50 ILCS 705/6.1

(50 ILCS 705/6.1)

Sec. 6.1. Automatic decertification of full-time and part-time law enforcement officers.

(a) The Board must review law enforcement officer conduct and records to ensure that no law enforcement officer is certified or provided a valid waiver if that law enforcement officer has been convicted of, found guilty of, entered a plea of guilty to, or entered a plea of nolo contendere to, a felony offense under the laws of this State or any other state which if committed in this State would be punishable as a felony. The Board must also ensure that no law enforcement officer is certified or provided a valid waiver if that law enforcement officer has been convicted of, found guilty of, or entered a plea of guilty to, on or after January 1, 2022 (the effective date of Public Act 101-652) of any misdemeanor 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, or subsection (a) of Section 17-32 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012, or 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 Board must appoint investigators to enforce the duties conferred upon the Board by this Act.

(a-1) For purposes of this Section, a person is "convicted of, or entered a plea of guilty to, plea of nolo contendere to, found guilty of" 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.

(b) It is the responsibility of the sheriff or the chief executive officer of every law enforcement agency or department within this State to report to the Board any arrest, conviction, finding of guilt, plea of guilty, or plea of nolo contendere to, of any officer for an offense identified in this Section, 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.

(c) It is the duty and responsibility of every full-time and part-time law enforcement officer in this State to report to the Board within 14 days, and the officer's sheriff or chief executive officer, of the officer's arrest, conviction, found guilty of, or plea of guilty for an offense identified in this Section. Any full-time or part-time law enforcement officer who knowingly makes, submits, causes to be submitted, or files a false or untruthful report to the Board must have the officer's certificate or waiver immediately decertified or revoked.

(d) Any person, or a local or State agency, or the Board is immune from liability for submitting, disclosing, or releasing information of arrests, convictions, or pleas of guilty in this Section as long as the information is submitted, disclosed, or released in good faith and without malice. The Board has qualified immunity for the release of the information.

(e) Any full-time or part-time law enforcement officer with a certificate or waiver issued by the Board who is convicted of, found guilty of, or entered a plea of guilty to, or entered a plea of nolo contendere to any offense described in this Section immediately becomes decertified or no longer has a valid waiver. The decertification and invalidity of waivers occurs as a matter of law. Failure of a convicted person to report to the Board the officer's conviction as described in this Section or any continued law enforcement practice after receiving a conviction is a Class 4 felony.

For purposes of this Section, a person is considered to have been "convicted of, found guilty of, or entered a plea of guilty to, plea of nolo contendere to" regardless of whether the adjudication of guilt or sentence is withheld or not entered thereon, including sentences of supervision, conditional discharge, first offender probation, or any similar disposition as provided for by law.

(f) The Board's investigators shall be law enforcement officers as defined in Section 2 of this Act. The Board shall not waive the training requirement unless the investigator has had a minimum of 5 years experience as a sworn officer of a local, State, or federal law enforcement agency. An investigator shall not have been terminated for good cause, decertified, had his or her law enforcement license or certificate revoked in this or any other jurisdiction, or been convicted of any of the conduct listed in subsection (a). Any complaint filed against the Board's investigators shall be investigated by the Illinois State Police.

(g) The Board must request and receive information and assistance from any federal, state, local, or private enforcement agency as part of the authorized criminal background investigation. The Illinois State Police must process, retain, and additionally provide and disseminate information to the Board concerning criminal charges, arrests, convictions, and their disposition, that have been filed against a basic academy applicant, law enforcement applicant, or law enforcement officer whose fingerprint identification cards are on file or maintained by the Illinois State Police. The Federal Bureau of Investigation must provide the Board any criminal history record information contained in its files pertaining to law enforcement officers or any applicant to a Board certified basic law enforcement academy as described in this Act based on fingerprint identification. The Board must make payment of fees to the Illinois State Police for each fingerprint card submission in conformance with the requirements of paragraph 22 of Section 55a of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois.

(g-5) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the changes to this Section made by this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly and Public Act 101-652 shall apply prospectively only from July 1, 2022.

(Source: P.A. 101-187, eff. 1-1-20; 101-652, eff. 1-1-22; 102-538, eff. 8-20-21; 102-694, eff. 1-7-22.)