Public Act 101-0374
 
HB0124 EnrolledLRB101 02891 RJF 47899 b

    AN ACT concerning government.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The State Police Act is amended by changing
Section 9 as follows:
 
    (20 ILCS 2610/9)  (from Ch. 121, par. 307.9)
    Sec. 9. Appointment; qualifications.
    (a) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, the
appointment of Department of State Police officers shall be
made from those applicants who have been certified by the Board
as being qualified for appointment. All persons so appointed
shall, at the time of their appointment, be not less than 21
years of age, or 20 years of age and have successfully
completed an associate's degree or 60 credit hours 2 years of
law enforcement studies at an accredited college or university.
Any person appointed subsequent to successful completion of an
associate's degree or 60 credit hours at an accredited college
or university 2 years of such law enforcement studies shall not
have power of arrest, nor shall he or she be permitted to carry
firearms, until he or she reaches 21 years of age. In addition,
all persons so certified for appointment shall be of sound mind
and body, be of good moral character, be citizens of the United
States, have no criminal records, possess such prerequisites of
training, education, and experience as the Board may from time
to time prescribe so long as persons who have an associate's
degree or 60 credit hours at an accredited college or
university are not disqualified, and shall be required to pass
successfully such mental and physical tests and examinations as
may be prescribed by the Board. All Notwithstanding any Board
rule to the contrary, all persons who meet one of the following
requirements are deemed to have met the collegiate educational
requirements:
        (i) have been honorably discharged and who have been
    awarded a Southwest Asia Service Medal, Kosovo Campaign
    Medal, Korean Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign
    Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, or Global War on Terrorism
    Expeditionary Medal by the United States Armed Forces;
        (ii) are active members of the Illinois National Guard
    or a reserve component of the United States Armed Forces
    and who have been awarded a Southwest Asia Service Medal,
    Kosovo Campaign Medal, Korean Defense Service Medal,
    Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, or Global
    War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal as a result of
    honorable service during deployment on active duty;
        (iii) have been honorably discharged who served in a
    combat mission by proof of hostile fire pay or imminent
    danger pay during deployment on active duty; or
        (iv) have at least 3 years of full active and
    continuous military duty and received an honorable
    discharge before hiring.
    Preference shall be given in such appointments to persons
who have honorably served in the military or naval services of
the United States. All appointees shall serve a probationary
period of 12 months from the date of appointment and during
that period may be discharged at the will of the Director.
However, the Director may in his or her sole discretion extend
the probationary period of an officer up to an additional 6
months when to do so is deemed in the best interest of the
Department. Nothing in this subsection (a) limits the Board's
ability to prescribe education prerequisites or requirements
to certify Department of State Police officers for promotion as
provided in Section 10 of this Act.
    (b) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Act, after
July 1, 1977 and before July 1, 1980, the Director of State
Police may appoint and promote not more than 20 persons having
special qualifications as special agents as he or she deems
necessary to carry out the Department's objectives. Any such
appointment or promotion shall be ratified by the Board.
    (c) During the 90 days following the effective date of this
amendatory Act of 1995, the Director of State Police may
appoint up to 25 persons as State Police officers. These
appointments shall be made in accordance with the requirements
of this subsection (c) and any additional criteria that may be
established by the Director, but are not subject to any other
requirements of this Act. The Director may specify the initial
rank for each person appointed under this subsection.
    All appointments under this subsection (c) shall be made
from personnel certified by the Board. A person certified by
the Board and appointed by the Director under this subsection
must have been employed by the Illinois Commerce Commission on
November 30, 1994 in a job title subject to the Personnel Code
and in a position for which the person was eligible to earn
"eligible creditable service" as a "noncovered employee", as
those terms are defined in Article 14 of the Illinois Pension
Code.
    Persons appointed under this subsection (c) shall
thereafter be subject to the same requirements and procedures
as other State police officers. A person appointed under this
subsection must serve a probationary period of 12 months from
the date of appointment, during which he or she may be
discharged at the will of the Director.
    This subsection (c) does not affect or limit the Director's
authority to appoint other State Police officers under
subsection (a) of this Section.
(Source: P.A. 100-11, eff. 7-1-17.)