SB0397 EnrolledLRB101 04158 LNS 49166 b

1    AN ACT concerning civil law.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Court Reporters Act is amended by changing
5Sections 1, 3, 4, 4.1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8.1, 8.2, and 8.5 as follows:
 
6    (705 ILCS 70/1)  (from Ch. 37, par. 651)
7    Sec. 1. Definitions. In this Act:
8    "Court reporter" means any person appointed by the chief
9judge of any circuit to perform the duties prescribed in
10Section 5 of this Act.
11    "Court reporting services employee" means any person
12employed by a chief judge of any circuit to take the court
13record by stenographic or electronic means. "Court reporting
14services employee" includes administrative personnel as
15permitted by Section 4.1 of this Act.
16    "Employer representative" means, with respect to wages,
17fringe benefits, hours, holidays, vacation, proficiency
18examinations, sick leave, and other conditions of employment:
19        (1) For court reporters employed by the Cook County
20    Judicial Circuit Court of Cook County, the chief judge of
21    the Cook County Circuit Court of Cook County.
22        (2) For court reporters employed by the 12th, 18th,
23    19th, and, on and after December 4, 2006, the 22nd judicial

 

 

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1    circuits, a group consisting of the chief judges of those
2    circuits, acting jointly by majority vote.
3        (3) For court reporters employed by all other judicial
4    circuits, the chief judges of those circuits, acting
5    jointly by majority vote.
6    The chief judge of the judicial circuit that employs a
7public employee who is a court reporter, as defined in this the
8Court Reporters Act, has the authority to hire, appoint,
9promote, evaluate, discipline, and discharge court reporters
10within that judicial circuit.
11(Source: P.A. 94-98, eff. 7-1-05.)
 
12    (705 ILCS 70/3)  (from Ch. 37, par. 653)
13    Sec. 3. Number; determination and certification. The
14number of full-time and part-time court reporters that may be
15appointed in each circuit shall be determined by the employer
16representative. In determining how many court reporters are
17needed in each circuit the employer representative shall
18consider the following factors: (1) case loads in the circuit;
19(2) the number of associate judges and circuit judges in the
20circuit; (3) (blank) the number and location in the circuit of
21major federal and state highways; (4) (blank) the location in
22the circuit of state police highway truck weighing stations;
23(5) (blank) the relationship of urban population to large
24metropolitan centers in the various counties of the circuit;
25(6) (blank) the location in the circuit of state institutions

 

 

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1including, but not limited to, universities, colleges, mental
2health facilities, penitentiaries; (7) (blank) the number of
3cities and towns within each circuit in which regular court
4sessions are held and the distance in road miles between each;
5and (8) any other factor deemed relevant by the employer
6representative.
7    The employer representative may, as the need arises,
8increase or lower the number of such court reporters so
9authorized.
10    The Chief Judge of each circuit may designate any number of
11approved full-time court reporter positions as time share
12positions. For the purposes of this Act, "time share position"
13means a full-time court reporter position that is divided among
142 or more court reporters with the full-time salary and
15benefits being apportioned among the court reporters in the
16same percentage as the duties of the full-time position are
17apportioned.
18(Source: P.A. 94-98, eff. 7-1-05.)
 
19    (705 ILCS 70/4)  (from Ch. 37, par. 654)
20    Sec. 4. Appointment; oath. The chief judge may appoint all
21or any of the number of court reporters authorized by Section 3
22of this Act. The court reporters so appointed shall serve at
23the direction of the chief judge and may be removed by the
24chief judge.
25    Each court reporter appointed shall, before entering upon

 

 

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1the duties of his or her office, take the official oath to
2faithfully discharge the duties of his or her office to the
3best of his or her knowledge and ability.
4    The appointments shall be in writing and shall be filed
5with the Clerk of the Circuit Court of the circuit in which the
6court reporters are employed and shall continue in force until
7revoked by the chief judge of the circuit in which the court
8reporter is appointed.
9(Source: P.A. 94-98, eff. 7-1-05.)
 
10    (705 ILCS 70/4.1)  (from Ch. 37, par. 654.1)
11    Sec. 4.1. Appointment and salary of administrative
12personnel.
13    (a) The employer representative may authorize the chief
14judge of any single county circuit to appoint administrative,
15supervisory, and clerical staff when a need for such positions
16has been substantiated, except that in Cook County, supervisory
17and administrative personnel shall be appointed from among the
18court reporting services' pool of employees when such a need
19has been substantiated in which official court reporting
20services are centrally administered, (1) to appoint from among
21the court reporters appointed in the circuit an Administrator
22of Court Reporters, a Deputy Administrator of Court Reporters
23and 2 Assistant Administrators of Court Reporters, (2) to
24designate from among the court reporters appointed in the
25circuit one Reporter Supervisor and one Assistant Reporter

 

 

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1Supervisor for each Department and Division of the circuit
2court, and (3) to appoint secretarial and other support staff
3to assist the Administrator. Each Administrator, Deputy
4Administrator, Assistant Administrator, Reporter Supervisor,
5and Assistant Reporter Supervisor shall have an "A" proficiency
6rating, by examination, as provided in Section 7.
7    (b) Administrative personnel appointed under this Section
8shall be paid by the State.
9        (1) In addition to their regular salary as official
10    court reporters, the administrative personnel appointed
11    under this Section shall be paid such additional sums as
12    the employer representative specifies. Such sums shall be
13    included in the pay schedule adopted pursuant to Section 8.
14    The additional amounts paid shall reflect the burden of
15    administrative responsibility borne by the administrative
16    personnel and the consequent lack of opportunity to produce
17    transcripts of testimony. The additional amounts paid to
18    such personnel shall be determined by the employer
19    representative. not exceed the following:
20            (A) Administrator of Court Reporters: $20,000 per
21        year;
22            (B) Deputy Administrator of Court Reporters:
23        $15,000 per year;
24            (C) Assistant Administrators of Court Reporters:
25        $13,000 per year;
26            (D) Reporter Supervisors: $10,000 per year.

 

 

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1            (E) Assistant Reporter Supervisors: $5,000 per
2        year.
3        (2) Each of the administrative, supervisory,
4    secretarial and other support staff authorized under this
5    Section shall be paid a salary as determined per year by
6    the employer representative.
7(Source: P.A. 94-98, eff. 7-1-05.)
 
8    (705 ILCS 70/5)  (from Ch. 37, par. 655)
9    Sec. 5. Means of reporting; transcripts. The court reporter
10shall make a full reporting by means of stenographic hand or
11machine notes, or a combination thereof, of the evidence and
12such other proceedings in trials and judicial proceedings to
13which he or she is assigned by the chief judge, and the court
14reporter may use an electronic instrument as a supplementary
15device. In the event that the court utilizes an audio or video
16recording system approved by the Supreme Court to record the
17proceedings, a court reporting services employee reporter
18shall be in charge of such system; however, the appointment of
19a court reporter to be in charge of an audio or video recording
20system shall not be required where such system is the judge's
21personal property or has been supplied by a party or such
22party's attorney. To the extent that it does not substantially
23interfere with the court reporter's other official duties, the
24judge to whom, or a judge of the division to which, a reporter
25may be is assigned may assign a reporter to secretarial or

 

 

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1clerical duties arising out of official court operations.
2    A court reporting services employee may charge a page rate
3for the preparation of transcripts of court proceedings not to
4exceed the rate set by the employer representative in the
5Uniform Schedule of Charges for Transcripts.
6    Unless and until otherwise provided in a Uniform Schedule
7of Charges which may hereafter be provided by rule or order of
8the employer representative, a court reporter may charge not to
9exceed 25¢ per 100 words for making transcripts of his notes.
10The fees for making transcripts shall be paid in the first
11instance by the party in whose behalf such transcript is
12ordered and shall be taxed in the suit.
13    The transcripts shall be filed and remain with the papers
14of the case. When the judge trying the case shall, of his own
15motion, order a transcript of the court reporter's notes, the
16judge may direct the payment of the charges therefor, and the
17taxation of the charges as costs in such manner as to him may
18seem just. Provided, that the charges for making but one
19transcript shall be taxed as costs and the party first ordering
20the transcript shall have preference unless it shall be
21otherwise ordered by the court.
22    The change made to this Section by this amendatory Act of
231987 is intended to apply retroactively from and after January
241, 1987.
25(Source: P.A. 94-98, eff. 7-1-05.)
 

 

 

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1    (705 ILCS 70/6)  (from Ch. 37, par. 656)
2    Sec. 6. Assignment to serve outside of county of
3appointment; Travel expenses.
4    The chief judge may assign a court reporter to serve
5anywhere within the circuit in which the court reporter is
6appointed. A court reporter shall be paid travel expenses
7incurred in connection with his or her official duties in his
8or her circuit of appointment outside the county wherein he or
9she resides. Subject to regulations which may be adopted by the
10employer representative Supreme Court, court reporters shall
11be allowed travel expenses when traveling within their county
12of residence in connection with their official duties.
13    The employer representative may assign a court reporter to
14temporary service outside his or her own circuit, but within
15the jurisdiction of the employer representative, with the
16consent of the chief judge of his circuit. A court reporter
17shall be paid travel expenses incurred in connection with his
18or her official duties during such periods of temporary
19assignment.
20    Expense vouchers shall be submitted to the employer
21representative for approval. The expense vouchers or claims
22submitted to the Office of the Comptroller for payment employer
23representative shall have endorsed thereon the signed approval
24of the chief judge of the circuit in which the court reporter
25is appointed incurred the expense for which claim is made.
26(Source: P.A. 94-98, eff. 7-1-05.)
 

 

 

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1    (705 ILCS 70/7)  (from Ch. 37, par. 657)
2    Sec. 7. Proficiency tests. Each Except as otherwise
3provided in this Section, each court reporter in office on
4January 1, 1966 or appointed on or after that date shall have
5taken or shall thereafter take a test to verify rate his or her
6proficiency within one year of employment. The test shall be
7prepared and administered by the employer representative in
8consultation with each of the other employer representatives
9pursuant to standards set by rules. A proficiency test passed
10prior to employment may be accepted by the chief judge as proof
11of proficiency. The test shall consist of three parts
12designated Part A, Part B and Part C. If the court reporter in
13office on January 1, 1966, or appointed on or after that date,
14successfully passes any Part he shall be given a certificate
15designating him as an official court reporter. If such court
16reporter fails to pass any part, the employer representative
17shall so inform the chief judge of the circuit in which the
18court reporter serves. Upon receipt of note that a court
19reporter has failed to pass any part of the test, the chief
20judge may discharge the court reporter or may allow him to
21continue until the test is next administered. If, when the test
22is next administered, the court reporter fails to pass any part
23of the test, he shall be discharged by the chief judge.
24    The test shall be administered at least every six months if
25there are candidates or applicants for the test. Any court

 

 

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1reporter who has passed Part C of the test may apply to take
2the Part B or the Part A section of the test at the regular time
3such tests are given. If the court reporter successfully
4completes Part B or Part A of the test, his proficiency rating
5shall be adjusted to reflect passage of the more difficult
6Part.
7    Any court reporter who served as a court reporter in a
8circuit court for 5 years immediately preceding January 1, 1966
9shall be certified as an official court reporter without
10examination, and shall be credited with an "A" proficiency
11rating, without examination.
12(Source: P.A. 94-98, eff. 7-1-05.)
 
13    (705 ILCS 70/8)  (from Ch. 37, par. 658)
14    Sec. 8. Salaries.
15    (a) The salaries of all court reporters shall be paid by
16the State. Full-time court reporters shall be paid not less
17than $6,000 nor more than $29,500 per year through June 30,
181984. Beginning July 1, 1984, full-time court reporters shall
19be paid not less than $6,000 nor more than $31,250 annually.
20Beginning July 1, 1985, full-time court reporters shall be paid
21not less than $6,000 nor more than $33,250 annually. Beginning
22July 1, 1986, full-time court reporters shall be paid not less
23than $6,000 nor more than $35,250 annually. Beginning July 1,
241987, full-time court reporters shall be paid not less than
25$6,000 nor more than $37,250 annually. Part-time court

 

 

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1reporters shall be paid not less than $12 nor more than $60 per
2half-day. The salary of each individual court reporter shall be
3computed from a schedule adopted by the employer
4representative. The salary schedule shall reflect the
5following relevant factors: (1) proficiency rating; (2)
6experience; (3) population of the area to which a reporter is
7normally assigned; (3-1) court reporters shall receive the same
8annual percentage salary increase as provided to other
9State-paid non-judicial employees of the Judicial Branch with
10equivalent salaries, except that notwithstanding any other
11provision of law, salaries of full time court reporters shall
12be increased by at least a percentage increase equivalent to
13that of the "Employment Cost Index, Wages and Salaries, by
14Occupation and Industry Groups, State and Local Government
15Workers Public Administration", as published by the Bureau of
16Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor for the
17calendar year immediately preceding the year of the respective
18July 1st increase date. The increase shall be added to the then
19current annual salary and the adjusted salary so determined
20shall be the annual salary beginning July 1 of the increase
21year until July 1 of the next year; (4) other factors
22considered relevant by the employer representative Director.
23    (b) (Blank).
24    (c) (Blank). A court reporter who has previously passed, or
25who hereafter passes, Part A or Part B of a proficiency test
26prepared and administered by the employer representative shall

 

 

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1be credited with an "A" or "B" proficiency rating, as
2appropriate.
3    (d) (Blank). A court reporter who has been credited with an
4"A" proficiency rating, without examination, as provided in
5Section 7 of this Act, shall receive a salary of $10,000 per
6annum. Any increase in the maximum salary payable to reporters
7shall not result in any increase for such reporter unless and
8until he has passed the proficiency test.
9    (e) The salaries of all official court reporters employed
10by the State shall be paid semi-monthly monthly, from moneys
11appropriated to the Comptroller for that purpose, on the
12voucher of the chief judge of the circuit employing the court
13reporters. The Comptroller may require all salary claims by
14part-time reporters to be substantiated by certificates signed
15by the reporter and approved by the chief judge of the circuit.
16    (f) (Blank). The salaries of time share court reporter
17positions may be apportioned in the manner provided in Section
183 of this Act.
19(Source: P.A. 94-98, eff. 7-1-05.)
 
20    (705 ILCS 70/8.1)
21    Sec. 8.1. Appropriation request. Each employer
22representative shall make an annual appropriation request in
23January to the General Assembly to fund court reporters. When
24necessary, an employer representative may request supplemental
25appropriations to fund court reporters.

 

 

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1(Source: P.A. 94-98, eff. 7-1-05.)
 
2    (705 ILCS 70/8.2)
3    Sec. 8.2. Collective Supreme Court; collective bargaining.
4The employer representatives Supreme Court shall collectively
5bargain over wages, hours, and terms and conditions of
6employment of all persons employed as court reporting services
7employees reporters in this State if so agreed upon by a
8majority vote of the employees within each employer group. The
9employer representative Supreme Court shall recognize an
10exclusive bargaining representative of persons employed as
11court reporting services employees reporters in this State, if
12that representative makes a showing, through an election or
13otherwise, that it represents a majority of the court reporters
14within the employer group, in accordance with procedures for
15verifying majority status established by the Court.
16(Source: P.A. 93-89, eff. 7-2-03.)
 
17    (705 ILCS 70/8.5)
18    Sec. 8.5. Advisory arbitration for collective bargaining.
19    (a) All matters concerning wages, hours, and terms and
20conditions of employment of court reporters are subject to
21advisory, non-binding arbitration.
22    (b) Any party to a collective bargaining agreement with the
23exclusive bargaining representative chosen under Section 8.2
24may request that any matter concerning wages, hours, or terms

 

 

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1and conditions of employment of court reporters shall be
2submitted to advisory, non-binding arbitration and that the
3employer representative Supreme Court shall appoint
4arbitrators. Upon receiving such a request, the employer
5representative Court shall appoint a panel of one or more
6arbitrators and submit the matter to the panel for advisory,
7non-binding arbitration. The employer representative Court
8shall consult with the parties in determining acceptable
9arbitrators.
10    (c) Arbitrators appointed by the employer representative
11Supreme Court under this Section are entitled to compensation
12and to reimbursement for their reasonable expenses actually
13incurred in performing their duties, as provided by rules
14adopted by the employer representative Court. Arbitrators'
15compensation and reimbursement shall be paid from moneys
16appropriated for that purpose.
17    (d) The employer representative Supreme Court shall create
18a roster of arbitrators who are available and qualified for
19appointment under this Section, as provided by rules adopted by
20the Court.
21(Source: P.A. 93-89, eff. 7-2-03.)