SB1295 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB095 08362 HLH 28535 b

95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008
SB1295

Introduced 2/9/2007, by Sen. Don Harmon

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-17

from Ch. 24, par. 10-2.1-17

Amends the Illinois Municipal Code. Provides that, in any municipality with a collective bargaining agreement covering the employment of fire and police personnel, discharge and suspension hearings for fire and police personnel shall be based upon impartial arbitration.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning local government.

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

Section 5. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by changing Section 10-2.1-17 as follows:

(65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-17) (from Ch. 24, par. 10-2.1-17)

Sec. 10-2.1-17. Removal or discharge; investigation of charges; retirement. Except as hereinafter provided, no officer or member of the fire or police department of any municipality subject to this Division 2.1 shall be removed or discharged except for cause, upon written charges, and after an opportunity to be heard in his own defense. The hearing shall be as hereinafter provided. However, in any municipality with a collective bargaining agreement covering the employment of fire and police personnel, the hearing for fire and police personnel shall be based upon impartial arbitration as provided in the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act. , unless the employer and the labor organization representing the person have negotiated an alternative or supplemental form of due process based upon impartial arbitration as a term of a collective bargaining agreement. In non-home rule units of government, such bargaining shall be permissive rather than mandatory unless such contract term was negotiated by the employer and the labor organization prior to or at the time of the effective date of this amendatory Act, in which case such bargaining shall be considered mandatory.

If the chief of the fire department or the chief of the police department or both of them are appointed in the manner provided by ordinance, they may be removed or discharged by the appointing authority. In such case the appointing authority shall file with the corporate authorities the reasons for such removal or discharge, which removal or discharge shall not become effective unless confirmed by a majority vote of the corporate authorities. The board of fire and police commissioners shall conduct a fair and impartial hearing of the charges, to be commenced within 30 days of the filing thereof, which hearing may be continued from time to time. In case an officer or member is found guilty, the board may discharge him, or may suspend him not exceeding 30 days without pay. The board may suspend any officer or member pending the hearing with or without pay, but not to exceed 30 days. If the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners determines that the charges are not sustained, the officer or member shall be reimbursed for all wages withheld, if any. In the conduct of this hearing, each member of the board shall have power to administer oaths and affirmations, and the board shall have power to secure by its subpoena both the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of books and papers relevant to the hearing.

The age for retirement of policemen or firemen in the service of any municipality which adopts this Division 2.1 is 65 years, unless the Council or Board of Trustees shall by ordinance provide for an earlier retirement age of not less than 60 years.

The provisions of the Administrative Review Law, and all amendments and modifications thereof, and the rules adopted pursuant thereto, shall apply to and govern all proceedings for the judicial review of final administrative decisions of the board of fire and police commissioners hereunder. The term "administrative decision" is defined as in Section 3-101 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

Nothing in this Section shall be construed to prevent the chief of the fire department or the chief of the police department from suspending without pay a member of his department for a period of not more than 5 calendar days, but he shall notify the board in writing of such suspension. The hearing shall be as hereinafter provided. However, if the municipality has a collective bargaining agreement covering the employment of fire and police personnel, the suspension shall be reviewable through impartial arbitration as provided in the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act. , unless the employer and the labor organization representing the person have negotiated an alternative or supplemental form of due process based upon impartial arbitration as a term of a collective bargaining agreement. In non-home rule units of government, such bargaining shall be permissive rather than mandatory unless such contract term was negotiated by the employer and the labor organization prior to or at the time of the effective date of this amendatory Act, in which case such bargaining shall be considered mandatory.

Any policeman or fireman so suspended may appeal to the board of fire and police commissioners for a review of the suspension within 5 calendar days after such suspension, and upon such appeal, the board may sustain the action of the chief of the department, may reverse it with instructions that the man receive his pay for the period involved, or may suspend the officer for an additional period of not more than 30 days or discharge him, depending upon the facts presented.

(Source: P.A. 91-650, eff. 11-30-99.)