Public Act 103-0312
 
HB2475 EnrolledLRB103 30671 AWJ 57132 b

    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Illinois 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 Illinois 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 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
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. A person who meets All persons who meet one of the
following requirements is are deemed to have met the
collegiate educational requirements:
        (i) has have been honorably discharged and who has
    have been awarded a Southwest Asia Service Medal, Kuwait
    Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia), Kuwait Liberation Medal
    (Kuwait), Kosovo Campaign Medal, Korean Defense Service
    Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal,
    Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, or Global War on
    Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, or Inherent Resolve
    Campaign Medal by the United States Armed Forces;
        (ii) is an active member are active members of the
    Illinois National Guard or a reserve component of the
    United States Armed Forces and who has have been awarded a
    Southwest Asia Service Medal, Kuwait Liberation Medal
    (Saudi Arabia), Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait), Kosovo
    Campaign Medal, Korean Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan
    Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on
    Terrorism Service Medal, or Global War on Terrorism
    Expeditionary Medal, or Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal as
    a result of honorable service during deployment on active
    duty;
        (iii) has 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) has have at least 3 years of full active and
    continuous United States Armed Forces military duty, which
    shall also include a period of active duty with the State
    of Illinois under Title 10 or Title 32 of the United States
    Code pursuant to an order of the President or the Governor
    of the State of Illinois, and received an honorable
    discharge before hiring; or .
        (v) has successfully completed basic law enforcement
    training, has at least 3 years of continuous, full-time
    service as a peace officer with the same police
    department, and is currently serving as a peace officer
    when applying.
    Preference shall be given in such appointments to persons
who have honorably served in the United States Armed Forces
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 Illinois State Police.
Nothing in this subsection (a) limits the Board's ability to
prescribe education prerequisites or requirements to certify
Illinois 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 March 31, 1995 (the
effective date of Public Act 89-9), 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.
    (d) During the 180 days following January 1, 2022 (the
effective date of Public Act 101-652), the Director of the
Illinois State Police may appoint current Illinois State
Police employees serving in law enforcement officer positions
previously within Central Management Services as State Police
officers. These appointments shall be made in accordance with
the requirements of this subsection (d) and any institutional
criteria that may be established by the Director, but are not
subject to any other requirements of this Act. All
appointments under this subsection (d) 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 a State agency, board, or commission
on January 1, 2021 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 (d) shall
thereafter be subject to the same requirements, and subject to
the same contractual benefits and obligations, as other State
police officers. This subsection (d) does not affect or limit
the Director's authority to appoint other State Police
officers under subsection (a) of this Section.
    (e) The Merit Board shall review Illinois State Police
Cadet applicants. The Illinois State Police may provide
background check and investigation material to the Board for
its review pursuant to this Section. The Board shall approve
and ensure that no cadet applicant is certified unless the
applicant is a person of good character and has not been
convicted of, or entered a plea of guilty to, a felony offense,
any of the misdemeanors specified in this Section or if
committed in any other state would be an offense similar to
Section 11-1.50, 11-6, 11-6.5, 11-6.6, 11-9.1, 11-9.1B, 11-14,
11-14.1, 11-30, 12-2, 12-3.2, 12-3.4, 12-3.5, 16-1, 17-1,
17-2, 26.5-1, 26.5-2, 26.5-3, 28-3, 29-1, any misdemeanor in
violation of any Section of Part E of Title III of the Criminal
Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012, 32-4a, or 32-7 of
the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012, or
subsection (a) of Section 17-32 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or
the Criminal Code of 2012, to Section 5 or 5.2 of the Cannabis
Control Act, or any felony or misdemeanor in violation of
federal law or the law of any state that is the equivalent of
any of the offenses specified therein. The Officer
Professional Conduct Database, provided for in Section 9.2 of
the Illinois Police Training Act, shall be searched as part of
this process. For purposes of this Section, "convicted of, or
entered a plea of guilty" regardless of whether the
adjudication of guilt or sentence is withheld or not entered
thereon. This includes sentences of supervision, conditional
discharge, or first offender probation, or any similar
disposition provided for by law.
    (f) The Board shall by rule establish an application fee
waiver program for any person who meets one or more of the
following criteria:
        (1) his or her available personal income is 200% or
    less of the current poverty level; or
        (2) he or she is, in the discretion of the Board,
    unable to proceed in an action with payment of application
    fee and payment of that fee would result in substantial
    hardship to the person or the person's family.
(Source: P.A. 101-374, eff. 1-1-20; 101-652, eff. 1-1-22;
102-538, eff. 8-20-21; 102-694, eff. 1-7-22; 102-813, eff.
5-13-22; revised 8-24-22.)

Effective Date: 1/1/2024