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91_HB4702
LRB9112312MWgc
1 AN ACT concerning police and firefighters.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by
5 changing Section 10-2.1-6 as follows:
6 (65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-6) (from Ch. 24, par. 10-2.1-6)
7 Sec. 10-2.1-6. Examination of applicants;
8 disqualifications.
9 (a) All applicants for a position in either the fire or
10 police department of the municipality shall be under 35 years
11 of age, shall be subject to an examination that shall be
12 public, competitive, and open to all applicants (unless the
13 council or board of trustees by ordinance limit applicants to
14 electors of the municipality, county, state or nation) and
15 shall be subject to reasonable limitations as to residence,
16 health, habits, and moral character. The municipality may
17 not charge or collect any fee from an applicant who has met
18 all prequalification standards established by the
19 municipality for any such position.
20 (b) Residency requirements in effect at the time an
21 individual enters the fire or police service of a
22 municipality (other than a municipality that has more than
23 1,000,000 inhabitants) cannot be made more restrictive for
24 that individual during his or her period of service for that
25 municipality, or be made a condition of promotion, except for
26 the rank or position of Fire or Police Chief.
27 (c) No person with a record of misdemeanor convictions
28 except those under Sections 11-6, 11-7, 11-9, 11-14, 11-15,
29 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 12-2, 12-6, 12-15, 14-4, 16-1, 21.1-3,
30 24-3.1, 24-5, 25-1, 28-3, 31-1, 31-4, 31-6, 31-7, 32-1, 32-2,
31 32-3, 32-4, 32-8, and subsections (1), (6) and (8) of Section
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1 24-1 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or arrested for any cause
2 but not convicted on that cause shall be disqualified from
3 taking the examination to qualify for a position in the fire
4 department on grounds of habits or moral character.
5 (d) The age limitation in subsection (a) does not apply
6 (i) to any person previously employed as a policeman or
7 fireman in a regularly constituted police or fire department
8 of (I) any municipality or (II) a fire protection district
9 whose obligations were assumed by a municipality under
10 Section 21 of the Fire Protection District Act, (ii) to any
11 person who has served a municipality as a regularly enrolled
12 volunteer fireman for 5 years immediately preceding the time
13 that municipality begins to use full time firemen to provide
14 all or part of its fire protection service, or (iii) to any
15 person who has served as an auxiliary policeman under Section
16 3.1-30-20 for at least 5 years and is under 40 years of age.
17 (e) Applicants who are 20 years of age and who have
18 successfully completed 2 years of law enforcement studies at
19 an accredited college or university may be considered for
20 appointment to active duty with the police department. An
21 applicant described in this subsection (e) who is appointed
22 to active duty shall not have power of arrest, nor shall the
23 applicant be permitted to carry firearms, until he or she
24 reaches 21 years of age.
25 (f) Applicants who are 18 years of age and who have
26 successfully completed 2 years of study in fire techniques,
27 amounting to a total of 4 high school credits, within the
28 cadet program of a municipality may be considered for
29 appointment to active duty with the fire department of any
30 municipality.
31 (g) The council or board of trustees may by ordinance
32 provide that persons residing outside the municipality are
33 eligible to take the examination.
34 (h) The examinations shall be practical in character and
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1 relate to those matters that will fairly test the capacity of
2 the persons examined to discharge the duties of the positions
3 to which they seek appointment. No person shall be appointed
4 to the police or fire department if he or she does not
5 possess a high school diploma or an equivalent high school
6 education. A board of fire and police commissioners may, by
7 its rules, require police applicants to have obtained an
8 associate's degree or a bachelor's degree as a prerequisite
9 for employment. The examinations shall include tests of
10 physical qualifications and health. No person shall be
11 appointed to the police or fire department if he or she has
12 suffered the amputation of any limb unless the applicant's
13 duties will be only clerical or as a radio operator. No
14 applicant shall be examined concerning his or her political
15 or religious opinions or affiliations. The examinations
16 shall be conducted by the board of fire and police
17 commissioners of the municipality as provided in this
18 Division 2.1.
19 (i) No person who is classified by his local selective
20 service draft board as a conscientious objector, or who has
21 ever been so classified, may be appointed to the police
22 department.
23 (j) No person shall be appointed to the police or fire
24 department unless he or she is a person of good character and
25 not an habitual drunkard, gambler, or a person who has been
26 convicted of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude.
27 No person, however, shall be disqualified from appointment to
28 the fire department because of his or her record of
29 misdemeanor convictions except those under Sections 11-6,
30 11-7, 11-9, 11-14, 11-15, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 12-2, 12-6,
31 12-15, 14-4, 16-1, 21.1-3, 24-3.1, 24-5, 25-1, 28-3, 31-1,
32 31-4, 31-6, 31-7, 32-1, 32-2, 32-3, 32-4, 32-8, and
33 subsections (1), (6) and (8) of Section 24-1 of the Criminal
34 Code of 1961 or arrest for any cause without conviction on
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1 that cause. Any such person who is in the department may be
2 removed on charges brought and after a trial as provided in
3 this Division 2.1.
4 (Source: P.A. 89-52, eff. 6-30-95; 90-445, eff. 8-16-97;
5 90-481, eff. 8-17-97; 90-655, eff. 7-30-98.)