100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018
HB3271

 

Introduced , by Rep. Sheri Jesiel

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
65 ILCS 5/10-1-7  from Ch. 24, par. 10-1-7
65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-6  from Ch. 24, par. 10-2.1-6

    Amends the Illinois Municipal Code. Provides that a civil service commission or a council or board of trustees of a board of fire and police commissioners may provide for additional examinations to occur within a reasonable period after the commission receives an application from a person who, within the 6 months preceding an application, was discharged from the active or reserve components of any of the branches of the Armed Forces of the United States or the National Guard, of any state, and whose service was characterized as honorable or under honorable conditions. Effective immediately.


LRB100 10220 AWJ 20402 b

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB3271LRB100 10220 AWJ 20402 b

1    AN ACT concerning local government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by
5changing Sections 10-1-7 and 10-2.1-6 as follows:
 
6    (65 ILCS 5/10-1-7)  (from Ch. 24, par. 10-1-7)
7    Sec. 10-1-7. Examination of applicants; disqualifications.
8    (a) All applicants for offices or places in the classified
9service, except those mentioned in Section 10-1-17, are subject
10to examination. The examination shall be public, competitive,
11and open to all citizens of the United States, with specified
12limitations as to residence, age, health, habits and moral
13character.
14    (a-5) The commission may make rules to allow for additional
15examinations to occur within a reasonable period after the
16commission receives an application from a person who, within
17the 6 months preceding an application, was discharged from the
18active or reserve components of any of the branches of the
19Armed Forces of the United States or the National Guard, of any
20state, and whose service was characterized as honorable or
21under honorable conditions.
22    (b) Residency requirements in effect at the time an
23individual enters the fire or police service of a municipality

 

 

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1(other than a municipality that has more than 1,000,000
2inhabitants) cannot be made more restrictive for that
3individual during his or her period of service for that
4municipality, or be made a condition of promotion, except for
5the rank or position of Fire or Police Chief.
6    (c) No person with a record of misdemeanor convictions
7except those under Sections 11-1.50, 11-6, 11-7, 11-9, 11-14,
811-15, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 11-30, 11-35, 12-2, 12-6, 12-15,
914-4, 16-1, 21.1-3, 24-3.1, 24-5, 25-1, 28-3, 31-1, 31-4, 31-6,
1031-7, 32-1, 32-2, 32-3, 32-4, and 32-8, subdivisions (a)(1) and
11(a)(2)(C) of Section 11-14.3, and subsections (1), (6) and (8)
12of Section 24-1 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal
13Code of 2012 or arrested for any cause but not convicted on
14that cause shall be disqualified from taking the examination on
15grounds of habits or moral character, unless the person is
16attempting to qualify for a position on the police department,
17in which case the conviction or arrest may be considered as a
18factor in determining the person's habits or moral character.
19    (d) Persons entitled to military preference under Section
2010-1-16 shall not be subject to limitations specifying age
21unless they are applicants for a position as a fireman or a
22policeman having no previous employment status as a fireman or
23policeman in the regularly constituted fire or police
24department of the municipality, in which case they must not
25have attained their 35th birthday, except any person who has
26served as an auxiliary police officer under Section 3.1-30-20

 

 

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1for at least 5 years and is under 40 years of age.
2    (e) All employees of a municipality of less than 500,000
3population (except those who would be excluded from the
4classified service as provided in this Division 1) who are
5holding that employment as of the date a municipality adopts
6this Division 1, or as of July 17, 1959, whichever date is the
7later, and who have held that employment for at least 2 years
8immediately before that later date, and all firemen and
9policemen regardless of length of service who were either
10appointed to their respective positions by the board of fire
11and police commissioners under the provisions of Division 2 of
12this Article or who are serving in a position (except as a
13temporary employee) in the fire or police department in the
14municipality on the date a municipality adopts this Division 1,
15or as of July 17, 1959, whichever date is the later, shall
16become members of the classified civil service of the
17municipality without examination.
18    (f) The examinations shall be practical in their character,
19and shall relate to those matters that will fairly test the
20relative capacity of the persons examined to discharge the
21duties of the positions to which they seek to be appointed. The
22examinations shall include tests of physical qualifications,
23health, and (when appropriate) manual skill. If an applicant is
24unable to pass the physical examination solely as the result of
25an injury received by the applicant as the result of the
26performance of an act of duty while working as a temporary

 

 

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1employee in the position for which he or she is being examined,
2however, the physical examination shall be waived and the
3applicant shall be considered to have passed the examination.
4No questions in any examination shall relate to political or
5religious opinions or affiliations. Results of examinations
6and the eligible registers prepared from the results shall be
7published by the commission within 60 days after any
8examinations are held.
9    (g) The commission shall control all examinations, and may,
10whenever an examination is to take place, designate a suitable
11number of persons, either in or not in the official service of
12the municipality, to be examiners. The examiners shall conduct
13the examinations as directed by the commission and shall make a
14return or report of the examinations to the commission. If the
15appointed examiners are in the official service of the
16municipality, the examiners shall not receive extra
17compensation for conducting the examinations unless the
18examiners are subject to a collective bargaining agreement with
19the municipality. The commission may at any time substitute any
20other person, whether or not in the service of the
21municipality, in the place of any one selected as an examiner.
22The commission members may themselves at any time act as
23examiners without appointing examiners. The examiners at any
24examination shall not all be members of the same political
25party.
26    (h) In municipalities of 500,000 or more population, no

 

 

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1person who has attained his or her 35th birthday shall be
2eligible to take an examination for a position as a fireman or
3a policeman unless the person has had previous employment
4status as a policeman or fireman in the regularly constituted
5police or fire department of the municipality, except as
6provided in this Section.
7    (i) In municipalities of more than 5,000 but not more than
8200,000 inhabitants, no person who has attained his or her 35th
9birthday shall be eligible to take an examination for a
10position as a fireman or a policeman unless the person has had
11previous employment status as a policeman or fireman in the
12regularly constituted police or fire department of the
13municipality, except as provided in this Section.
14    (j) In all municipalities, applicants who are 20 years of
15age and who have successfully completed 2 years of law
16enforcement studies at an accredited college or university may
17be considered for appointment to active duty with the police
18department. An applicant described in this subsection (j) who
19is appointed to active duty shall not have power of arrest, nor
20shall the applicant be permitted to carry firearms, until he or
21she reaches 21 years of age.
22    (k) In municipalities of more than 500,000 population,
23applications for examination for and appointment to positions
24as firefighters or police shall be made available at various
25branches of the public library of the municipality.
26    (l) No municipality having a population less than 1,000,000

 

 

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1shall require that any fireman appointed to the lowest rank
2serve a probationary employment period of longer than one year.
3The limitation on periods of probationary employment provided
4in this amendatory Act of 1989 is an exclusive power and
5function of the State. Pursuant to subsection (h) of Section 6
6of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution, a home rule
7municipality having a population less than 1,000,000 must
8comply with this limitation on periods of probationary
9employment, which is a denial and limitation of home rule
10powers. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this
11Section, the probationary employment period limitation may be
12extended for a firefighter who is required, as a condition of
13employment, to be a licensed paramedic, during which time the
14sole reason that a firefighter may be discharged without a
15hearing is for failing to meet the requirements for paramedic
16licensure.
17    (m) To the extent that this Section or any other Section in
18this Division conflicts with Section 10-1-7.1 or 10-1-7.2, then
19Section 10-1-7.1 or 10-1-7.2 shall control.
20(Source: P.A. 97-251, eff. 8-4-11; 97-898, eff. 8-6-12;
2197-1109, eff. 1-1-13; 97-1150, eff. 1-25-13; 98-973, eff.
228-15-14.)
 
23    (65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-6)  (from Ch. 24, par. 10-2.1-6)
24    Sec. 10-2.1-6. Examination of applicants;
25disqualifications.

 

 

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1    (a) All applicants for a position in either the fire or
2police department of the municipality shall be under 35 years
3of age, shall be subject to an examination that shall be
4public, competitive, and open to all applicants (unless the
5council or board of trustees by ordinance limit applicants to
6electors of the municipality, county, state or nation) and
7shall be subject to reasonable limitations as to residence,
8health, habits, and moral character. The municipality may not
9charge or collect any fee from an applicant who has met all
10prequalification standards established by the municipality for
11any such position. With respect to a police department, a
12veteran shall be allowed to exceed the maximum age provision of
13this Section by the number of years served on active military
14duty, but by no more than 10 years of active military duty.
15    (a-5) The council or board of trustees may, by ordinance,
16allow for additional examinations to occur within a reasonable
17period after the commission receives an application from a
18person who, within the 6 months preceding an application, was
19discharged from the active or reserve components of any of the
20branches of the Armed Forces of the United States or the
21National Guard, of any state, and whose service was
22characterized as honorable or under honorable conditions.
23    (b) Residency requirements in effect at the time an
24individual enters the fire or police service of a municipality
25(other than a municipality that has more than 1,000,000
26inhabitants) cannot be made more restrictive for that

 

 

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1individual during his period of service for that municipality,
2or be made a condition of promotion, except for the rank or
3position of Fire or Police Chief.
4    (c) No person with a record of misdemeanor convictions
5except those under Sections 11-1.50, 11-6, 11-7, 11-9, 11-14,
611-15, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 11-30, 11-35, 12-2, 12-6, 12-15,
714-4, 16-1, 21.1-3, 24-3.1, 24-5, 25-1, 28-3, 31-1, 31-4, 31-6,
831-7, 32-1, 32-2, 32-3, 32-4, and 32-8, subdivisions (a)(1) and
9(a)(2)(C) of Section 11-14.3, and subsections (1), (6) and (8)
10of Section 24-1 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal
11Code of 2012, or arrested for any cause but not convicted on
12that cause shall be disqualified from taking the examination to
13qualify for a position in the fire department on grounds of
14habits or moral character.
15    (d) The age limitation in subsection (a) does not apply (i)
16to any person previously employed as a policeman or fireman in
17a regularly constituted police or fire department of (I) any
18municipality, regardless of whether the municipality is
19located in Illinois or in another state, or (II) a fire
20protection district whose obligations were assumed by a
21municipality under Section 21 of the Fire Protection District
22Act, (ii) to any person who has served a municipality as a
23regularly enrolled volunteer fireman for 5 years immediately
24preceding the time that municipality begins to use full time
25firemen to provide all or part of its fire protection service,
26or (iii) to any person who has served as an auxiliary police

 

 

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1officer under Section 3.1-30-20 for at least 5 years and is
2under 40 years of age, (iv) to any person who has served as a
3deputy under Section 3-6008 of the Counties Code and otherwise
4meets necessary training requirements, or (v) to any person who
5has served as a sworn officer as a member of the Illinois
6Department of State Police.
7    (e) Applicants who are 20 years of age and who have
8successfully completed 2 years of law enforcement studies at an
9accredited college or university may be considered for
10appointment to active duty with the police department. An
11applicant described in this subsection (e) who is appointed to
12active duty shall not have power of arrest, nor shall the
13applicant be permitted to carry firearms, until he or she
14reaches 21 years of age.
15    (f) Applicants who are 18 years of age and who have
16successfully completed 2 years of study in fire techniques,
17amounting to a total of 4 high school credits, within the cadet
18program of a municipality may be considered for appointment to
19active duty with the fire department of any municipality.
20    (g) The council or board of trustees may by ordinance
21provide that persons residing outside the municipality are
22eligible to take the examination.
23    (h) The examinations shall be practical in character and
24relate to those matters that will fairly test the capacity of
25the persons examined to discharge the duties of the positions
26to which they seek appointment. No person shall be appointed to

 

 

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1the police or fire department if he or she does not possess a
2high school diploma or an equivalent high school education. A
3board of fire and police commissioners may, by its rules,
4require police applicants to have obtained an associate's
5degree or a bachelor's degree as a prerequisite for employment.
6The examinations shall include tests of physical
7qualifications and health. A board of fire and police
8commissioners may, by its rules, waive portions of the required
9examination for police applicants who have previously been
10full-time sworn officers of a regular police department in any
11municipal, county, university, or State law enforcement
12agency, provided they are certified by the Illinois Law
13Enforcement Training Standards Board and have been with their
14respective law enforcement agency within the State for at least
152 years. No person shall be appointed to the police or fire
16department if he or she has suffered the amputation of any limb
17unless the applicant's duties will be only clerical or as a
18radio operator. No applicant shall be examined concerning his
19or her political or religious opinions or affiliations. The
20examinations shall be conducted by the board of fire and police
21commissioners of the municipality as provided in this Division
222.1.
23    The requirement that a police applicant possess an
24associate's degree under this subsection may be waived if one
25or more of the following applies: (1) the applicant has served
26for 24 months of honorable active duty in the United States

 

 

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1Armed Forces and has not been discharged dishonorably or under
2circumstances other than honorable or (2) the applicant has
3served for 180 days of active duty in the United States Armed
4Forces in combat duty recognized by the Department of Defense
5and has not been discharged dishonorably or under circumstances
6other than honorable.
7    The requirement that a police applicant possess a
8bachelor's degree under this subsection may be waived if one or
9more of the following applies: (1) the applicant has served for
1036 months of honorable active duty in the United States Armed
11Forces and has not been discharged dishonorably or under
12circumstances other than honorable or (2) the applicant has
13served for 180 days of active duty in the United States Armed
14Forces in combat duty recognized by the Department of Defense
15and has not been discharged dishonorably or under circumstances
16other than honorable.
17    (i) No person who is classified by his local selective
18service draft board as a conscientious objector, or who has
19ever been so classified, may be appointed to the police
20department.
21    (j) No person shall be appointed to the police or fire
22department unless he or she is a person of good character and
23not an habitual drunkard, gambler, or a person who has been
24convicted of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude. No
25person, however, shall be disqualified from appointment to the
26fire department because of his or her record of misdemeanor

 

 

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1convictions except those under Sections 11-1.50, 11-6, 11-7,
211-9, 11-14, 11-15, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 11-30, 11-35, 12-2,
312-6, 12-15, 14-4, 16-1, 21.1-3, 24-3.1, 24-5, 25-1, 28-3,
431-1, 31-4, 31-6, 31-7, 32-1, 32-2, 32-3, 32-4, and 32-8,
5subdivisions (a)(1) and (a)(2)(C) of Section 11-14.3, and
6subsections (1), (6) and (8) of Section 24-1 of the Criminal
7Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012, or arrest for any
8cause without conviction on that cause. Any such person who is
9in the department may be removed on charges brought and after a
10trial as provided in this Division 2.1.
11(Source: P.A. 97-1150, eff. 1-25-13; 98-510, eff. 8-19-13.)
 
12    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
13becoming law.