal Code, the Board shall find the labor | ||
organization that has historically represented the workers to | ||
be the exclusive representative under this Act, and shall find | ||
the unit represented by the exclusive representative to be the | ||
appropriate unit. | ||
(g) "Fair share agreement" means an agreement between the | ||
employer and
an employee organization under which all or any of | ||
the employees in a
collective bargaining unit are required to | ||
pay their proportionate share of
the costs of the collective | ||
bargaining process, contract administration, and
pursuing | ||
matters affecting wages, hours, and other conditions of | ||
employment,
but not to exceed the amount of dues uniformly | ||
required of members. The
amount certified by the exclusive | ||
representative shall not include any fees
for contributions | ||
related to the election or support of any candidate for
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political office. Nothing in this subsection (g) shall
preclude | ||
an employee from making
voluntary political contributions in |
conjunction with his or her fair share
payment.
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(g-1) "Fire fighter" means, for the purposes of this Act | ||
only, any
person who has been or is hereafter appointed to a | ||
fire department or fire
protection district or employed by a | ||
state university and sworn or
commissioned to perform fire | ||
fighter duties or paramedic duties, except that the
following | ||
persons are not included: part-time fire fighters,
auxiliary, | ||
reserve or voluntary fire fighters, including paid on-call fire
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fighters, clerks and dispatchers or other civilian employees of | ||
a fire
department or fire protection district who are not | ||
routinely expected to
perform fire fighter duties, or elected | ||
officials.
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(g-2) "General Assembly of the State of Illinois" means the
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legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois, | ||
as provided
for under Article IV of the Constitution of the | ||
State of Illinois, and
includes but is not limited to the House | ||
of Representatives, the Senate,
the Speaker of the House of | ||
Representatives, the Minority Leader of the
House of | ||
Representatives, the President of the Senate, the Minority | ||
Leader
of the Senate, the Joint Committee on Legislative | ||
Support Services and any
legislative support services agency | ||
listed in the Legislative Commission
Reorganization Act of | ||
1984.
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(h) "Governing body" means, in the case of the State, the | ||
State Panel of
the Illinois Labor Relations Board, the Director | ||
of the Department of Central
Management Services, and the |
Director of the Department of Labor; the county
board in the | ||
case of a county; the corporate authorities in the case of a
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municipality; and the appropriate body authorized to provide | ||
for expenditures
of its funds in the case of any other unit of | ||
government.
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(i) "Labor organization" means any organization in which | ||
public employees
participate and that exists for the purpose, | ||
in whole or in part, of dealing
with a public employer | ||
concerning wages, hours, and other terms and conditions
of | ||
employment, including the settlement of grievances.
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(j) "Managerial employee" means an individual who is | ||
engaged
predominantly in executive and management functions | ||
and is charged with the
responsibility of directing the | ||
effectuation of management policies
and practices.
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(k) "Peace officer" means, for the purposes of this Act | ||
only, any
persons who have been or are hereafter appointed to a | ||
police force,
department, or agency and sworn or commissioned | ||
to perform police duties,
except that the following persons are | ||
not
included: part-time police
officers, special police | ||
officers, auxiliary police as defined by Section
3.1-30-20 of | ||
the Illinois Municipal Code, night watchmen, "merchant | ||
police",
court security officers as defined by Section 3-6012.1 | ||
of the Counties
Code,
temporary employees, traffic guards or | ||
wardens, civilian parking meter and
parking facilities | ||
personnel or other individuals specially appointed to
aid or | ||
direct traffic at or near schools or public functions or to aid |
in
civil defense or disaster, parking enforcement employees who | ||
are not
commissioned as peace officers and who are not armed | ||
and who are not
routinely expected to effect arrests, parking | ||
lot attendants, clerks and
dispatchers or other civilian | ||
employees of a police department who are not
routinely expected | ||
to effect arrests, or elected officials.
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(l) "Person" includes one or more individuals, labor | ||
organizations, public
employees, associations, corporations, | ||
legal representatives, trustees,
trustees in bankruptcy, | ||
receivers, or the State of Illinois or any political
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subdivision of the State or governing body, but does not | ||
include the General
Assembly of the State of Illinois or any | ||
individual employed by the General
Assembly of the State of | ||
Illinois.
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(m) "Professional employee" means any employee engaged in | ||
work predominantly
intellectual and varied in character rather | ||
than routine mental, manual,
mechanical or physical work; | ||
involving the consistent exercise of discretion
and adjustment | ||
in its performance; of such a character that the output | ||
produced
or the result accomplished cannot be standardized in | ||
relation to a given
period of time; and requiring advanced | ||
knowledge in a field of science or
learning customarily | ||
acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual
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instruction and study in an institution of higher learning or a | ||
hospital,
as distinguished from a general academic education or | ||
from apprenticeship
or from training in the performance of |
routine mental, manual, or physical
processes; or any employee | ||
who has completed the courses of specialized
intellectual | ||
instruction and study prescribed in this subsection (m) and is
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performing related
work under the supervision of a professional | ||
person to qualify to become
a professional employee as defined | ||
in this subsection (m).
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(n) "Public employee" or "employee", for the purposes of | ||
this Act, means
any individual employed by a public employer, | ||
including (i) interns and residents
at public hospitals, (ii) | ||
as of the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd | ||
General
Assembly, but not
before, personal care attendants and | ||
personal assistants working under the Home
Services
Program | ||
under Section 3 of the Disabled Persons Rehabilitation Act, | ||
subject to
the
limitations set forth in this Act and in the | ||
Disabled Persons Rehabilitation
Act,
and (iii) as of the | ||
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General | ||
Assembly, but not before, child and day care home providers | ||
participating in the child care assistance program under | ||
Section 9A-11 of the Illinois Public Aid Code, subject to the | ||
limitations set forth in this Act and in Section 9A-11 of the | ||
Illinois Public Aid Code, but excluding all of the following: | ||
employees of the
General Assembly of the State of Illinois; | ||
elected officials; executive
heads of a department; members of | ||
boards or commissions; the Executive
Inspectors General; any | ||
special Executive Inspectors General; employees of each
Office | ||
of an Executive Inspector General;
commissioners and employees |
of the Executive Ethics Commission; the Auditor
General's | ||
Inspector General; employees of the Office of the Auditor | ||
General's
Inspector General; the Legislative Inspector | ||
General; any special Legislative
Inspectors General; employees | ||
of the Office
of the Legislative Inspector General;
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commissioners and employees of the Legislative Ethics | ||
Commission;
employees
of any
agency, board or commission | ||
created by this Act; employees appointed to
State positions of | ||
a temporary or emergency nature; all employees of school
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districts and higher education institutions except | ||
firefighters and peace
officers employed
by a state university | ||
and except peace officers employed by a school district in its | ||
own police department in existence on the effective date of | ||
this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly; managerial | ||
employees; short-term employees;
confidential employees; | ||
independent contractors; and supervisors except as
provided in | ||
this Act.
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Personal care attendants and personal assistants shall not | ||
be considered
public
employees for any purposes not | ||
specifically provided for in the amendatory Act
of the
93rd | ||
General Assembly, including but not limited to, purposes of | ||
vicarious
liability in tort
and purposes of statutory | ||
retirement or health insurance benefits. Personal
care
| ||
attendants and personal assistants shall not be covered by the | ||
State Employees
Group
Insurance Act of 1971 (5 ILCS 375/).
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Child and day care home providers shall not be considered |
public employees for any purposes not specifically provided for | ||
in this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly, including | ||
but not limited to, purposes of vicarious liability in tort and | ||
purposes of statutory retirement or health insurance benefits. | ||
Child and day care home providers shall not be covered by the | ||
State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971. | ||
Notwithstanding Section 9, subsection (c), or any other | ||
provisions of
this Act, all peace officers above the rank of | ||
captain in
municipalities with more than 1,000,000 inhabitants | ||
shall be excluded
from this Act.
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(o) Except as otherwise in subsection (o-5), "public | ||
employer" or "employer" means the State of Illinois; any
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political subdivision of the State, unit of local government or | ||
school
district; authorities including departments, divisions, | ||
bureaus, boards,
commissions, or other agencies of the | ||
foregoing entities; and any person
acting within the scope of | ||
his or her authority, express or implied, on
behalf of those | ||
entities in dealing with its employees.
As of the effective | ||
date of the amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly,
but | ||
not
before, the State of Illinois shall be considered the | ||
employer of the personal
care
attendants and personal | ||
assistants working under the Home Services Program
under
| ||
Section 3 of the Disabled Persons Rehabilitation Act, subject | ||
to the
limitations set forth
in this Act and in the Disabled | ||
Persons Rehabilitation Act. The State shall not
be
considered | ||
to be the employer of personal care attendants and personal
|
assistants for any
purposes not specifically provided for in | ||
this amendatory Act of the 93rd
General
Assembly, including but | ||
not limited to, purposes of vicarious liability in tort
and
| ||
purposes of statutory retirement or health insurance benefits. | ||
Personal care
attendants
and personal assistants shall not be | ||
covered by the State Employees Group
Insurance Act of 1971
(5 | ||
ILCS 375/).
As of the effective date of this amendatory Act of | ||
the 94th General Assembly but not before, the State of Illinois | ||
shall be considered the employer of the day and child care home | ||
providers participating in the child care assistance program | ||
under Section 9A-11 of the Illinois Public Aid Code, subject to | ||
the limitations set forth in this Act and in Section 9A-11 of | ||
the Illinois Public Aid Code. The State shall not be considered | ||
to be the employer of child and day care home providers for any | ||
purposes not specifically provided for in this amendatory Act | ||
of the 94th General Assembly, including but not limited to, | ||
purposes of vicarious liability in tort and purposes of | ||
statutory retirement or health insurance benefits. Child and | ||
day care home providers shall not be covered by the State | ||
Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971. | ||
"Public employer" or
"employer" as used in this Act, | ||
however, does not
mean and shall not include the General | ||
Assembly of the State of Illinois,
the Executive Ethics | ||
Commission, the Offices of the Executive Inspectors
General, | ||
the Legislative Ethics Commission, the Office of the | ||
Legislative
Inspector General, the Office of the Auditor |
General's Inspector General,
and educational employers or | ||
employers as defined in the Illinois
Educational Labor | ||
Relations Act, except with respect to a state university in
its | ||
employment of firefighters and peace officers and except with | ||
respect to a school district in the employment of peace | ||
officers in its own police department in existence on the | ||
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General | ||
Assembly. County boards and county
sheriffs shall be
designated | ||
as joint or co-employers of county peace officers appointed
| ||
under the authority of a county sheriff. Nothing in this | ||
subsection
(o) shall be construed
to prevent the State Panel or | ||
the Local Panel
from determining that employers are joint or | ||
co-employers.
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(o-5) With respect to
wages, fringe
benefits, hours, | ||
holidays, vacations, proficiency
examinations, sick leave, and | ||
other conditions of
employment, the public employer of public | ||
employees who are court reporters, as
defined in the Court | ||
Reporters Act, shall be determined as
follows:
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(1) For court reporters employed by the Cook County | ||
Judicial
Circuit, the chief judge of the Cook County | ||
Circuit
Court is the public employer and employer | ||
representative.
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(2) For court reporters employed by the 12th, 18th, | ||
19th, and, on and after December 4, 2006, the 22nd judicial
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circuits, a group consisting of the chief judges of those | ||
circuits, acting
jointly by majority vote, is the public |
employer and employer representative.
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(3) For court reporters employed by all other judicial | ||
circuits,
a group consisting of the chief judges of those | ||
circuits, acting jointly by
majority vote, is the public | ||
employer and employer representative.
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(p) "Security employee" means an employee who is | ||
responsible for the
supervision and control of inmates at | ||
correctional facilities. The term
also includes other | ||
non-security employees in bargaining units having the
majority | ||
of employees being responsible for the supervision and control | ||
of
inmates at correctional facilities.
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(q) "Short-term employee" means an employee who is employed | ||
for less
than 2 consecutive calendar quarters during a calendar | ||
year and who does
not have a reasonable assurance that he or | ||
she will be rehired by the
same employer for the same service | ||
in a subsequent calendar year.
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(r) "Supervisor" is an employee whose principal work is | ||
substantially
different from that of his or her subordinates | ||
and who has authority, in the
interest of the employer, to | ||
hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall,
promote, discharge, | ||
direct, reward, or discipline employees, to adjust
their | ||
grievances, or to effectively recommend any of those actions, | ||
if the
exercise
of that authority is not of a merely routine or | ||
clerical nature, but
requires the consistent use of independent | ||
judgment. Except with respect to
police employment, the term | ||
"supervisor" includes only those individuals
who devote a |
preponderance of their employment time to exercising that
| ||
authority, State supervisors notwithstanding. In addition, in | ||
determining
supervisory status in police employment, rank | ||
shall not be determinative.
The Board shall consider, as | ||
evidence of bargaining unit inclusion or
exclusion, the common | ||
law enforcement policies and relationships between
police | ||
officer ranks and certification under applicable civil service | ||
law,
ordinances, personnel codes, or Division 2.1 of Article 10 | ||
of the Illinois
Municipal Code, but these factors shall not
be | ||
the sole or predominant factors considered by the Board in | ||
determining
police supervisory status.
| ||
Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraph, | ||
in determining
supervisory status in fire fighter employment, | ||
no fire fighter shall be
excluded as a supervisor who has | ||
established representation rights under
Section 9 of this Act. | ||
Further, in new fire fighter units, employees shall
consist of | ||
fire fighters of the rank of company officer and below. If a | ||
company officer otherwise qualifies as a supervisor under the | ||
preceding paragraph, however, he or she shall
not be included | ||
in the fire fighter
unit. If there is no rank between that of | ||
chief and the
highest company officer, the employer may | ||
designate a position on each
shift as a Shift Commander, and | ||
the persons occupying those positions shall
be supervisors. All | ||
other ranks above that of company officer shall be
supervisors.
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(s) (1) "Unit" means a class of jobs or positions that are | ||
held by
employees whose collective interests may suitably |
be represented by a labor
organization for collective | ||
bargaining. Except with respect to non-State fire
fighters | ||
and paramedics employed by fire departments and fire | ||
protection
districts, non-State peace officers, and peace | ||
officers in the Department of
State Police, a bargaining | ||
unit determined by the Board shall not include both
| ||
employees and supervisors, or supervisors only, except as | ||
provided in paragraph
(2) of this subsection (s) and except | ||
for bargaining units in existence on July
1, 1984 (the | ||
effective date of this Act). With respect to non-State fire
| ||
fighters and paramedics employed by fire departments and | ||
fire protection
districts, non-State peace officers, and | ||
peace officers in the Department of
State Police, a | ||
bargaining unit determined by the Board shall not include | ||
both
supervisors and nonsupervisors, or supervisors only, | ||
except as provided in
paragraph (2) of this subsection (s) | ||
and except for bargaining units in
existence on January 1, | ||
1986 (the effective date of this amendatory Act of
1985). A | ||
bargaining unit determined by the Board to contain peace | ||
officers
shall contain no employees other than peace | ||
officers unless otherwise agreed to
by the employer and the | ||
labor organization or labor organizations involved.
| ||
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, a | ||
bargaining unit, including a
historical bargaining unit, | ||
containing sworn peace officers of the Department
of | ||
Natural Resources (formerly designated the Department of |
Conservation) shall
contain no employees other than such | ||
sworn peace officers upon the effective
date of this | ||
amendatory Act of 1990 or upon the expiration date of any
| ||
collective bargaining agreement in effect upon the | ||
effective date of this
amendatory Act of 1990 covering both | ||
such sworn peace officers and other
employees.
| ||
(2) Notwithstanding the exclusion of supervisors from | ||
bargaining units
as provided in paragraph (1) of this | ||
subsection (s), a public
employer may agree to permit its | ||
supervisory employees to form bargaining units
and may | ||
bargain with those units. This Act shall apply if the | ||
public employer
chooses to bargain under this subsection.
| ||
(3) Public employees who are court reporters, as | ||
defined
in the Court Reporters Act,
shall be divided into 3 | ||
units for collective bargaining purposes. One unit
shall be | ||
court reporters employed by the Cook County Judicial | ||
Circuit; one
unit shall be court reporters employed by the | ||
12th, 18th, 19th, and, on and after December 4, 2006, the | ||
22nd judicial
circuits; and one unit shall be court | ||
reporters employed by all other
judicial circuits.
| ||
(Source: P.A. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07; 96-1257, eff. 7-23-10.)
| ||
Section 10. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by | ||
changing Section 11-124-5 as follows: | ||
(65 ILCS 5/11-124-5)
|
Sec. 11-124-5. Acquisition of water systems by eminent | ||
domain. | ||
(a) In addition to other provisions providing for the | ||
acquisition of water systems or water works, whenever a public | ||
utility subject to the Public Utilities Act utilizes public | ||
property (including, but not limited to, right-of-way) of a | ||
municipality for the installation or maintenance of all or part | ||
of its water distribution system, the municipality has the | ||
right to exercise eminent domain to acquire all or part of the | ||
water system, in accordance with this Section. Unless it | ||
complies with the provisions set forth in this Section, a | ||
municipality is not permitted to acquire by eminent domain that | ||
portion of a system located in another incorporated | ||
municipality without agreement of that municipality, but this | ||
provision shall not prevent the acquisition of that portion of | ||
the water system existing within the acquiring municipality. | ||
(b) Where a water system that is owned by a public utility | ||
(as defined in the Public 16
Utilities Act) provides water to | ||
customers located in 2 or more municipalities, the system may | ||
be acquired by a majority either or all of the municipalities | ||
by eminent domain if there is in existence an intergovernmental | ||
agreement between the municipalities served providing for | ||
acquisition . If the system is to be acquired by more than one | ||
municipality, then there must be an intergovernmental | ||
agreement in existence between the acquiring municipalities | ||
providing for the acquisition. |
(c) If a water system that is owned by a public utility | ||
provides water to customers located in one or more | ||
municipalities and also to customers in an unincorporated area | ||
and if at least 70% of the customers of the system or portion | ||
thereof are located within the municipality or municipalities, | ||
then the system, or portion thereof as determined by the | ||
corporate authorities, may be acquired, using eminent domain or | ||
otherwise, by either a municipality under subsection (a) or an | ||
entity created by agreement between municipalities where at | ||
least 70% of the customers reside. For the purposes of | ||
determining "customers of the system", only retail customers | ||
directly billed by the company shall be included in the | ||
computation. The number of customers of the system most | ||
recently reported to the Illinois Commerce Commission for any | ||
calendar year preceding the year a resolution is passed by a | ||
municipality or municipalities expressing preliminary intent | ||
to purchase the water system or portion thereof shall be | ||
presumed to be the total number of customers within the system. | ||
The public utility shall provide information relative to the | ||
number of customers within each municipality and within the | ||
system within 60 days after any such request by a municipality. | ||
(d) In the case of acquisition by a municipality or | ||
municipalities or a public entity created by law to own or | ||
operate a water system under this Section, service and water | ||
supply must be provided to persons who are customers of the | ||
system on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th |
General Assembly without discrimination based on whether the | ||
customer is located within or outside of the boundaries of the | ||
acquiring municipality or municipalities or entity, and a | ||
supply contract existing on the effective date of this | ||
amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly must be honored by | ||
an acquiring municipality, municipalities, or entity according | ||
to the terms so long as the agreement does not conflict with | ||
any other existing agreement. | ||
(e) For the purposes of this Section, "system" includes all | ||
assets reasonably necessary to provide water service to a | ||
contiguous or compact geographical service area or to an area | ||
served by a common pipeline and include, but are not limited | ||
to, interests in real estate, all wells, pipes, treatment | ||
plants, pumps and other physical apparatus, data and records of | ||
facilities and customers, fire hydrants, equipment, or | ||
vehicles and also includes service agreements and obligations | ||
derived from use of the assets, whether or not the assets are | ||
contiguous to the municipality, municipalities, or entity | ||
created for the purpose of owning or operating a water system. | ||
(f) Before making a good faith offer, a municipality may | ||
pass a resolution of intent to study the feasibility of | ||
purchasing or exercising its power of eminent domain to acquire | ||
any water system or water works, sewer system or sewer works, | ||
or combined water and sewer system or works, or part thereof. | ||
Upon the passage of such a resolution, the municipality shall | ||
have the right to review and inspect all financial and other |
records, and both corporeal and incorporeal assets of such | ||
utility related to the condition and the operation of the | ||
system or works, or part thereof, as part of the study and | ||
determination of feasibility of the proposed acquisition by | ||
purchase or exercise of the power of eminent domain, and the | ||
utility shall make knowledgeable persons who have access to all | ||
relevant facts and information regarding the subject system or | ||
works available to answer inquiries related to the study and | ||
determination. | ||
The right to review and inspect shall be upon reasonable | ||
notice to the utility, with reasonable inspection and review | ||
time limitations and reasonable response times for production, | ||
copying, and answer. In addition, the utility may utilize a | ||
reasonable security protocol for personnel on the | ||
municipality's physical inspection team. | ||
In the absence of other agreement, the utility must respond | ||
to any notice by the municipality concerning its review and | ||
inspection within 21 days after receiving the notice. The | ||
review and inspection of the assets of the company shall be | ||
over such period of time and carried out in such manner as is | ||
reasonable under the circumstances. | ||
Information requested that is not privileged or protected | ||
from discovery under the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure but | ||
is reasonably claimed to be proprietary, including, without | ||
limitation, information that constitutes trade secrets or | ||
information that involves system security concerns, shall be |
provided, but shall not be considered a public record and shall | ||
be kept confidential by the municipality. | ||
In addition, the municipality must, upon request, | ||
reimburse the utility for the actual, reasonable costs and | ||
expenses, excluding attorneys' fees, incurred by the utility as | ||
a result of the municipality's inspection and requests for | ||
information. Upon written request, the utility shall issue a | ||
statement itemizing, with reasonable detail, the costs and | ||
expenses for which reimbursement is sought by the utility. | ||
Where such written request for a statement has been made, no | ||
payment shall be required until 30 days after receipt of the | ||
statement. Such reimbursement by the municipality shall be | ||
considered income for purposes of any rate proceeding or other | ||
financial request before the Illinois Commerce Commission by | ||
the utility. | ||
The municipality and the utility shall cooperate to resolve | ||
any dispute arising under this subsection. In the event the | ||
dispute under this subsection cannot be resolved, either party | ||
may request relief from the circuit court in any county in | ||
which the water system is located, with the prevailing party to | ||
be awarded such relief as the court deems appropriate under the | ||
discovery abuse sanctions currently set forth in the Illinois | ||
Code of Civil Procedure. | ||
The municipality's right to inspect physical assets and | ||
records in connection with the purpose of this Section shall | ||
not be exercised with respect to any system more than one time |
during a 5-year period, unless a substantial change in the size | ||
of the system or condition of the operating assets of the | ||
system has occurred since the previous inspection. Rights under | ||
franchise agreements and other agreements or statutory or | ||
regulatory provisions are not limited by this Section and are | ||
preserved. | ||
The passage of time between an inspection of the utilities | ||
and physical assets and the making of a good faith offer or | ||
initiation of an eminent domain action because of the limit | ||
placed on inspections by this subsection shall not be used as a | ||
basis for challenging the good faith of any offer or be used as | ||
the basis for attacking any appraisal, expert, argument, or | ||
position before a court related to an acquisition by purchase | ||
or eminent domain.
| ||
(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the | ||
Illinois Commerce Commission has no approval authority of any | ||
eminent domain action brought by any governmental entity or | ||
combination of such entities to acquire water systems or water | ||
works. | ||
(h) The provisions of this Section are severable under | ||
Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes. | ||
(i) This Section does not apply to any public utility
| ||
company that, on January 1, 2006, supplied a total of 70,000 or
| ||
fewer meter connections in the State unless and until (i) that
| ||
public utility company receives approval from the Illinois
| ||
Commerce Commission under Section 7-204 of the Public Utilities
|
Act for the reorganization of the public utility company or
| ||
(ii) the majority control of the company changes through a
| ||
stock sale, a sale of assets, a merger (other than an internal
| ||
reorganization) or otherwise. For the purpose of this Section,
| ||
"public utility company" means the public utility providing
| ||
water service and includes any of its corporate parents,
| ||
subsidiaries, or affiliates possessing a franchised water
| ||
service in the State.
| ||
(j) Any contractor or subcontractor that performs work on a | ||
water system acquired by a municipality or municipalities under | ||
this Section shall comply with the requirements of Section | ||
30-22 of the Illinois Procurement Code. The contractor or | ||
subcontractor shall submit evidence of compliance with Section | ||
30-22 to the municipality or municipalities. | ||
(k) The municipality or municipalities acquiring the water | ||
system shall offer available employee positions to the | ||
qualified employees of the acquired water system. | ||
(Source: P.A. 94-1007, eff. 1-1-07.)
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||
becoming law.
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