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| Public Act 099-0408 | ||||
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AN ACT concerning government.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | ||||
Coroner Training Board Act. | ||||
Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
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"Board" means the Coroner Training Board.
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"Coroner" means coroners and deputy coroners.
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"Coroner training school" means any school located within | ||||
or outside the State of Illinois whether privately or publicly | ||||
owned which offers a course in coroner training and has been | ||||
approved by the Board.
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"Forensic pathologist" means a board certified pathologist | ||||
by the American Board of Pathology. | ||||
"Local governmental agency" means any local governmental | ||||
unit or municipal corporation in this State. It does not | ||||
include the State of Illinois or any office, officer, | ||||
department, division, bureau, board, commission, or agency of | ||||
the State.
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Section 10. Board; composition; appointments; tenure; | ||||
vacancies. The Board shall be composed of 5 members who shall | ||||
be appointed by the Governor as follows: 2 coroners, one | ||||
forensic pathologist from the Cook County Medical Examiner's | ||
Office, one forensic pathologist from a county other than Cook | ||
County, and one citizen of Illinois who is not currently or was | ||
a coroner or forensic pathologist. The initial appointments by | ||
the Governor shall be made on the first Monday of August in | ||
2016 and the initial appointments' terms shall be as follows: | ||
one coroner and one forensic pathologist shall be for a period | ||
of one year, the second coroner and the second forensic | ||
pathologist for 3 years, and the citizen for a period of 3 | ||
years. Their successors shall be appointed in like manner for | ||
terms to expire the first Monday of August each 3 years | ||
thereafter. All members shall serve until their respective | ||
successors are appointed and qualify. Vacancies shall be filled | ||
by the Governor for the unexpired terms. | ||
Section 15. Initial board meeting; election of officers. | ||
The initial meeting of the Board shall be held no later than | ||
August 31, 2016. The Board shall elect from its number a | ||
Chairman and Vice-Chairman, adopt rules of procedure, and shall | ||
meet at least 4 times each year. | ||
The Board may employ an Executive Director and other | ||
necessary clerical and technical personnel. Special meetings | ||
of the Board may be called at any time by the Chairman or upon | ||
the request of any 2 members. The members of the Board shall | ||
serve without compensation but shall be entitled to | ||
reimbursement for their actual expenses in attending meetings | ||
and in the performance of their duties hereunder from funds | ||
appropriated for that purpose.
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Section 20. Powers of the Board. The Board has the | ||
following powers and duties:
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(a) To require units of local government to furnish such | ||
reports and information as the Board deems necessary to fully | ||
implement this Act.
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(b) To establish by rule appropriate mandatory minimum | ||
standards relating to the training of coroners, including, but | ||
not limited to, Part 1760 of Chapter V of Title 20 of the | ||
Illinois Administrative Code.
The Board shall consult with the | ||
Illinois Coroners and Medical Examiners Association when | ||
adopting mandatory minimum standards. | ||
(c) To provide appropriate certification to those coroners | ||
who successfully complete the prescribed minimum standard | ||
basic training course.
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(d) To review and approve annual training curriculum for | ||
coroners.
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(e) To review and approve applicants to ensure no applicant | ||
is admitted to a coroner training school unless the applicant | ||
is a person of good character and has not been convicted of a | ||
felony offense, any of the misdemeanors in Sections 11-1.50, | ||
11-6, 11-9.1, 11-14, 11-17, 11-19, 12-2, 12-15, 16-1, 17-1, | ||
17-2, 28-3, 29-1, 31-1, 31-6, 31-7, 32-4a, or 32-7 of the | ||
Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012, subdivision | ||
(a)(1) or (a)(2)(C) of Section 11-14.3 of the Criminal Code of | ||
1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012, or subsection (a) of Section | ||
17-32 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of | ||
2012, or Section 5 or 5.2 of the Cannabis Control Act, or a | ||
crime involving moral turpitude under the laws of this State or | ||
any other state which if committed in this State would be | ||
punishable as a felony or a crime of moral turpitude. The Board | ||
may appoint investigators who shall enforce the duties | ||
conferred upon the Board by this Act.
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Section 25. Selection and certification of schools. The | ||
Board shall select and certify coroner training schools within | ||
or outside the State of Illinois for the purpose of providing | ||
basic training for coroners and of providing advanced or | ||
in-service training for coroners, which schools may be either | ||
publicly or privately owned and operated. | ||
Section 30. Death investigation training; waiver for | ||
experience.
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(a) The Board shall conduct or approve a training program | ||
in death investigation for the training of coroners. Only | ||
coroners who successfully complete the training program may be | ||
assigned as lead investigators in a coroner's investigations. | ||
Satisfactory completion of the training program shall be | ||
evidenced by a certificate issued to the coroner by the Board. | ||
(b) The Board shall develop a process for waiver | ||
applications sent from a coroner's office for those coroners | ||
whose prior training and experience as a death or homicide | ||
investigator may qualify them for a waiver. The Board may issue | ||
a waiver at its discretion, based solely on the prior training | ||
and experience of a coroner as a death or homicide | ||
investigator. | ||
Section 35. Acceptance of contributions and gifts. The | ||
Board may accept contributions, capital grants, gifts, | ||
donations, services or other financial assistance from any | ||
individual, association, corporation, the United States of | ||
America and any of its agencies or instrumentalities, or any | ||
other organization having a legitimate interest in coroner | ||
training.
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Section 40. The Illinois Police Training Act is amended by | ||
changing Sections 1 and 10.11 as follows:
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(50 ILCS 705/1) (from Ch. 85, par. 501)
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Sec. 1.
It is hereby declared as a matter of legislative | ||
determination that
in order to promote and protect citizen | ||
health, safety and welfare, it is
necessary and in the public | ||
interest to provide for the creation of the
Illinois Law | ||
Enforcement Training Standards Board for the purpose of
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encouraging and aiding municipalities, counties, park | ||
districts, State
controlled universities, colleges, and public | ||
community colleges, and other
local governmental agencies of | ||
this State and participating State agencies in
their efforts to | ||
raise the level of law enforcement by upgrading and
maintaining | ||
a high level of training and standards for law enforcement
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executives and officers, county corrections officers, | ||
sheriffs, county
coroners, and law enforcement support | ||
personnel under this Act. It is
declared to be the | ||
responsibility of the board to ensure the required
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participation of the pertinent local governmental units in the | ||
programs
established under this Act, to encourage the voluntary | ||
participation of other
local governmental units and | ||
participating State agencies, to set standards,
develop and | ||
provide quality training and education, and to aid in the
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establishment of adequate training facilities.
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(Source: P.A. 88-586, eff. 8-12-94.)
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(50 ILCS 705/10.11) | ||
Sec. 10.11. Training; death and homicide investigation. | ||
The Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board shall | ||
conduct or approve a training program in death and homicide | ||
investigation for the training of law enforcement officers of | ||
local government agencies and coroners. Only law enforcement | ||
officers and coroners who successfully complete the training | ||
program may be assigned as lead investigators in death and | ||
homicide investigations and coroner's investigations, | ||
respectively. Satisfactory completion of the training program | ||
shall be evidenced by a certificate issued to the law | ||
enforcement officer or coroner by the Illinois Law Enforcement | ||
Training and Standards Board.
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The Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board | ||
shall develop a process for waiver applications sent by a local | ||
law enforcement agency administrator or from a coroner's office | ||
for those officers or coroners whose prior training and | ||
experience as homicide investigators may qualify them for a | ||
waiver. The Board may issue a waiver at its discretion, based | ||
solely on the prior training and experience of an officer or a | ||
coroner as a homicide investigator. This Section does not | ||
affect or impede the powers of the office of the coroner to | ||
investigate all deaths as provided in Division 3-3 of the | ||
Counties Code and the Coroner Training Board Act. | ||
(Source: P.A. 96-1111, eff. 1-1-12; 97-553, eff. 1-1-12; | ||
97-1009, eff. 1-1-13.) | ||
Section 45. The Counties Code is amended by changing | ||
Section 3-3001 as follows:
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(55 ILCS 5/3-3001) (from Ch. 34, par. 3-3001)
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Sec. 3-3001. Commission; training; duties performed by | ||
other county officer.
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(a) Every coroner shall be commissioned by the Governor, | ||
but no
commission shall issue except upon the certificate of | ||
the county clerk of
the proper county of the due election or | ||
appointment of the coroner and
that the coroner has filed his | ||
or her bond and taken the oath of office as
provided in this | ||
Division.
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(b) (1) Within 30 days of assuming office, a coroner | ||
elected to that office
for the first time shall apply for | ||
admission to the Coroner Training Board Illinois Law | ||
Enforcement
Training Standards Board coroners training | ||
program. Completion of the training
program shall be within | ||
6 months of application. Any coroner may direct the
chief | ||
deputy coroner or a deputy coroner, or both, to attend the | ||
training
program, provided the coroner has completed the | ||
training program. Satisfactory
completion of the program | ||
shall be evidenced by a certificate issued to the
coroner | ||
by the Coroner Training Board Illinois Law Enforcement | ||
Training Standards Board. All coroners
shall complete the | ||
training program at least once while serving as coroner.
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(2) In developing the coroner training program, the | ||
Coroner Training Board Illinois Law
Enforcement Training | ||
Standards Board shall consult with the
Illinois Coroners | ||
and Medical Examiners Association or other organization as | ||
approved by the Coroner Training Board and the Illinois | ||
Necropsy Board.
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(3) The Coroner Training Board Illinois Law | ||
Enforcement Training Standards Board shall notify the
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proper county board of the failure by a coroner to | ||
successfully complete this
training program.
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(c) Every coroner shall attend at least 24 hours of | ||
accredited
continuing education for coroners in each calendar | ||
year.
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(d) In all counties that provide by resolution for the | ||
elimination of
the office of coroner pursuant to a referendum, | ||
the resolution may also
provide, as part of the same | ||
proposition, that the duties of the coroner be
taken over by | ||
another county officer specified by the resolution and
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proposition.
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(Source: P.A. 87-255; 88-586, eff. 8-12-94.)
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Section 50. The Vital Records Act is amended by changing | ||
Section 25.5 as follows:
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(410 ILCS 535/25.5)
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Sec. 25.5. Death Certificate Surcharge Fund. The | ||
additional $2 fee for
certified copies of death certificates | ||
and fetal death certificates must be
deposited into the Death | ||
Certificate Surcharge Fund, a special fund created in
the State | ||
treasury. Beginning 30 days after the effective date of this
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amendatory Act of the 92nd General Assembly and until January | ||
1, 2003 and
then beginning again on July 1, 2003 and until July | ||
1, 2005, moneys
in the Fund, subject to appropriation, may be | ||
used by the
Department for the purpose of implementing an | ||
electronic reporting system for
death registrations as | ||
provided in Section 18.5 of this Act. Before the
effective date | ||
of this amendatory Act of the 92nd General Assembly,
on and
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after January 1, 2003 and until July 1, 2003, and on and after | ||
July
1, 2005,
moneys in the Fund, subject to appropriations, | ||
may be
used as follows: (i) 25% by the Coroner Training Board | ||
Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards
Board for the | ||
purpose of training coroners, deputy coroners, forensic
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pathologists, and police officers for death homicide | ||
investigations and lodging and travel expenses relating to | ||
training, (ii) 25% for
grants by the Department of Public | ||
Health
for distribution to
all local county coroners and | ||
medical examiners or officials charged with the
duties set | ||
forth under Division 3-3 of the Counties Code, who have a | ||
different
title, for equipment and lab facilities, (iii) 25% by | ||
the Department of Public
Health
for the purpose of
setting up a | ||
statewide database of death certificates and implementing an
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electronic reporting system for death registrations pursuant | ||
to Section 18.5,
and (iv) 25% for a grant by the Department of | ||
Public Health to
local registrars.
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(Source: P.A. 92-16, eff. 6-28-01; 92-141, eff. 7-24-01; 93-45, | ||
7-1-03.)
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