Public Act 93-0559

SB706 Enrolled                       LRB093 03131 JAM 03148 b

    AN ACT in relation to governmental ethics.

    Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:

    Section  5.   The  Secretary  of  State Act is amended by
adding Section 14 as follows:

    (15 ILCS 305/14 new)
    Sec. 14.  Inspector General.
    (a)  The Secretary of State must,  with  the  advice  and
consent  of  the Senate, appoint an Inspector General for the
purpose of detection, deterrence, and  prevention  of  fraud,
corruption, mismanagement, gross or aggravated misconduct, or
misconduct  that  may  be criminal in nature in the Office of
the Secretary of State. The Inspector General shall  serve  a
5-year term.  If no successor is appointed and qualified upon
the expiration of the Inspector General's term, the Office of
Inspector  General is deemed vacant and the powers and duties
under this Section may be exercised only by an appointed  and
qualified   interim   Inspector  General  until  a  successor
Inspector General is appointed and qualified.  If the General
Assembly is not in session when a vacancy in  the  Office  of
Inspector  General occurs, the Secretary of State may appoint
an interim Inspector General whose term shall expire 2  weeks
after the next regularly scheduled session day of the Senate.
    (b)  The  Inspector  General  shall  have  the  following
qualifications:
         (1)  has not been convicted  of any felony under the
    laws of this State, another State, or the United States;
         (2)  has  earned  a  baccalaureate  degree  from  an
    institution of higher education; and
         (3)  has  either (A) 5 or more years of service with
    a federal, State, or local  law  enforcement  agency,  at
    least  2  years  of  which  have  been  in  a progressive
    investigatory capacity; (B) 5 or more years of service as
    a federal, State, or local prosecutor; or (C) 5  or  more
    years  of  service  as a senior manager or executive of a
    federal, State, or local agency.
    (c)  The Inspector General may  review,  coordinate,  and
recommend methods and procedures to increase the integrity of
the  Office  of  the  Secretary  of State.  The duties of the
Inspector General  shall  supplement  and  not  supplant  the
duties  of  the  Chief  Auditor  for the Secretary of State's
Office or any other Inspector General that may be  authorized
by  law.    The Inspector General must report directly to the
Secretary of State.
    (d)  In addition to the authority otherwise  provided  by
this  Section,  but only when investigating the Office of the
Secretary of State,  its  employees,  or  their  actions  for
fraud,   corruption,   mismanagement,   gross  or  aggravated
misconduct, or misconduct that may be criminal in nature, the
Inspector General is authorized:
         (1)  To have access to all records, reports, audits,
    reviews, documents,  papers,  recommendations,  or  other
    materials   available   that   relate   to  programs  and
    operations with respect to which  the  Inspector  General
    has responsibilities under this Section.
         (2)  To make any investigations and reports relating
    to  the  administration of the programs and operations of
    the Office of the Secretary of State  that  are,  in  the
    judgement   of   the   Inspector  General,  necessary  or
    desirable.
         (3)  To request any information or  assistance  that
    may   be  necessary  for  carrying  out  the  duties  and
    responsibilities provided by this Section from any local,
    State, or federal governmental agency or unit thereof.
         (4)  To  require  by  subpoena  the  appearance   of
    witnesses   and   the   production  of  all  information,
    documents, reports, answers, records,  accounts,  papers,
    and  other data and documentary evidence necessary in the
    performance of the functions assigned  by  this  Section,
    with  the  exception  of  subsection  (c)  and  with  the
    exception  of  records of a labor organization authorized
    and recognized under the Illinois Public Labor  Relations
    Act  to  be  the  exclusive  bargaining representative of
    employees of the Secretary of State, including,  but  not
    limited  to,  records  of representation of employees and
    the negotiation of collective  bargaining  agreements.  A
    subpoena  may be  issued under this paragraph (4) only by
    the Inspector General and not by members of the Inspector
    General's staff. A person duly subpoenaed for  testimony,
    documents,  or  other  items  who  neglects or refuses to
    testify or produce documents or  other  items  under  the
    requirements   of   the  subpoena  shall  be  subject  to
    punishment as may be determined by a court  of  competent
    jurisdiction,  unless  (i)  the  testimony, documents, or
    other items are covered by the attorney-client  privilege
    or any other privilege or right recognized by law or (ii)
    the  testimony,  documents,  or  other  items concern the
    representation  of  employees  and  the  negotiation   of
    collective  bargaining agreements by a labor organization
    authorized and recognized under the Illinois Public Labor
    Relations   Act   to   be   the   exclusive    bargaining
    representative  of  employees  of the Secretary of State.
    Nothing in  this  Section  limits  a  person's  right  to
    protection  against  self-incrimination  under  the Fifth
    Amendment of the United States Constitution or Article I,
    Section 10, of the Constitution of the State of Illinois.
         (5)  To  have  direct  and  prompt  access  to   the
    Secretary  of  State  for  any  purpose pertaining to the
    performance of functions and responsibilities under  this
    Section.
    (e)  The  Inspector  General  may receive and investigate
complaints or information from an employee of  the  Secretary
of  State  concerning  the  possible existence of an activity
constituting a  violation  of  law,  rules,  or  regulations;
mismanagement;   abuse   of  authority;  or  substantial  and
specific  danger  to  the  public  health  and  safety.   Any
employee who knowingly files a false  complaint  or  files  a
complaint  with  reckless  disregard  for  the  truth  or the
falsity of the facts underlying the complaint may be  subject
to  discipline as set forth in the rules of the Department of
Personnel of the Secretary of State.
    The  Inspector  General  may  not,  after  receipt  of  a
complaint or  information  from  an  employee,  disclose  the
identity of the employee without the consent of the employee,
unless  the  Inspector  General determines that disclosure of
the identity is reasonable and necessary for the  furtherance
of the investigation.
    Any  employee  who  has  the  authority  to  recommend or
approve any personnel action or to direct others to recommend
or approve any personnel action may not, with respect to that
authority, take or threaten to take any  action  against  any
employee  as  a reprisal for making a complaint or disclosing
information to the Inspector General,  unless  the  complaint
was made or the information disclosed with the knowledge that
it  was  false  or  with  willful  disregard for its truth or
falsity.
    (f)  The  Inspector  General   must   adopt   rules,   in
accordance with the provisions of the Illinois Administrative
Procedure   Act,   establishing   minimum   requirements  for
initiating, conducting, and completing  investigations.   The
rules must establish criteria for determining, based upon the
nature   of   the   allegation,  the  appropriate  method  of
investigation, which may include, but is not limited to, site
visits, telephone contacts, personal interviews, or  requests
for  written  responses.  The rules must also clarify how the
Office of the Inspector General  shall  interact  with  other
local, State, and federal law enforcement investigations.
    Any  employee  of  the  Secretary  of  State  subject  to
investigation  or  inquiry  by  the  Inspector General or any
agent or representative of the Inspector  General  concerning
misconduct that is criminal in nature shall have the right to
be  notified  of  the  right  to  remain  silent  during  the
investigation  or  inquiry and the right to be represented in
the  investigation  or  inquiry   by   an   attorney   or   a
representative  of a labor organization that is the exclusive
collective bargaining  representative  of  employees  of  the
Secretary  of  State.  Any  investigation  or  inquiry by the
Inspector General or  any  agent  or  representative  of  the
Inspector  General must be conducted with an awareness of the
provisions of a collective bargaining agreement that  applies
to  the  employees  of  the  Secretary  of  State and with an
awareness of the rights of the  employees  as  set  forth  in
State  and federal law and applicable judicial decisions. Any
recommendations for discipline or any  action  taken  against
any  employee  by the Inspector General or any representative
or agent of  the  Inspector  General  must  comply  with  the
provisions   of  the  collective  bargaining  agreement  that
applies to the employee.
    (g)  On or before January 1 of each year,  the  Inspector
General  shall  report  to  the  President of the Senate, the
Minority Leader of the Senate, the Speaker of  the  House  of
Representatives,  and  the  Minority  Leader  of the House of
Representatives  on  the  types  of  investigations  and  the
activities undertaken by the Office of the Inspector  General
during the previous calendar year.

    Section 10.  The Secretary of State Merit Employment Code
is amended by changing Section 16 as follows:

    (15 ILCS 310/16) (from Ch. 124, par. 116)
    Sec.  16. Status of present employees.  Employees holding
positions in the Office of  the  Secretary  of  State  herein
shall continue under the following conditions:
    (1)  Employees  who  have been appointed as the result of
having passed examinations in accordance with the  provisions
of  the  "Personnel Code", and who have satisfactorily passed
the  probationary  period  or  who  have  been  promoted   in
accordance  with  the  rules  thereunder,  shall be continued
without further examination, but shall be  otherwise  subject
to provisions of this Act and the rules made pursuant to it.
    (2)  Employees  who  have been appointed as the result of
having passed examinations pursuant to the provisions of  the
"Personnel  Code"  but  have not completed their probationary
period on the effective date of this Act shall  be  continued
without further examination but shall be otherwise subject to
provisions  of  this  Act  and the rules made pursuant to it.
Time served on probation prior to the effective date of  this
Act  shall  count  as  time served on the probationary period
provided by this Act.
    (2.5)  Persons who, immediately before the effective date
of this amendatory Act of the  93rd  General  Assembly,  were
employees  with  investigatory  functions  of  the  Inspector
General  within  the Office of the Secretary of State and who
are subject to the Secretary of State Merit  Employment  Code
shall be appointed to the position of inspector, as described
in  Section  14  of  the Secretary of State Act, if they: (i)
meet  the  requirements  described  in  Section  14  of   the
Secretary of State Act; (ii) pass a qualifying examination as
prescribed by the Director of Personnel within 6 months after
the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General
Assembly;  and (iii) satisfactorily complete their respective
probationary  periods.   The   qualifying   examination   for
inspectors  shall  be  similar to those required for entrance
examinations for comparable positions in the  Office  of  the
Secretary  of  State.  Inspectors  shall be appointed without
regard  to  eligible  lists.  Nothing  in   this   subsection
precludes   the   Office  of  the  Secretary  of  State  from
reclassifying or reallocating employees who  would  otherwise
qualify as inspectors.
    (3)  All  other  such employees subject to the provisions
of this Act shall be continued in their respective  positions
if  they  pass  a  qualifying  examination  prescribed by the
Director within 9 months from the effective date of this Act,
and satisfactorily  complete  their  respective  probationary
periods.    Such  qualifying examinations shall be similar to
those  required  for  entrance  examinations  for  comparable
positions  in  the  Office  of  the   Secretary   of   State.
Appointments  of  such  employees  shall be without regard to
eligible    lists.     Nothing    herein    precludes     the
reclassification  or  reallocation as provided by this Act of
any position held by such incumbent.
    (4)  Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prejudice,
reduce,  extinguish  or  affect  the  rights  or   privileges
determined through judicial process to have been conferred on
any  present  or  past  employee under the Illinois Personnel
Code.  In the event that any court of competent  jurisdiction
shall  determine  that  present  or  past  employees  of  the
Secretary  of State have any rights arising from the Illinois
Personnel Code, those rights shall be recognized  under  this
Act.
    (5)  Any  person  who,  as  a  result of any court order,
court approved stipulation or settlement, has any  employment
or  re-employment  rights prior to the effective date of this
Act shall continue to have such rights  after  the  effective
date of this Act.
(Source: P.A. 80-13.)

    Section  99.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.

Effective Date: 8/20/2003