Section 290.40  Loan Application Review Committee

The State Fire Marshal shall appoint a Loan Application Review Committee to determine, as described in Section 290.55, which eligible applicants will be recommended to the Authority to receive a loan under this Program to finance or reimburse the purchase of a fire truck or brush truck.

a)         The Committee shall consist of the following nine members, who shall also serve as the Loan Application Review Committee for the Fire Station Revolving Loan Program and the Ambulance Revolving Loan Program:

1)         The State Fire Marshal, or his or her designee, as Chair;

2)         Three Fire Chiefs (one each from a volunteer department, a combination department and a career/municipal fire department);

3)         One representative from the Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois;

4)         Two representatives from the Illinois banking community (one from the Community Bankers Association of Illinois and one from the Illinois Bankers Association);

5)         One member who is a volunteer firefighter; and

6)         One member from the Illinois Association of Fire Protection Districts.

b)         The Authority's Chief Financial Officer, or his or her designee, will serve as an ex officio member of the Committee for the purpose of reviewing loan documentation to ensure that all documents necessary for the Authority to conduct its loan review are present.

c)         Members shall serve without salary, but may receive reimbursement for reasonable expenses from the Office from appropriations for those purposes.

d)         All members shall have one vote except for the Chair and the Authority's Chief Financial Officer or his or her designee.  The Chair shall only vote to break a tie.

e)         Members shall serve a term of four years, with two members' terms expiring each year.  Members shall be appointed for initial terms as follows:  two members shall serve terms of one year; two members shall serve terms of two years; two members shall serve terms of three years; and two members shall serve terms of four years.  The allocation of initial terms shall be determined by a random drawing.

f)         At the expiration of their initial terms of office, the members (or their successors) shall be appointed for terms of four years each.  Upon the expiration of a member's term of office, the State Fire Marshal shall reappoint that member, or appoint a successor who is a representative of the same interests with which his or her predecessor was identified.

g)         The State Fire Marshal may, at any time, remove any of the respective appointees for inefficiency or neglect of duty in office.  In these instances, the State Fire Marshal shall fill the vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term by appointing a member who is a representative of the same interests with which his or her predecessor was identified.  Upon the death or incapacity of a member, the State Fire Marshal shall fill the vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term by appointing a member who is a representative of the same interests with which his or her predecessor was identified.

h)         Regular meetings of the Committee shall occur as often as deemed necessary by the Chair, at a date, time and place to be fixed by the Committee (or by the Chair, should he or she call for the meeting) and at such additional times as the Committee deems necessary, for the consideration of loan applications, reviews, and Requests for Reconsideration, and the transaction of any other business as properly may come before it.

i)          A quorum shall be a majority of the appointed positions that have been filled by appointment. Unfilled positions shall not be counted.

j)          No Committee member affiliated with a fire department that has a pending application for a loan under this Program shall participate in the review of that fire department's application.

k)         Members of the Committee are required to participate in annual ethics training. Upon completion of the ethics training program, members of the Committee must certify that they have completed the training program.

l)          Members of the Committee are required to execute a confidentiality statement agreeing not to disclose any information gained during the course of their service on the Committee.

(Source:  Amended at 39 Ill. Reg. 5783, effective April 7, 2015)