Public Act 100-0425
 
SB1304 EnrolledLRB100 08288 AWJ 18390 b


  
    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 10-2.1-4 and  by adding Section 10-1-7.3 as 
follows:
 
    (65 ILCS 5/10-1-7.3 new)
    Sec. 10-1-7.3. Appointment of fire chief.  Notwithstanding 
any other provision in this Division, after the effective date 
of this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly, a person 
shall not be appointed as the chief, the acting chief, the 
department head, or a position, by whatever title, that is 
responsible for day-to-day operations of a fire department for 
greater than 180 days unless he or she possesses the following 
qualifications and certifications:
        (1) Office of the State Fire Marshal Firefighter Basic 
    Certification or Firefighter II Certification; Office of 
    the State Fire Marshal Fire Officer I and II 
    Certifications; and an associate degree in fire science or 
    a bachelor's degree from an accredited university or 
    college; or
        (2) a minimum of 10 years' experience as a firefighter 
    at the fire department in the jurisdiction making the 
    appointment. 
    This Section applies to fire departments that employ 
firefighters hired under Section 10-1-7.1 or 10-1-7.2 of this 
Division. 
 


    (65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-4)  (from Ch. 24, par. 10-2.1-4)


    Sec. 10-2.1-4. Fire and police departments; Appointment of

members; Certificates of appointments.The board of fire and 
police commissioners shall appoint all officers
and members of 
the fire and police departments of the municipality,
including 
the chief of police and the chief of the fire department,

unless the council or board of trustees shall by ordinance as 
to them
otherwise provide; except as otherwise provided in this 
Section, and
except that in any municipality which adopts or 
has
adopted this Division 2.1 and also adopts or has adopted 
Article 5 of
this Code, the chief of police and the chief of 
the fire department
shall be appointed by the municipal 
manager, if it is provided by
ordinance in such municipality 
that such chiefs, or either of them,
shall not be appointed by 
the board of fire and police commissioners.

    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.

    After the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 
100th General Assembly, a person shall not be appointed as the 
chief, the acting chief, the department head, or a position, by 
whatever title, that is responsible for day-to-day operations 
of a fire department for greater than 180 days unless he or she 
possesses the following qualifications and certifications:
        (1) Office of the State Fire Marshal Firefighter Basic 
    Certification or Firefighter II Certification; Office of 
    the State Fire Marshal Fire Officer I and II 
    Certifications; and an associate degree in fire science or 
    a bachelor's degree from an accredited university or 
    college; or
        (2)  a minimum of 10 years' experience as a firefighter 
    at the fire department in the jurisdiction making the 
    appointment. 
This paragraph applies to fire departments that employ 
firefighters hired under the provisions of this Division. 
    If a member of the department is appointed chief of police 
or chief
of the fire department prior to being eligible to 
retire on pension, he
shall be considered as on furlough from 
the rank he held immediately
prior to his appointment as chief. 
If he resigns as chief or is
discharged as chief prior to 
attaining eligibility to retire on pension,
he shall revert to 
and be established in whatever rank he currently holds,
except 
for previously appointed positions, and thereafter
be entitled 
to all the benefits and emoluments of that rank,
without regard 
as to whether a vacancy then exists in that rank.

    All appointments to each department other than that of the 
lowest
rank, however, shall be from the rank next below that to 
which the
appointment is made except as otherwise provided in 
this Section, and
except that the chief of police and the chief 
of the
fire department may be appointed from among members of 
the police and
fire departments, respectively, regardless of 
rank, unless the council
or board of trustees shall have by 
ordinance as to them otherwise provided.
 A chief of police or 
the chief of the fire department, having been appointed
from 
among members
of the police or fire department, respectively, 
shall be permitted, regardless
of rank, to
take promotional

exams and be promoted to a higher classified rank than he 
currently holds,
without having to
resign as chief of police or 
chief of the fire department.

    The sole authority to issue certificates of appointment 
shall be
vested in the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners 
and all
certificates of appointments issued to any officer or 
member of the fire
or police department of a municipality shall 
be signed by the chairman
and secretary respectively of the 
board of fire and police commissioners
of such municipality, 
upon appointment of such officer or member of the
fire and 
police department of such municipality by action of the board

of fire and police commissioners. In any municipal fire 
department that employs full-time firefighters and is subject 
to a collective bargaining agreement, a person who has not 
qualified for regular appointment under the provisions of this 
Division 2.1 shall not be used as a temporary or permanent 
substitute for classified members of a municipality's fire 
department or for regular appointment as a classified member of 
a municipality's fire department unless mutually agreed to by 
the employee's certified bargaining agent. Such agreement 
shall be considered a permissive subject of bargaining.  
Municipal fire departments covered by the changes made by this 
amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly that are using 
non-certificated employees as substitutes immediately prior to 
the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General 
Assembly may, by mutual agreement with the certified bargaining 
agent, continue the existing practice or a modified practice 
and that agreement shall be considered a permissive subject of 
bargaining. A home rule unit may not regulate the hiring of 
temporary or substitute members of the municipality's fire 
department in a manner that is inconsistent with this Section.  
This Section is a limitation under subsection (i) of Section 6 
of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution on the concurrent 
exercise by home rule units of powers and functions exercised 
by the State.


    The term "policemen" as used in this Division does not 
include
auxiliary police officers except as provided for in 
Section 10-2.1-6.

    Any full time member of a regular fire or police department 
of any
municipality which comes under the provisions of this 
Division or adopts
this Division 2.1 or which has adopted any 
of the prior Acts pertaining to
fire and police commissioners, 
is a city officer.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, the 
Chief of
Police of a department in a non-home rule municipality 
of more than 130,000
inhabitants may, without the advice or 
consent of the Board of
Fire and Police Commissioners, appoint 
up to 6 officers who shall be known
as deputy chiefs or 
assistant deputy chiefs, and whose rank shall be
immediately 
below that of Chief.  The deputy or assistant deputy chiefs may

be appointed from any rank of sworn officers of that 
municipality, but no
person who is not such a sworn officer may 
be so appointed.  Such deputy
chief or assistant deputy chief 
shall have the authority to direct and
issue orders to all 
employees of the Department holding the rank of captain
or any 
lower rank.
 A deputy chief of police or assistant deputy chief 
of police, having been
appointed from any rank
of sworn 
officers of that municipality, shall be permitted, regardless 
of rank,
to take promotional
exams and be promoted to a higher 
classified rank than he currently holds,
without having to

resign as deputy chief of police or assistant deputy chief of 
police.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, a 
non-home rule
municipality of 130,000 or fewer inhabitants, 
through its council or board
of trustees, may, by ordinance, 
provide for a position of deputy chief to be
appointed by the 
chief of the police department.  The ordinance shall provide
for 
no more than one deputy chief position if the police department 
has fewer
than 25 full-time police officers and for no more 
than 2 deputy chief positions
if the police department has 25 
or more full-time police officers.  The deputy
chief position

shall be an exempt rank immediately below that of Chief.  The 
deputy chief may
be appointed from any rank of sworn, full-time 
officers of the municipality's
police department, but must have 
at least 5 years of full-time service as a
police officer in 
that department.  A deputy chief shall serve at the
discretion 
of the Chief and, if removed from the position,
shall revert to 
the rank currently held, without regard as to whether a
vacancy 
exists in
that rank. A deputy chief
of police, having been 
appointed from any rank of sworn full-time officers of
that 
municipality's
police department, shall be permitted, 
regardless of rank, to take promotional
exams and be
promoted 
to a higher classified rank than he currently holds, without 
having to
resign as deputy
chief of police.

    No municipality having a population less than 1,000,000 
shall require
that any firefighter appointed to the lowest
rank 
serve a probationary employment period of longer than one year.  
The
limitation on periods of probationary employment provided 
in this
amendatory Act of 1989 is an exclusive power and 
function of the State.
Pursuant to subsection (h) of Section 6 
of Article VII of the Illinois
Constitution, a home rule 
municipality having a population less than 1,000,000
must 
comply with this limitation on periods of probationary 
employment, which
is a denial and limitation of home rule 
powers.  Notwithstanding anything to
the contrary in this 
Section, the probationary employment period limitation
may be 
extended for a firefighter who is required, as a condition of 
employment, to be a licensed paramedic, during which time the 
sole reason that a firefighter may be discharged without a 
hearing is for failing to meet the requirements for paramedic 
licensure.

    To the extent that this Section or any other Section in 
this Division conflicts with Section 10-2.1-6.3 or 10-2.1-6.4, 
then Section 10-2.1-6.3 or 10-2.1-6.4 shall control. 
(Source: P.A. 97-251, eff. 8-4-11; 97-813, eff. 7-13-12; 
98-973, eff. 8-15-14.)

 
    Section 10. The Fire Protection District Act is amended  by 
adding Section 16.04b as follows:
 
    (70 ILCS 705/16.04b  new)
    Sec. 16.04b. Appointment of fire chief.  Notwithstanding 
any other provision in this Act, after the effective date of 
this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly, a person 
shall not be appointed as the chief, the acting chief, the 
department head, or a position, by whatever title, that is 
responsible for day-to-day operations of a fire protection 
district for greater than 180 days unless he or she possesses 
the following qualifications and certifications:
        (1) Office of the State Fire Marshal Firefighter Basic 
    Certification or Firefighter II Certification; Office of 
    the State Fire Marshal Fire Officer I and II 
    Certifications; and an associate degree in fire science or 
    a bachelor's degree from an accredited university or 
    college; or
        (2) a minimum of 10 years' experience as a firefighter 
    in the fire protection district of the jurisdiction making 
    the appointment.
    This Section applies to fire protection districts that 
employ firefighters hired under the provisions of this Act. 
 
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.