101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB2854

 

Introduced , by Rep. Robyn Gabel

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
65 ILCS 5/10-1-7.1
65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-6.3
70 ILCS 705/16.06b

    Amends the Illinois Municipal Code and the Fire Protection District Act. Creates a hiring preference of up to 20 points for a person who has performed fire suppression service for a department as a firefighter apprentice and otherwise meet the qualifications for original appointment as a firefighter. Requires the firefighter to have completed a minimum of 600 hours of specified fire suppression work in order to be considered for the preference and that the Joint Apprenticeship Committee shall evaluate the merit of the applicant's performance and determine the preference points to be awarded. Modifies how preferences are computed after addition of the apprentice preference. Effective immediately.


LRB101 09544 AWJ 54642 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB2854LRB101 09544 AWJ 54642 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 10-1-7.1 and 10-2.1-6.3 as follows:
 
6    (65 ILCS 5/10-1-7.1)
7    Sec. 10-1-7.1. Original appointments; full-time fire
8department.
9    (a) Applicability. Unless a commission elects to follow the
10provisions of Section 10-1-7.2, this Section shall apply to all
11original appointments to an affected full-time fire
12department. Existing registers of eligibles shall continue to
13be valid until their expiration dates, or up to a maximum of 2
14years after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the
1597th General Assembly.
16    Notwithstanding any statute, ordinance, rule, or other law
17to the contrary, all original appointments to an affected
18department to which this Section applies shall be administered
19in the manner provided for in this Section. Provisions of the
20Illinois Municipal Code, municipal ordinances, and rules
21adopted pursuant to such authority and other laws relating to
22initial hiring of firefighters in affected departments shall
23continue to apply to the extent they are compatible with this

 

 

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1Section, but in the event of a conflict between this Section
2and any other law, this Section shall control.
3    A home rule or non-home rule municipality may not
4administer its fire department process for original
5appointments in a manner that is less stringent than this
6Section. This Section is a limitation under subsection (i) of
7Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution on the
8concurrent exercise by home rule units of the powers and
9functions exercised by the State.
10    A municipality that is operating under a court order or
11consent decree regarding original appointments to a full-time
12fire department before the effective date of this amendatory
13Act of the 97th General Assembly is exempt from the
14requirements of this Section for the duration of the court
15order or consent decree.
16    Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection
17(a), this Section does not apply to a municipality with more
18than 1,000,000 inhabitants.
19    (b) Original appointments. All original appointments made
20to an affected fire department shall be made from a register of
21eligibles established in accordance with the processes
22established by this Section. Only persons who meet or exceed
23the performance standards required by this Section shall be
24placed on a register of eligibles for original appointment to
25an affected fire department.
26    Whenever an appointing authority authorizes action to hire

 

 

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1a person to perform the duties of a firefighter or to hire a
2firefighter-paramedic to fill a position that is a new position
3or vacancy due to resignation, discharge, promotion, death, the
4granting of a disability or retirement pension, or any other
5cause, the appointing authority shall appoint to that position
6the person with the highest ranking on the final eligibility
7list. If the appointing authority has reason to conclude that
8the highest ranked person fails to meet the minimum standards
9for the position or if the appointing authority believes an
10alternate candidate would better serve the needs of the
11department, then the appointing authority has the right to pass
12over the highest ranked person and appoint either: (i) any
13person who has a ranking in the top 5% of the register of
14eligibles or (ii) any person who is among the top 5 highest
15ranked persons on the list of eligibles if the number of people
16who have a ranking in the top 5% of the register of eligibles
17is less than 5 people.
18    Any candidate may pass on an appointment once without
19losing his or her position on the register of eligibles. Any
20candidate who passes a second time may be removed from the list
21by the appointing authority provided that such action shall not
22prejudice a person's opportunities to participate in future
23examinations, including an examination held during the time a
24candidate is already on the municipality's register of
25eligibles.
26    The sole authority to issue certificates of appointment

 

 

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1shall be vested in the Civil Service Commission. All
2certificates of appointment issued to any officer or member of
3an affected department shall be signed by the chairperson and
4secretary, respectively, of the commission upon appointment of
5such officer or member to the affected department by the
6commission. After being selected from the register of eligibles
7to fill a vacancy in the affected department, each appointee
8shall be presented with his or her certificate of appointment
9on the day on which he or she is sworn in as a classified member
10of the affected department. Firefighters who were not issued a
11certificate of appointment when originally appointed shall be
12provided with a certificate within 10 days after making a
13written request to the chairperson of the Civil Service
14Commission. Each person who accepts a certificate of
15appointment and successfully completes his or her probationary
16period shall be enrolled as a firefighter and as a regular
17member of the fire department.
18    For the purposes of this Section, "firefighter" means any
19person who has been prior to, on, or after the effective date
20of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly appointed
21to a fire department or fire protection district or employed by
22a State university and sworn or commissioned to perform
23firefighter duties or paramedic duties, or both, except that
24the following persons are not included: part-time
25firefighters; auxiliary, reserve, or voluntary firefighters,
26including paid-on-call firefighters; clerks and dispatchers or

 

 

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1other civilian employees of a fire department or fire
2protection district who are not routinely expected to perform
3firefighter duties; and elected officials.
4    (c) Qualification for placement on register of eligibles.
5The purpose of establishing a register of eligibles is to
6identify applicants who possess and demonstrate the mental
7aptitude and physical ability to perform the duties required of
8members of the fire department in order to provide the highest
9quality of service to the public. To this end, all applicants
10for original appointment to an affected fire department shall
11be subject to examination and testing which shall be public,
12competitive, and open to all applicants unless the municipality
13shall by ordinance limit applicants to residents of the
14municipality, county or counties in which the municipality is
15located, State, or nation. Any examination and testing
16procedure utilized under subsection (e) of this Section shall
17be supported by appropriate validation evidence and shall
18comply with all applicable State and federal laws.
19Municipalities may establish educational, emergency medical
20service licensure, and other prerequites pre-requisites for
21participation in an examination or for hire as a firefighter.
22Any municipality may charge a fee to cover the costs of the
23application process.
24    Residency requirements in effect at the time an individual
25enters the fire service of a municipality cannot be made more
26restrictive for that individual during his or her period of

 

 

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1service for that municipality, or be made a condition of
2promotion, except for the rank or position of fire chief and
3for no more than 2 positions that rank immediately below that
4of the chief rank which are appointed positions pursuant to the
5Fire Department Promotion Act.
6    No person who is 35 years of age or older shall be eligible
7to take an examination for a position as a firefighter unless
8the person has had previous employment status as a firefighter
9in the regularly constituted fire department of the
10municipality, except as provided in this Section. The age
11limitation does not apply to:
12        (1) any person previously employed as a full-time
13    firefighter in a regularly constituted fire department of
14    (i) any municipality or fire protection district located in
15    Illinois, (ii) a fire protection district whose
16    obligations were assumed by a municipality under Section 21
17    of the Fire Protection District Act, or (iii) a
18    municipality whose obligations were taken over by a fire
19    protection district,
20        (2) any person who has served a municipality as a
21    regularly enrolled volunteer, paid-on-call, or part-time
22    firefighter for the 5 years immediately preceding the time
23    that the municipality begins to use full-time firefighters
24    to provide all or part of its fire protection service, or
25        (3) any person who turned 35 while serving as a member
26    of the active or reserve components of any of the branches

 

 

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1    of the Armed Forces of the United States or the National
2    Guard of any state, whose service was characterized as
3    honorable or under honorable, if separated from the
4    military, and is currently under the age of 40.
5    No person who is under 21 years of age shall be eligible
6for employment as a firefighter.
7    No applicant shall be examined concerning his or her
8political or religious opinions or affiliations. The
9examinations shall be conducted by the commissioners of the
10municipality or their designees and agents.
11    No municipality shall require that any firefighter
12appointed to the lowest rank serve a probationary employment
13period of longer than one year of actual active employment,
14which may exclude periods of training, or injury or illness
15leaves, including duty related leave, in excess of 30 calendar
16days. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section,
17the probationary employment period limitation may be extended
18for a firefighter who is required, as a condition of
19employment, to be a licensed paramedic, during which time the
20sole reason that a firefighter may be discharged without a
21hearing is for failing to meet the requirements for paramedic
22licensure.
23    In the event that any applicant who has been found eligible
24for appointment and whose name has been placed upon the final
25eligibility register provided for in this Division 1 has not
26been appointed to a firefighter position within one year after

 

 

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1the date of his or her physical ability examination, the
2commission may cause a second examination to be made of that
3applicant's physical ability prior to his or her appointment.
4If, after the second examination, the physical ability of the
5applicant shall be found to be less than the minimum standard
6fixed by the rules of the commission, the applicant shall not
7be appointed. The applicant's name may be retained upon the
8register of candidates eligible for appointment and when next
9reached for certification and appointment that applicant may be
10again examined as provided in this Section, and if the physical
11ability of that applicant is found to be less than the minimum
12standard fixed by the rules of the commission, the applicant
13shall not be appointed, and the name of the applicant shall be
14removed from the register.
15    (d) Notice, examination, and testing components. Notice of
16the time, place, general scope, merit criteria for any
17subjective component, and fee of every examination shall be
18given by the commission, by a publication at least 2 weeks
19preceding the examination: (i) in one or more newspapers
20published in the municipality, or if no newspaper is published
21therein, then in one or more newspapers with a general
22circulation within the municipality, or (ii) on the
23municipality's Internet website. Additional notice of the
24examination may be given as the commission shall prescribe.
25    The examination and qualifying standards for employment of
26firefighters shall be based on: mental aptitude, physical

 

 

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1ability, preferences, moral character, and health. The mental
2aptitude, physical ability, and preference components shall
3determine an applicant's qualification for and placement on the
4final register of eligibles. The examination may also include a
5subjective component based on merit criteria as determined by
6the commission. Scores from the examination must be made
7available to the public.
8    (e) Mental aptitude. No person who does not possess at
9least a high school diploma or an equivalent high school
10education shall be placed on a register of eligibles.
11Examination of an applicant's mental aptitude shall be based
12upon a written examination. The examination shall be practical
13in character and relate to those matters that fairly test the
14capacity of the persons examined to discharge the duties
15performed by members of a fire department. Written examinations
16shall be administered in a manner that ensures the security and
17accuracy of the scores achieved.
18    (f) Physical ability. All candidates shall be required to
19undergo an examination of their physical ability to perform the
20essential functions included in the duties they may be called
21upon to perform as a member of a fire department. For the
22purposes of this Section, essential functions of the job are
23functions associated with duties that a firefighter may be
24called upon to perform in response to emergency calls. The
25frequency of the occurrence of those duties as part of the fire
26department's regular routine shall not be a controlling factor

 

 

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1in the design of examination criteria or evolutions selected
2for testing. These physical examinations shall be open,
3competitive, and based on industry standards designed to test
4each applicant's physical abilities in the following
5dimensions:
6        (1) Muscular strength to perform tasks and evolutions
7    that may be required in the performance of duties including
8    grip strength, leg strength, and arm strength. Tests shall
9    be conducted under anaerobic as well as aerobic conditions
10    to test both the candidate's speed and endurance in
11    performing tasks and evolutions. Tasks tested may be based
12    on standards developed, or approved, by the local
13    appointing authority.
14        (2) The ability to climb ladders, operate from heights,
15    walk or crawl in the dark along narrow and uneven surfaces,
16    and operate in proximity to hazardous environments.
17        (3) The ability to carry out critical, time-sensitive,
18    and complex problem solving during physical exertion in
19    stressful and hazardous environments. The testing
20    environment may be hot and dark with tightly enclosed
21    spaces, flashing lights, sirens, and other distractions.
22    The tests utilized to measure each applicant's
23capabilities in each of these dimensions may be tests based on
24industry standards currently in use or equivalent tests
25approved by the Joint Labor-Management Committee of the Office
26of the State Fire Marshal.

 

 

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1    Physical ability examinations administered under this
2Section shall be conducted with a reasonable number of proctors
3and monitors, open to the public, and subject to reasonable
4regulations of the commission.
5    (g) Scoring of examination components. Appointing
6authorities may create a preliminary eligibility register. A
7person shall be placed on the list based upon his or her
8passage of the written examination or the passage of the
9written examination and the physical ability component.
10Passage of the written examination means attaining the minimum
11score set by the commission. Minimum scores should be set by
12the commission so as to demonstrate a candidate's ability to
13perform the essential functions of the job. The minimum score
14set by the commission shall be supported by appropriate
15validation evidence and shall comply with all applicable State
16and federal laws. The appointing authority may conduct the
17physical ability component and any subjective components
18subsequent to the posting of the preliminary eligibility
19register.
20    The examination components for an initial eligibility
21register shall be graded on a 100-point scale. A person's
22position on the list shall be determined by the following: (i)
23the person's score on the written examination, (ii) the person
24successfully passing the physical ability component, and (iii)
25the person's results on any subjective component as described
26in subsection (d).

 

 

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1    In order to qualify for placement on the final eligibility
2register, an applicant's score on the written examination,
3before any applicable preference points or subjective points
4are applied, shall be at or above the minimum score set by the
5commission. The local appointing authority may prescribe the
6score to qualify for placement on the final eligibility
7register, but the score shall not be less than the minimum
8score set by the commission.
9    The commission shall prepare and keep a register of persons
10whose total score is not less than the minimum score for
11passage and who have passed the physical ability examination.
12These persons shall take rank upon the register as candidates
13in the order of their relative excellence based on the highest
14to the lowest total points scored on the mental aptitude,
15subjective component, and preference components of the test
16administered in accordance with this Section. No more than 60
17days after each examination, an initial eligibility list shall
18be posted by the commission. The list shall include the final
19grades of the candidates without reference to priority of the
20time of examination and subject to claim for preference credit.
21    Commissions may conduct additional examinations, including
22without limitation a polygraph test, after a final eligibility
23register is established and before it expires with the
24candidates ranked by total score without regard to date of
25examination. No more than 60 days after each examination, an
26initial eligibility list shall be posted by the commission

 

 

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1showing the final grades of the candidates without reference to
2priority of time of examination and subject to claim for
3preference credit.
4    (h) Preferences. The following are preferences:
5        (1) Veteran preference. Persons who were engaged in the
6    military service of the United States for a period of at
7    least one year of active duty and who were honorably
8    discharged therefrom, or who are now or have been members
9    on inactive or reserve duty in such military or naval
10    service, shall be preferred for appointment to and
11    employment with the fire department of an affected
12    department.
13        (2) Fire cadet preference. Persons who have
14    successfully completed 2 years of study in fire techniques
15    or cadet training within a cadet program established under
16    the rules of the Joint Labor and Management Committee
17    (JLMC), as defined in Section 50 of the Fire Department
18    Promotion Act, may be preferred for appointment to and
19    employment with the fire department.
20        (3) Educational preference. Persons who have
21    successfully obtained an associate's degree in the field of
22    fire service or emergency medical services, or a bachelor's
23    degree from an accredited college or university may be
24    preferred for appointment to and employment with the fire
25    department.
26        (4) Paramedic preference. Persons who have obtained a

 

 

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1    license as a paramedic may be preferred for appointment to
2    and employment with the fire department of an affected
3    department providing emergency medical services.
4        (5) Experience preference. All persons employed by a
5    municipality who have been paid-on-call or part-time
6    certified Firefighter II, certified Firefighter III, State
7    of Illinois or nationally licensed EMT, EMT-I, A-EMT, or
8    paramedic, or any combination of those capacities may be
9    awarded up to a maximum of 5 points. However, the applicant
10    may not be awarded more than 0.5 points for each complete
11    year of paid-on-call or part-time service. Applicants from
12    outside the municipality who were employed as full-time
13    firefighters or firefighter-paramedics by a fire
14    protection district or another municipality may be awarded
15    up to 5 experience preference points. However, the
16    applicant may not be awarded more than one point for each
17    complete year of full-time service.
18        Upon request by the commission, the governing body of
19    the municipality or in the case of applicants from outside
20    the municipality the governing body of any fire protection
21    district or any other municipality shall certify to the
22    commission, within 10 days after the request, the number of
23    years of successful paid-on-call, part-time, or full-time
24    service of any person. A candidate may not receive the full
25    amount of preference points under this subsection if the
26    amount of points awarded would place the candidate before a

 

 

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1    veteran on the eligibility list. If more than one candidate
2    receiving experience preference points is prevented from
3    receiving all of their points due to not being allowed to
4    pass a veteran, the candidates shall be placed on the list
5    below the veteran in rank order based on the totals
6    received if all points under this subsection were to be
7    awarded. Any remaining ties on the list shall be determined
8    by lot.
9        (6) Residency preference. Applicants whose principal
10    residence is located within the fire department's
11    jurisdiction may be preferred for appointment to and
12    employment with the fire department.
13        (7) Additional preferences. Up to 5 additional
14    preference points may be awarded for unique categories
15    based on an applicant's experience or background as
16    identified by the commission.
17        (7.5) Apprentice preferences. A persons who has
18    performed fire suppression service for a department as a
19    firefighter apprentice and otherwise meet the
20    qualifications for original appointment as a firefighter
21    specified in this Section are eligible to be awarded up to
22    20 preference points. To qualify for preference points, an
23    applicant shall have completed a minimum of 600 hours of
24    fire suppression work on a regular shift for the affected
25    fire department over a 12-month period. The fire
26    suppression work must be in accordance with Section 10-1-14

 

 

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1    of this Division and the terms established by a Joint
2    Apprenticeship Committee included in a collective
3    bargaining agreement agreed between the employer and its
4    certified bargaining agent. An eligible applicant must
5    apply to the Joint Apprenticeship Committee for preference
6    points under this item. The Joint Apprenticeship Committee
7    shall evaluate the merit of the applicant's performance,
8    determine the preference points to be awarded, and certify
9    the amount of points awarded to the commissioners. The
10    commissioners shall add the certified preference points to
11    the final grades achieved by the applicant on the other
12    components of the examination.
13        (8) Scoring of preferences. The commission shall give
14    preference for original appointment to persons designated
15    in item (1) by adding to the final grade that they receive
16    5 points for the recognized preference achieved. The
17    commission shall give preference for original appointment
18    to persons designated in item (7.5) by adding to the final
19    grade the amount of points designated by the Joint
20    Apprenticeship Committee as defined in item (7.5). The
21    commission shall determine the number of preference points
22    for each category, except (1) and (7.5). The number of
23    preference points for each category shall range from 0 to
24    5, except item (7.5). In determining the number of
25    preference points, the commission shall prescribe that if a
26    candidate earns the maximum number of preference points in

 

 

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1    all categories except item (7.5), that number may not be
2    less than 10 nor more than 30. The commission shall give
3    preference for original appointment to persons designated
4    in items (2) through (7) by adding the requisite number of
5    points to the final grade for each recognized preference
6    achieved. The numerical result thus attained shall be
7    applied by the commission in determining the final
8    eligibility list and appointment from the eligibility
9    list. The local appointing authority may prescribe the
10    total number of preference points awarded under this
11    Section, but the total number of preference points, except
12    item (7.5), shall not be less than 10 points or more than
13    30 points. Apprentice preference points shall be added in
14    addition to other preference points awarded by the
15    commission.
16    No person entitled to any preference shall be required to
17claim the credit before any examination held under the
18provisions of this Section, but the preference shall be given
19after the posting or publication of the initial eligibility
20list or register at the request of a person entitled to a
21credit before any certification or appointments are made from
22the eligibility register, upon the furnishing of verifiable
23evidence and proof of qualifying preference credit. Candidates
24who are eligible for preference credit shall make a claim in
25writing within 10 days after the posting of the initial
26eligibility list, or the claim shall be deemed waived. Final

 

 

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1eligibility registers shall be established after the awarding
2of verified preference points. However, apprentice preference
3credit earned subsequent to the establishment of the final
4eligibility register shall be applied to the applicant's score
5upon certification by the Joint Apprenticeship Committee to the
6commission and the rank order of candidates on the final
7eligibility register shall be adjusted accordingly. All
8employment shall be subject to the commission's initial hire
9background review including, but not limited to, criminal
10history, employment history, moral character, oral
11examination, and medical and psychological examinations, all
12on a pass-fail basis. The medical and psychological
13examinations must be conducted last, and may only be performed
14after a conditional offer of employment has been extended.
15    Any person placed on an eligibility list who exceeds the
16age requirement before being appointed to a fire department
17shall remain eligible for appointment until the list is
18abolished, or his or her name has been on the list for a period
19of 2 years. No person who has attained the age of 35 years
20shall be inducted into a fire department, except as otherwise
21provided in this Section.
22    The commission shall strike off the names of candidates for
23original appointment after the names have been on the list for
24more than 2 years.
25    (i) Moral character. No person shall be appointed to a fire
26department unless he or she is a person of good character; not

 

 

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1a habitual drunkard, a gambler, or a person who has been
2convicted of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude.
3However, no person shall be disqualified from appointment to
4the fire department because of the person's record of
5misdemeanor convictions except those under Sections 11-6,
611-7, 11-9, 11-14, 11-15, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 12-2, 12-6,
712-15, 14-4, 16-1, 21.1-3, 24-3.1, 24-5, 25-1, 28-3, 31-1,
831-4, 31-6, 31-7, 32-1, 32-2, 32-3, 32-4, 32-8, and subsections
91, 6, and 8 of Section 24-1 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the
10Criminal Code of 2012, or arrest for any cause without
11conviction thereon. Any such person who is in the department
12may be removed on charges brought for violating this subsection
13and after a trial as hereinafter provided.
14    A classifiable set of the fingerprints of every person who
15is offered employment as a certificated member of an affected
16fire department whether with or without compensation, shall be
17furnished to the Illinois Department of State Police and to the
18Federal Bureau of Investigation by the commission.
19    Whenever a commission is authorized or required by law to
20consider some aspect of criminal history record information for
21the purpose of carrying out its statutory powers and
22responsibilities, then, upon request and payment of fees in
23conformance with the requirements of Section 2605-400 of the
24State Police Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois,
25the Department of State Police is authorized to furnish,
26pursuant to positive identification, the information contained

 

 

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1in State files as is necessary to fulfill the request.
2    (j) Temporary appointments. In order to prevent a stoppage
3of public business, to meet extraordinary exigencies, or to
4prevent material impairment of the fire department, the
5commission may make temporary appointments, to remain in force
6only until regular appointments are made under the provisions
7of this Division, but never to exceed 60 days. No temporary
8appointment of any one person shall be made more than twice in
9any calendar year.
10    (k) A person who knowingly divulges or receives test
11questions or answers before a written examination, or otherwise
12knowingly violates or subverts any requirement of this Section,
13commits a violation of this Section and may be subject to
14charges for official misconduct.
15    A person who is the knowing recipient of test information
16in advance of the examination shall be disqualified from the
17examination or discharged from the position to which he or she
18was appointed, as applicable, and otherwise subjected to
19disciplinary actions.
20(Source: P.A. 99-78, eff. 7-20-15; 99-379, eff. 8-17-15;
21100-252, eff. 8-22-17.)
 
22    (65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-6.3)
23    Sec. 10-2.1-6.3. Original appointments; full-time fire
24department.
25    (a) Applicability. Unless a commission elects to follow the

 

 

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1provisions of Section 10-2.1-6.4, this Section shall apply to
2all original appointments to an affected full-time fire
3department. Existing registers of eligibles shall continue to
4be valid until their expiration dates, or up to a maximum of 2
5years after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the
697th General Assembly.
7    Notwithstanding any statute, ordinance, rule, or other law
8to the contrary, all original appointments to an affected
9department to which this Section applies shall be administered
10in the manner provided for in this Section. Provisions of the
11Illinois Municipal Code, municipal ordinances, and rules
12adopted pursuant to such authority and other laws relating to
13initial hiring of firefighters in affected departments shall
14continue to apply to the extent they are compatible with this
15Section, but in the event of a conflict between this Section
16and any other law, this Section shall control.
17    A home rule or non-home rule municipality may not
18administer its fire department process for original
19appointments in a manner that is less stringent than this
20Section. This Section is a limitation under subsection (i) of
21Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution on the
22concurrent exercise by home rule units of the powers and
23functions exercised by the State.
24    A municipality that is operating under a court order or
25consent decree regarding original appointments to a full-time
26fire department before the effective date of this amendatory

 

 

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1Act of the 97th General Assembly is exempt from the
2requirements of this Section for the duration of the court
3order or consent decree.
4    Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection
5(a), this Section does not apply to a municipality with more
6than 1,000,000 inhabitants.
7    (b) Original appointments. All original appointments made
8to an affected fire department shall be made from a register of
9eligibles established in accordance with the processes
10established by this Section. Only persons who meet or exceed
11the performance standards required by this Section shall be
12placed on a register of eligibles for original appointment to
13an affected fire department.
14    Whenever an appointing authority authorizes action to hire
15a person to perform the duties of a firefighter or to hire a
16firefighter-paramedic to fill a position that is a new position
17or vacancy due to resignation, discharge, promotion, death, the
18granting of a disability or retirement pension, or any other
19cause, the appointing authority shall appoint to that position
20the person with the highest ranking on the final eligibility
21list. If the appointing authority has reason to conclude that
22the highest ranked person fails to meet the minimum standards
23for the position or if the appointing authority believes an
24alternate candidate would better serve the needs of the
25department, then the appointing authority has the right to pass
26over the highest ranked person and appoint either: (i) any

 

 

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1person who has a ranking in the top 5% of the register of
2eligibles or (ii) any person who is among the top 5 highest
3ranked persons on the list of eligibles if the number of people
4who have a ranking in the top 5% of the register of eligibles
5is less than 5 people.
6    Any candidate may pass on an appointment once without
7losing his or her position on the register of eligibles. Any
8candidate who passes a second time may be removed from the list
9by the appointing authority provided that such action shall not
10prejudice a person's opportunities to participate in future
11examinations, including an examination held during the time a
12candidate is already on the municipality's register of
13eligibles.
14    The sole authority to issue certificates of appointment
15shall be vested in the board of fire and police commissioners.
16All certificates of appointment issued to any officer or member
17of an affected department shall be signed by the chairperson
18and secretary, respectively, of the board upon appointment of
19such officer or member to the affected department by action of
20the board. After being selected from the register of eligibles
21to fill a vacancy in the affected department, each appointee
22shall be presented with his or her certificate of appointment
23on the day on which he or she is sworn in as a classified member
24of the affected department. Firefighters who were not issued a
25certificate of appointment when originally appointed shall be
26provided with a certificate within 10 days after making a

 

 

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1written request to the chairperson of the board of fire and
2police commissioners. Each person who accepts a certificate of
3appointment and successfully completes his or her probationary
4period shall be enrolled as a firefighter and as a regular
5member of the fire department.
6    For the purposes of this Section, "firefighter" means any
7person who has been prior to, on, or after the effective date
8of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly appointed
9to a fire department or fire protection district or employed by
10a State university and sworn or commissioned to perform
11firefighter duties or paramedic duties, or both, except that
12the following persons are not included: part-time
13firefighters; auxiliary, reserve, or voluntary firefighters,
14including paid-on-call firefighters; clerks and dispatchers or
15other civilian employees of a fire department or fire
16protection district who are not routinely expected to perform
17firefighter duties; and elected officials.
18    (c) Qualification for placement on register of eligibles.
19The purpose of establishing a register of eligibles is to
20identify applicants who possess and demonstrate the mental
21aptitude and physical ability to perform the duties required of
22members of the fire department in order to provide the highest
23quality of service to the public. To this end, all applicants
24for original appointment to an affected fire department shall
25be subject to examination and testing which shall be public,
26competitive, and open to all applicants unless the municipality

 

 

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1shall by ordinance limit applicants to residents of the
2municipality, county or counties in which the municipality is
3located, State, or nation. Any examination and testing
4procedure utilized under subsection (e) of this Section shall
5be supported by appropriate validation evidence and shall
6comply with all applicable State and federal laws.
7Municipalities may establish educational, emergency medical
8service licensure, and other prerequites pre-requisites for
9participation in an examination or for hire as a firefighter.
10Any municipality may charge a fee to cover the costs of the
11application process.
12    Residency requirements in effect at the time an individual
13enters the fire service of a municipality cannot be made more
14restrictive for that individual during his or her period of
15service for that municipality, or be made a condition of
16promotion, except for the rank or position of fire chief and
17for no more than 2 positions that rank immediately below that
18of the chief rank which are appointed positions pursuant to the
19Fire Department Promotion Act.
20    No person who is 35 years of age or older shall be eligible
21to take an examination for a position as a firefighter unless
22the person has had previous employment status as a firefighter
23in the regularly constituted fire department of the
24municipality, except as provided in this Section. The age
25limitation does not apply to:
26        (1) any person previously employed as a full-time

 

 

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1    firefighter in a regularly constituted fire department of
2    (i) any municipality or fire protection district located in
3    Illinois, (ii) a fire protection district whose
4    obligations were assumed by a municipality under Section 21
5    of the Fire Protection District Act, or (iii) a
6    municipality whose obligations were taken over by a fire
7    protection district,
8        (2) any person who has served a municipality as a
9    regularly enrolled volunteer, paid-on-call, or part-time
10    firefighter for the 5 years immediately preceding the time
11    that the municipality begins to use full-time firefighters
12    to provide all or part of its fire protection service, or
13        (3) any person who turned 35 while serving as a member
14    of the active or reserve components of any of the branches
15    of the Armed Forces of the United States or the National
16    Guard of any state, whose service was characterized as
17    honorable or under honorable, if separated from the
18    military, and is currently under the age of 40.
19    No person who is under 21 years of age shall be eligible
20for employment as a firefighter.
21    No applicant shall be examined concerning his or her
22political or religious opinions or affiliations. The
23examinations shall be conducted by the commissioners of the
24municipality or their designees and agents.
25    No municipality shall require that any firefighter
26appointed to the lowest rank serve a probationary employment

 

 

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1period of longer than one year of actual active employment,
2which may exclude periods of training, or injury or illness
3leaves, including duty related leave, in excess of 30 calendar
4days. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section,
5the probationary employment period limitation may be extended
6for a firefighter who is required, as a condition of
7employment, to be a licensed paramedic, during which time the
8sole reason that a firefighter may be discharged without a
9hearing is for failing to meet the requirements for paramedic
10licensure.
11    In the event that any applicant who has been found eligible
12for appointment and whose name has been placed upon the final
13eligibility register provided for in this Section has not been
14appointed to a firefighter position within one year after the
15date of his or her physical ability examination, the commission
16may cause a second examination to be made of that applicant's
17physical ability prior to his or her appointment. If, after the
18second examination, the physical ability of the applicant shall
19be found to be less than the minimum standard fixed by the
20rules of the commission, the applicant shall not be appointed.
21The applicant's name may be retained upon the register of
22candidates eligible for appointment and when next reached for
23certification and appointment that applicant may be again
24examined as provided in this Section, and if the physical
25ability of that applicant is found to be less than the minimum
26standard fixed by the rules of the commission, the applicant

 

 

HB2854- 28 -LRB101 09544 AWJ 54642 b

1shall not be appointed, and the name of the applicant shall be
2removed from the register.
3    (d) Notice, examination, and testing components. Notice of
4the time, place, general scope, merit criteria for any
5subjective component, and fee of every examination shall be
6given by the commission, by a publication at least 2 weeks
7preceding the examination: (i) in one or more newspapers
8published in the municipality, or if no newspaper is published
9therein, then in one or more newspapers with a general
10circulation within the municipality, or (ii) on the
11municipality's Internet website. Additional notice of the
12examination may be given as the commission shall prescribe.
13    The examination and qualifying standards for employment of
14firefighters shall be based on: mental aptitude, physical
15ability, preferences, moral character, and health. The mental
16aptitude, physical ability, and preference components shall
17determine an applicant's qualification for and placement on the
18final register of eligibles. The examination may also include a
19subjective component based on merit criteria as determined by
20the commission. Scores from the examination must be made
21available to the public.
22    (e) Mental aptitude. No person who does not possess at
23least a high school diploma or an equivalent high school
24education shall be placed on a register of eligibles.
25Examination of an applicant's mental aptitude shall be based
26upon a written examination. The examination shall be practical

 

 

HB2854- 29 -LRB101 09544 AWJ 54642 b

1in character and relate to those matters that fairly test the
2capacity of the persons examined to discharge the duties
3performed by members of a fire department. Written examinations
4shall be administered in a manner that ensures the security and
5accuracy of the scores achieved.
6    (f) Physical ability. All candidates shall be required to
7undergo an examination of their physical ability to perform the
8essential functions included in the duties they may be called
9upon to perform as a member of a fire department. For the
10purposes of this Section, essential functions of the job are
11functions associated with duties that a firefighter may be
12called upon to perform in response to emergency calls. The
13frequency of the occurrence of those duties as part of the fire
14department's regular routine shall not be a controlling factor
15in the design of examination criteria or evolutions selected
16for testing. These physical examinations shall be open,
17competitive, and based on industry standards designed to test
18each applicant's physical abilities in the following
19dimensions:
20        (1) Muscular strength to perform tasks and evolutions
21    that may be required in the performance of duties including
22    grip strength, leg strength, and arm strength. Tests shall
23    be conducted under anaerobic as well as aerobic conditions
24    to test both the candidate's speed and endurance in
25    performing tasks and evolutions. Tasks tested may be based
26    on standards developed, or approved, by the local

 

 

HB2854- 30 -LRB101 09544 AWJ 54642 b

1    appointing authority.
2        (2) The ability to climb ladders, operate from heights,
3    walk or crawl in the dark along narrow and uneven surfaces,
4    and operate in proximity to hazardous environments.
5        (3) The ability to carry out critical, time-sensitive,
6    and complex problem solving during physical exertion in
7    stressful and hazardous environments. The testing
8    environment may be hot and dark with tightly enclosed
9    spaces, flashing lights, sirens, and other distractions.
10    The tests utilized to measure each applicant's
11capabilities in each of these dimensions may be tests based on
12industry standards currently in use or equivalent tests
13approved by the Joint Labor-Management Committee of the Office
14of the State Fire Marshal.
15    Physical ability examinations administered under this
16Section shall be conducted with a reasonable number of proctors
17and monitors, open to the public, and subject to reasonable
18regulations of the commission.
19    (g) Scoring of examination components. Appointing
20authorities may create a preliminary eligibility register. A
21person shall be placed on the list based upon his or her
22passage of the written examination or the passage of the
23written examination and the physical ability component.
24Passage of the written examination means attaining the minimum
25score set by the commission. Minimum scores should be set by
26the commission so as to demonstrate a candidate's ability to

 

 

HB2854- 31 -LRB101 09544 AWJ 54642 b

1perform the essential functions of the job. The minimum score
2set by the commission shall be supported by appropriate
3validation evidence and shall comply with all applicable State
4and federal laws. The appointing authority may conduct the
5physical ability component and any subjective components
6subsequent to the posting of the preliminary eligibility
7register.
8    The examination components for an initial eligibility
9register shall be graded on a 100-point scale. A person's
10position on the list shall be determined by the following: (i)
11the person's score on the written examination, (ii) the person
12successfully passing the physical ability component, and (iii)
13the person's results on any subjective component as described
14in subsection (d).
15    In order to qualify for placement on the final eligibility
16register, an applicant's score on the written examination,
17before any applicable preference points or subjective points
18are applied, shall be at or above the minimum score as set by
19the commission. The local appointing authority may prescribe
20the score to qualify for placement on the final eligibility
21register, but the score shall not be less than the minimum
22score set by the commission.
23    The commission shall prepare and keep a register of persons
24whose total score is not less than the minimum score for
25passage and who have passed the physical ability examination.
26These persons shall take rank upon the register as candidates

 

 

HB2854- 32 -LRB101 09544 AWJ 54642 b

1in the order of their relative excellence based on the highest
2to the lowest total points scored on the mental aptitude,
3subjective component, and preference components of the test
4administered in accordance with this Section. No more than 60
5days after each examination, an initial eligibility list shall
6be posted by the commission. The list shall include the final
7grades of the candidates without reference to priority of the
8time of examination and subject to claim for preference credit.
9    Commissions may conduct additional examinations, including
10without limitation a polygraph test, after a final eligibility
11register is established and before it expires with the
12candidates ranked by total score without regard to date of
13examination. No more than 60 days after each examination, an
14initial eligibility list shall be posted by the commission
15showing the final grades of the candidates without reference to
16priority of time of examination and subject to claim for
17preference credit.
18    (h) Preferences. The following are preferences:
19        (1) Veteran preference. Persons who were engaged in the
20    military service of the United States for a period of at
21    least one year of active duty and who were honorably
22    discharged therefrom, or who are now or have been members
23    on inactive or reserve duty in such military or naval
24    service, shall be preferred for appointment to and
25    employment with the fire department of an affected
26    department.

 

 

HB2854- 33 -LRB101 09544 AWJ 54642 b

1        (2) Fire cadet preference. Persons who have
2    successfully completed 2 years of study in fire techniques
3    or cadet training within a cadet program established under
4    the rules of the Joint Labor and Management Committee
5    (JLMC), as defined in Section 50 of the Fire Department
6    Promotion Act, may be preferred for appointment to and
7    employment with the fire department.
8        (3) Educational preference. Persons who have
9    successfully obtained an associate's degree in the field of
10    fire service or emergency medical services, or a bachelor's
11    degree from an accredited college or university may be
12    preferred for appointment to and employment with the fire
13    department.
14        (4) Paramedic preference. Persons who have obtained a
15    license as a paramedic shall be preferred for appointment
16    to and employment with the fire department of an affected
17    department providing emergency medical services.
18        (5) Experience preference. All persons employed by a
19    municipality who have been paid-on-call or part-time
20    certified Firefighter II, State of Illinois or nationally
21    licensed EMT, EMT-I, A-EMT, or any combination of those
22    capacities shall be awarded 0.5 point for each year of
23    successful service in one or more of those capacities, up
24    to a maximum of 5 points. Certified Firefighter III and
25    State of Illinois or nationally licensed paramedics shall
26    be awarded one point per year up to a maximum of 5 points.

 

 

HB2854- 34 -LRB101 09544 AWJ 54642 b

1    Applicants from outside the municipality who were employed
2    as full-time firefighters or firefighter-paramedics by a
3    fire protection district or another municipality for at
4    least 2 years shall be awarded 5 experience preference
5    points. These additional points presuppose a rating scale
6    totaling 100 points available for the eligibility list. If
7    more or fewer points are used in the rating scale for the
8    eligibility list, the points awarded under this subsection
9    shall be increased or decreased by a factor equal to the
10    total possible points available for the examination
11    divided by 100.
12        Upon request by the commission, the governing body of
13    the municipality or in the case of applicants from outside
14    the municipality the governing body of any fire protection
15    district or any other municipality shall certify to the
16    commission, within 10 days after the request, the number of
17    years of successful paid-on-call, part-time, or full-time
18    service of any person. A candidate may not receive the full
19    amount of preference points under this subsection if the
20    amount of points awarded would place the candidate before a
21    veteran on the eligibility list. If more than one candidate
22    receiving experience preference points is prevented from
23    receiving all of their points due to not being allowed to
24    pass a veteran, the candidates shall be placed on the list
25    below the veteran in rank order based on the totals
26    received if all points under this subsection were to be

 

 

HB2854- 35 -LRB101 09544 AWJ 54642 b

1    awarded. Any remaining ties on the list shall be determined
2    by lot.
3        (6) Residency preference. Applicants whose principal
4    residence is located within the fire department's
5    jurisdiction shall be preferred for appointment to and
6    employment with the fire department.
7        (7) Additional preferences. Up to 5 additional
8    preference points may be awarded for unique categories
9    based on an applicant's experience or background as
10    identified by the commission.
11        (7.5) Apprentice preferences. A persons who has
12    performed fire suppression service for a department as a
13    firefighter apprentice and otherwise meet the
14    qualifications for original appointment as a firefighter
15    specified in this Section are eligible to be awarded up to
16    20 preference points. To qualify for preference points, an
17    applicant shall have completed a minimum of 600 hours of
18    fire suppression work on a regular shift for the affected
19    fire department over a 12-month period. The fire
20    suppression work must be in accordance with Section
21    10-2.1-4 of this Division and the terms established by a
22    Joint Apprenticeship Committee included in a collective
23    bargaining agreement agreed between the employer and its
24    certified bargaining agent. An eligible applicant must
25    apply to the Joint Apprenticeship Committee for preference
26    points under this item. The Joint Apprenticeship Committee

 

 

HB2854- 36 -LRB101 09544 AWJ 54642 b

1    shall evaluate the merit of the applicant's performance,
2    determine the preference points to be awarded, and certify
3    the amount of points awarded to the commissioners. The
4    commissioners shall add the certified preference points to
5    the final grades achieved by the applicant on the other
6    components of the examination.
7        (8) Scoring of preferences. The commission shall give
8    preference for original appointment to persons designated
9    in item (1) by adding to the final grade that they receive
10    5 points for the recognized preference achieved. The
11    commission shall give preference for original appointment
12    to persons designated in item (7.5) by adding to the final
13    grade the amount of points designated by the Joint
14    Apprenticeship Committee as defined in item (7.5). The
15    commission shall determine the number of preference points
16    for each category, except (1) and (7.5). The number of
17    preference points for each category shall range from 0 to
18    5, except item (7.5). In determining the number of
19    preference points, the commission shall prescribe that if a
20    candidate earns the maximum number of preference points in
21    all categories except item (7.5), that number may not be
22    less than 10 nor more than 30. The commission shall give
23    preference for original appointment to persons designated
24    in items (2) through (7) by adding the requisite number of
25    points to the final grade for each recognized preference
26    achieved. The numerical result thus attained shall be

 

 

HB2854- 37 -LRB101 09544 AWJ 54642 b

1    applied by the commission in determining the final
2    eligibility list and appointment from the eligibility
3    list. The local appointing authority may prescribe the
4    total number of preference points awarded under this
5    Section, but the total number of preference points, except
6    item (7.5), shall not be less than 10 points or more than
7    30 points. Apprentice preference points shall be added in
8    addition to other preference points awarded by the
9    commission.
10    No person entitled to any preference shall be required to
11claim the credit before any examination held under the
12provisions of this Section, but the preference shall be given
13after the posting or publication of the initial eligibility
14list or register at the request of a person entitled to a
15credit before any certification or appointments are made from
16the eligibility register, upon the furnishing of verifiable
17evidence and proof of qualifying preference credit. Candidates
18who are eligible for preference credit shall make a claim in
19writing within 10 days after the posting of the initial
20eligibility list, or the claim shall be deemed waived. Final
21eligibility registers shall be established after the awarding
22of verified preference points. However, apprentice preference
23credit earned subsequent to the establishment of the final
24eligibility register shall be applied to the applicant's score
25upon certification by the Joint Apprenticeship Committee to the
26commission and the rank order of candidates on the final

 

 

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1eligibility register shall be adjusted accordingly. All
2employment shall be subject to the commission's initial hire
3background review including, but not limited to, criminal
4history, employment history, moral character, oral
5examination, and medical and psychological examinations, all
6on a pass-fail basis. The medical and psychological
7examinations must be conducted last, and may only be performed
8after a conditional offer of employment has been extended.
9    Any person placed on an eligibility list who exceeds the
10age requirement before being appointed to a fire department
11shall remain eligible for appointment until the list is
12abolished, or his or her name has been on the list for a period
13of 2 years. No person who has attained the age of 35 years
14shall be inducted into a fire department, except as otherwise
15provided in this Section.
16    The commission shall strike off the names of candidates for
17original appointment after the names have been on the list for
18more than 2 years.
19    (i) Moral character. No person shall be appointed to a fire
20department unless he or she is a person of good character; not
21a habitual drunkard, a gambler, or a person who has been
22convicted of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude.
23However, no person shall be disqualified from appointment to
24the fire department because of the person's record of
25misdemeanor convictions except those under Sections 11-6,
2611-7, 11-9, 11-14, 11-15, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 12-2, 12-6,

 

 

HB2854- 39 -LRB101 09544 AWJ 54642 b

112-15, 14-4, 16-1, 21.1-3, 24-3.1, 24-5, 25-1, 28-3, 31-1,
231-4, 31-6, 31-7, 32-1, 32-2, 32-3, 32-4, 32-8, and subsections
31, 6, and 8 of Section 24-1 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the
4Criminal Code of 2012, or arrest for any cause without
5conviction thereon. Any such person who is in the department
6may be removed on charges brought for violating this subsection
7and after a trial as hereinafter provided.
8    A classifiable set of the fingerprints of every person who
9is offered employment as a certificated member of an affected
10fire department whether with or without compensation, shall be
11furnished to the Illinois Department of State Police and to the
12Federal Bureau of Investigation by the commission.
13    Whenever a commission is authorized or required by law to
14consider some aspect of criminal history record information for
15the purpose of carrying out its statutory powers and
16responsibilities, then, upon request and payment of fees in
17conformance with the requirements of Section 2605-400 of the
18State Police Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois,
19the Department of State Police is authorized to furnish,
20pursuant to positive identification, the information contained
21in State files as is necessary to fulfill the request.
22    (j) Temporary appointments. In order to prevent a stoppage
23of public business, to meet extraordinary exigencies, or to
24prevent material impairment of the fire department, the
25commission may make temporary appointments, to remain in force
26only until regular appointments are made under the provisions

 

 

HB2854- 40 -LRB101 09544 AWJ 54642 b

1of this Division, but never to exceed 60 days. No temporary
2appointment of any one person shall be made more than twice in
3any calendar year.
4    (k) A person who knowingly divulges or receives test
5questions or answers before a written examination, or otherwise
6knowingly violates or subverts any requirement of this Section,
7commits a violation of this Section and may be subject to
8charges for official misconduct.
9    A person who is the knowing recipient of test information
10in advance of the examination shall be disqualified from the
11examination or discharged from the position to which he or she
12was appointed, as applicable, and otherwise subjected to
13disciplinary actions.
14(Source: P.A. 99-78, eff. 7-20-15; 99-379, eff. 8-17-15;
15100-252, eff. 8-22-17.)
 
16    Section 10. The Fire Protection District Act is amended by
17changing Section 16.06b as follows:
 
18    (70 ILCS 705/16.06b)
19    Sec. 16.06b. Original appointments; full-time fire
20department.
21    (a) Applicability. Unless a commission elects to follow the
22provisions of Section 16.06c, this Section shall apply to all
23original appointments to an affected full-time fire
24department. Existing registers of eligibles shall continue to

 

 

HB2854- 41 -LRB101 09544 AWJ 54642 b

1be valid until their expiration dates, or up to a maximum of 2
2years after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the
397th General Assembly.
4    Notwithstanding any statute, ordinance, rule, or other law
5to the contrary, all original appointments to an affected
6department to which this Section applies shall be administered
7in a no less stringent manner than the manner provided for in
8this Section. Provisions of the Illinois Municipal Code, Fire
9Protection District Act, fire district ordinances, and rules
10adopted pursuant to such authority and other laws relating to
11initial hiring of firefighters in affected departments shall
12continue to apply to the extent they are compatible with this
13Section, but in the event of a conflict between this Section
14and any other law, this Section shall control.
15    A fire protection district that is operating under a court
16order or consent decree regarding original appointments to a
17full-time fire department before the effective date of this
18amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly is exempt from the
19requirements of this Section for the duration of the court
20order or consent decree.
21    (b) Original appointments. All original appointments made
22to an affected fire department shall be made from a register of
23eligibles established in accordance with the processes
24required by this Section. Only persons who meet or exceed the
25performance standards required by the Section shall be placed
26on a register of eligibles for original appointment to an

 

 

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1affected fire department.
2    Whenever an appointing authority authorizes action to hire
3a person to perform the duties of a firefighter or to hire a
4firefighter-paramedic to fill a position that is a new position
5or vacancy due to resignation, discharge, promotion, death, the
6granting of a disability or retirement pension, or any other
7cause, the appointing authority shall appoint to that position
8the person with the highest ranking on the final eligibility
9list. If the appointing authority has reason to conclude that
10the highest ranked person fails to meet the minimum standards
11for the position or if the appointing authority believes an
12alternate candidate would better serve the needs of the
13department, then the appointing authority has the right to pass
14over the highest ranked person and appoint either: (i) any
15person who has a ranking in the top 5% of the register of
16eligibles or (ii) any person who is among the top 5 highest
17ranked persons on the list of eligibles if the number of people
18who have a ranking in the top 5% of the register of eligibles
19is less than 5 people.
20    Any candidate may pass on an appointment once without
21losing his or her position on the register of eligibles. Any
22candidate who passes a second time may be removed from the list
23by the appointing authority provided that such action shall not
24prejudice a person's opportunities to participate in future
25examinations, including an examination held during the time a
26candidate is already on the fire district's register of

 

 

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1eligibles.
2    The sole authority to issue certificates of appointment
3shall be vested in the board of fire commissioners, or board of
4trustees serving in the capacity of a board of fire
5commissioners. All certificates of appointment issued to any
6officer or member of an affected department shall be signed by
7the chairperson and secretary, respectively, of the commission
8upon appointment of such officer or member to the affected
9department by action of the commission. After being selected
10from the register of eligibles to fill a vacancy in the
11affected department, each appointee shall be presented with his
12or her certificate of appointment on the day on which he or she
13is sworn in as a classified member of the affected department.
14Firefighters who were not issued a certificate of appointment
15when originally appointed shall be provided with a certificate
16within 10 days after making a written request to the
17chairperson of the board of fire commissioners, or board of
18trustees serving in the capacity of a board of fire
19commissioners. Each person who accepts a certificate of
20appointment and successfully completes his or her probationary
21period shall be enrolled as a firefighter and as a regular
22member of the fire department.
23    For the purposes of this Section, "firefighter" means any
24person who has been prior to, on, or after the effective date
25of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly appointed
26to a fire department or fire protection district or employed by

 

 

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1a State university and sworn or commissioned to perform
2firefighter duties or paramedic duties, or both, except that
3the following persons are not included: part-time
4firefighters; auxiliary, reserve, or voluntary firefighters,
5including paid-on-call firefighters; clerks and dispatchers or
6other civilian employees of a fire department or fire
7protection district who are not routinely expected to perform
8firefighter duties; and elected officials.
9    (c) Qualification for placement on register of eligibles.
10The purpose of establishing a register of eligibles is to
11identify applicants who possess and demonstrate the mental
12aptitude and physical ability to perform the duties required of
13members of the fire department in order to provide the highest
14quality of service to the public. To this end, all applicants
15for original appointment to an affected fire department shall
16be subject to examination and testing which shall be public,
17competitive, and open to all applicants unless the district
18shall by ordinance limit applicants to residents of the
19district, county or counties in which the district is located,
20State, or nation. Any examination and testing procedure
21utilized under subsection (e) of this Section shall be
22supported by appropriate validation evidence and shall comply
23with all applicable State and federal laws. Districts may
24establish educational, emergency medical service licensure,
25and other prerequites pre-requisites for participation in an
26examination or for hire as a firefighter. Any fire protection

 

 

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1district may charge a fee to cover the costs of the application
2process.
3    Residency requirements in effect at the time an individual
4enters the fire service of a district cannot be made more
5restrictive for that individual during his or her period of
6service for that district, or be made a condition of promotion,
7except for the rank or position of fire chief and for no more
8than 2 positions that rank immediately below that of the chief
9rank which are appointed positions pursuant to the Fire
10Department Promotion Act.
11    No person who is 35 years of age or older shall be eligible
12to take an examination for a position as a firefighter unless
13the person has had previous employment status as a firefighter
14in the regularly constituted fire department of the district,
15except as provided in this Section. The age limitation does not
16apply to:
17        (1) any person previously employed as a full-time
18    firefighter in a regularly constituted fire department of
19    (i) any municipality or fire protection district located in
20    Illinois, (ii) a fire protection district whose
21    obligations were assumed by a municipality under Section 21
22    of the Fire Protection District Act, or (iii) a
23    municipality whose obligations were taken over by a fire
24    protection district;
25        (2) any person who has served a fire district as a
26    regularly enrolled volunteer, paid-on-call, or part-time

 

 

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1    firefighter for the 5 years immediately preceding the time
2    that the district begins to use full-time firefighters to
3    provide all or part of its fire protection service; or
4        (3) any person who turned 35 while serving as a member
5    of the active or reserve components of any of the branches
6    of the Armed Forces of the United States or the National
7    Guard of any state, whose service was characterized as
8    honorable or under honorable, if separated from the
9    military, and is currently under the age of 40.
10    No person who is under 21 years of age shall be eligible
11for employment as a firefighter.
12    No applicant shall be examined concerning his or her
13political or religious opinions or affiliations. The
14examinations shall be conducted by the commissioners of the
15district or their designees and agents.
16    No district shall require that any firefighter appointed to
17the lowest rank serve a probationary employment period of
18longer than one year of actual active employment, which may
19exclude periods of training, or injury or illness leaves,
20including duty related leave, in excess of 30 calendar days.
21Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section, the
22probationary employment period limitation may be extended for a
23firefighter who is required, as a condition of employment, to
24be a licensed paramedic, during which time the sole reason that
25a firefighter may be discharged without a hearing is for
26failing to meet the requirements for paramedic licensure.

 

 

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1    In the event that any applicant who has been found eligible
2for appointment and whose name has been placed upon the final
3eligibility register provided for in this Section has not been
4appointed to a firefighter position within one year after the
5date of his or her physical ability examination, the commission
6may cause a second examination to be made of that applicant's
7physical ability prior to his or her appointment. If, after the
8second examination, the physical ability of the applicant shall
9be found to be less than the minimum standard fixed by the
10rules of the commission, the applicant shall not be appointed.
11The applicant's name may be retained upon the register of
12candidates eligible for appointment and when next reached for
13certification and appointment that applicant may be again
14examined as provided in this Section, and if the physical
15ability of that applicant is found to be less than the minimum
16standard fixed by the rules of the commission, the applicant
17shall not be appointed, and the name of the applicant shall be
18removed from the register.
19    (d) Notice, examination, and testing components. Notice of
20the time, place, general scope, merit criteria for any
21subjective component, and fee of every examination shall be
22given by the commission, by a publication at least 2 weeks
23preceding the examination: (i) in one or more newspapers
24published in the district, or if no newspaper is published
25therein, then in one or more newspapers with a general
26circulation within the district, or (ii) on the fire protection

 

 

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1district's Internet website. Additional notice of the
2examination may be given as the commission shall prescribe.
3    The examination and qualifying standards for employment of
4firefighters shall be based on: mental aptitude, physical
5ability, preferences, moral character, and health. The mental
6aptitude, physical ability, and preference components shall
7determine an applicant's qualification for and placement on the
8final register of eligibles. The examination may also include a
9subjective component based on merit criteria as determined by
10the commission. Scores from the examination must be made
11available to the public.
12    (e) Mental aptitude. No person who does not possess at
13least a high school diploma or an equivalent high school
14education shall be placed on a register of eligibles.
15Examination of an applicant's mental aptitude shall be based
16upon a written examination. The examination shall be practical
17in character and relate to those matters that fairly test the
18capacity of the persons examined to discharge the duties
19performed by members of a fire department. Written examinations
20shall be administered in a manner that ensures the security and
21accuracy of the scores achieved.
22    (f) Physical ability. All candidates shall be required to
23undergo an examination of their physical ability to perform the
24essential functions included in the duties they may be called
25upon to perform as a member of a fire department. For the
26purposes of this Section, essential functions of the job are

 

 

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1functions associated with duties that a firefighter may be
2called upon to perform in response to emergency calls. The
3frequency of the occurrence of those duties as part of the fire
4department's regular routine shall not be a controlling factor
5in the design of examination criteria or evolutions selected
6for testing. These physical examinations shall be open,
7competitive, and based on industry standards designed to test
8each applicant's physical abilities in the following
9dimensions:
10        (1) Muscular strength to perform tasks and evolutions
11    that may be required in the performance of duties including
12    grip strength, leg strength, and arm strength. Tests shall
13    be conducted under anaerobic as well as aerobic conditions
14    to test both the candidate's speed and endurance in
15    performing tasks and evolutions. Tasks tested may be based
16    on standards developed, or approved, by the local
17    appointing authority.
18        (2) The ability to climb ladders, operate from heights,
19    walk or crawl in the dark along narrow and uneven surfaces,
20    and operate in proximity to hazardous environments.
21        (3) The ability to carry out critical, time-sensitive,
22    and complex problem solving during physical exertion in
23    stressful and hazardous environments. The testing
24    environment may be hot and dark with tightly enclosed
25    spaces, flashing lights, sirens, and other distractions.
26    The tests utilized to measure each applicant's

 

 

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1capabilities in each of these dimensions may be tests based on
2industry standards currently in use or equivalent tests
3approved by the Joint Labor-Management Committee of the Office
4of the State Fire Marshal.
5    Physical ability examinations administered under this
6Section shall be conducted with a reasonable number of proctors
7and monitors, open to the public, and subject to reasonable
8regulations of the commission.
9    (g) Scoring of examination components. Appointing
10authorities may create a preliminary eligibility register. A
11person shall be placed on the list based upon his or her
12passage of the written examination or the passage of the
13written examination and the physical ability component.
14Passage of the written examination means attaining the minimum
15score set by the commission. Minimum scores should be set by
16the appointing authorities so as to demonstrate a candidate's
17ability to perform the essential functions of the job. The
18minimum score set by the commission shall be supported by
19appropriate validation evidence and shall comply with all
20applicable State and federal laws. The appointing authority may
21conduct the physical ability component and any subjective
22components subsequent to the posting of the preliminary
23eligibility register.
24    The examination components for an initial eligibility
25register shall be graded on a 100-point scale. A person's
26position on the list shall be determined by the following: (i)

 

 

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1the person's score on the written examination, (ii) the person
2successfully passing the physical ability component, and (iii)
3the person's results on any subjective component as described
4in subsection (d).
5    In order to qualify for placement on the final eligibility
6register, an applicant's score on the written examination,
7before any applicable preference points or subjective points
8are applied, shall be at or above the minimum score set by the
9commission. The local appointing authority may prescribe the
10score to qualify for placement on the final eligibility
11register, but the score shall not be less than the minimum
12score set by the commission.
13    The commission shall prepare and keep a register of persons
14whose total score is not less than the minimum score for
15passage and who have passed the physical ability examination.
16These persons shall take rank upon the register as candidates
17in the order of their relative excellence based on the highest
18to the lowest total points scored on the mental aptitude,
19subjective component, and preference components of the test
20administered in accordance with this Section. No more than 60
21days after each examination, an initial eligibility list shall
22be posted by the commission. The list shall include the final
23grades of the candidates without reference to priority of the
24time of examination and subject to claim for preference credit.
25    Commissions may conduct additional examinations, including
26without limitation a polygraph test, after a final eligibility

 

 

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1register is established and before it expires with the
2candidates ranked by total score without regard to date of
3examination. No more than 60 days after each examination, an
4initial eligibility list shall be posted by the commission
5showing the final grades of the candidates without reference to
6priority of time of examination and subject to claim for
7preference credit.
8    (h) Preferences. The following are preferences:
9        (1) Veteran preference. Persons who were engaged in the
10    military service of the United States for a period of at
11    least one year of active duty and who were honorably
12    discharged therefrom, or who are now or have been members
13    on inactive or reserve duty in such military or naval
14    service, shall be preferred for appointment to and
15    employment with the fire department of an affected
16    department.
17        (2) Fire cadet preference. Persons who have
18    successfully completed 2 years of study in fire techniques
19    or cadet training within a cadet program established under
20    the rules of the Joint Labor and Management Committee
21    (JLMC), as defined in Section 50 of the Fire Department
22    Promotion Act, may be preferred for appointment to and
23    employment with the fire department.
24        (3) Educational preference. Persons who have
25    successfully obtained an associate's degree in the field of
26    fire service or emergency medical services, or a bachelor's

 

 

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1    degree from an accredited college or university may be
2    preferred for appointment to and employment with the fire
3    department.
4        (4) Paramedic preference. Persons who have obtained a
5    license as a paramedic may be preferred for appointment to
6    and employment with the fire department of an affected
7    department providing emergency medical services.
8        (5) Experience preference. All persons employed by a
9    district who have been paid-on-call or part-time certified
10    Firefighter II, certified Firefighter III, State of
11    Illinois or nationally licensed EMT, EMT-I, A-EMT, or
12    paramedic, or any combination of those capacities may be
13    awarded up to a maximum of 5 points. However, the applicant
14    may not be awarded more than 0.5 points for each complete
15    year of paid-on-call or part-time service. Applicants from
16    outside the district who were employed as full-time
17    firefighters or firefighter-paramedics by a fire
18    protection district or municipality for at least 2 years
19    may be awarded up to 5 experience preference points.
20    However, the applicant may not be awarded more than one
21    point for each complete year of full-time service.
22        Upon request by the commission, the governing body of
23    the district or in the case of applicants from outside the
24    district the governing body of any other fire protection
25    district or any municipality shall certify to the
26    commission, within 10 days after the request, the number of

 

 

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1    years of successful paid-on-call, part-time, or full-time
2    service of any person. A candidate may not receive the full
3    amount of preference points under this subsection if the
4    amount of points awarded would place the candidate before a
5    veteran on the eligibility list. If more than one candidate
6    receiving experience preference points is prevented from
7    receiving all of their points due to not being allowed to
8    pass a veteran, the candidates shall be placed on the list
9    below the veteran in rank order based on the totals
10    received if all points under this subsection were to be
11    awarded. Any remaining ties on the list shall be determined
12    by lot.
13        (6) Residency preference. Applicants whose principal
14    residence is located within the fire department's
15    jurisdiction may be preferred for appointment to and
16    employment with the fire department.
17        (7) Additional preferences. Up to 5 additional
18    preference points may be awarded for unique categories
19    based on an applicant's experience or background as
20    identified by the commission.
21        (7.5) Apprentice preferences. A persons who has
22    performed fire suppression service for a department as a
23    firefighter apprentice and otherwise meet the
24    qualifications for original appointment as a firefighter
25    specified in this Section are eligible to be awarded up to
26    20 preference points. To qualify for preference points, an

 

 

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1    applicant shall have completed a minimum of 600 hours of
2    fire suppression work on a regular shift for the affected
3    fire department over a 12-month period. The fire
4    suppression work must be in accordance with Section 16.06
5    of this Act and the terms established by a Joint
6    Apprenticeship Committee included in a collective
7    bargaining agreement agreed between the employer and its
8    certified bargaining agent. An eligible applicant must
9    apply to the Joint Apprenticeship Committee for preference
10    points under this item. The Joint Apprenticeship Committee
11    shall evaluate the merit of the applicant's performance,
12    determine the preference points to be awarded, and certify
13    the amount of points awarded to the commissioners. The
14    commissioners shall add the certified preference points to
15    the final grades achieved by the applicant on the other
16    components of the examination.
17        (8) Scoring of preferences. The commission shall give
18    preference for original appointment to persons designated
19    in item (1) by adding to the final grade that they receive
20    5 points for the recognized preference achieved. The
21    commission shall give preference for original appointment
22    to persons designated in item (7.5) by adding to the final
23    grade the amount of points designated by the Joint
24    Apprenticeship Committee as defined in item (7.5). The
25    commission shall determine the number of preference points
26    for each category, except (1) and (7.5). The number of

 

 

HB2854- 56 -LRB101 09544 AWJ 54642 b

1    preference points for each category shall range from 0 to
2    5, except item (7.5). In determining the number of
3    preference points, the commission shall prescribe that if a
4    candidate earns the maximum number of preference points in
5    all categories except item (7.5), that number may not be
6    less than 10 nor more than 30. The commission shall give
7    preference for original appointment to persons designated
8    in items (2) through (7) by adding the requisite number of
9    points to the final grade for each recognized preference
10    achieved. The numerical result thus attained shall be
11    applied by the commission in determining the final
12    eligibility list and appointment from the eligibility
13    list. The local appointing authority may prescribe the
14    total number of preference points awarded under this
15    Section, but the total number of preference points, except
16    item (7.5), shall not be less than 10 points or more than
17    30 points. Apprentice preference points shall be added in
18    addition to other preference points awarded by the
19    commission.
20    No person entitled to any preference shall be required to
21claim the credit before any examination held under the
22provisions of this Section, but the preference shall be given
23after the posting or publication of the initial eligibility
24list or register at the request of a person entitled to a
25credit before any certification or appointments are made from
26the eligibility register, upon the furnishing of verifiable

 

 

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1evidence and proof of qualifying preference credit. Candidates
2who are eligible for preference credit shall make a claim in
3writing within 10 days after the posting of the initial
4eligibility list, or the claim shall be deemed waived. Final
5eligibility registers shall be established after the awarding
6of verified preference points. However, apprentice preference
7credit earned subsequent to the establishment of the final
8eligibility register shall be applied to the applicant's score
9upon certification by the Joint Apprenticeship Committee to the
10commission and the rank order of candidates on the final
11eligibility register shall be adjusted accordingly. All
12employment shall be subject to the commission's initial hire
13background review including, but not limited to, criminal
14history, employment history, moral character, oral
15examination, and medical and psychological examinations, all
16on a pass-fail basis. The medical and psychological
17examinations must be conducted last, and may only be performed
18after a conditional offer of employment has been extended.
19    Any person placed on an eligibility list who exceeds the
20age requirement before being appointed to a fire department
21shall remain eligible for appointment until the list is
22abolished, or his or her name has been on the list for a period
23of 2 years. No person who has attained the age of 35 years
24shall be inducted into a fire department, except as otherwise
25provided in this Section.
26    The commission shall strike off the names of candidates for

 

 

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1original appointment after the names have been on the list for
2more than 2 years.
3    (i) Moral character. No person shall be appointed to a fire
4department unless he or she is a person of good character; not
5a habitual drunkard, a gambler, or a person who has been
6convicted of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude.
7However, no person shall be disqualified from appointment to
8the fire department because of the person's record of
9misdemeanor convictions except those under Sections 11-6,
1011-7, 11-9, 11-14, 11-15, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 12-2, 12-6,
1112-15, 14-4, 16-1, 21.1-3, 24-3.1, 24-5, 25-1, 28-3, 31-1,
1231-4, 31-6, 31-7, 32-1, 32-2, 32-3, 32-4, 32-8, and subsections
131, 6, and 8 of Section 24-1 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the
14Criminal Code of 2012, or arrest for any cause without
15conviction thereon. Any such person who is in the department
16may be removed on charges brought for violating this subsection
17and after a trial as hereinafter provided.
18    A classifiable set of the fingerprints of every person who
19is offered employment as a certificated member of an affected
20fire department whether with or without compensation, shall be
21furnished to the Illinois Department of State Police and to the
22Federal Bureau of Investigation by the commission.
23    Whenever a commission is authorized or required by law to
24consider some aspect of criminal history record information for
25the purpose of carrying out its statutory powers and
26responsibilities, then, upon request and payment of fees in

 

 

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1conformance with the requirements of Section 2605-400 of the
2State Police Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois,
3the Department of State Police is authorized to furnish,
4pursuant to positive identification, the information contained
5in State files as is necessary to fulfill the request.
6    (j) Temporary appointments. In order to prevent a stoppage
7of public business, to meet extraordinary exigencies, or to
8prevent material impairment of the fire department, the
9commission may make temporary appointments, to remain in force
10only until regular appointments are made under the provisions
11of this Section, but never to exceed 60 days. No temporary
12appointment of any one person shall be made more than twice in
13any calendar year.
14    (k) A person who knowingly divulges or receives test
15questions or answers before a written examination, or otherwise
16knowingly violates or subverts any requirement of this Section,
17commits a violation of this Section and may be subject to
18charges for official misconduct.
19    A person who is the knowing recipient of test information
20in advance of the examination shall be disqualified from the
21examination or discharged from the position to which he or she
22was appointed, as applicable, and otherwise subjected to
23disciplinary actions.
24(Source: P.A. 99-78, eff. 7-20-15; 100-252, eff. 8-22-17.)
 
25    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
26becoming law.