HB3550eng 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB3550 Engrossed LRB097 10822 KMW 51292 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 Fire Department Promotion Act is amended by changing Section 35 as follows:

(50 ILCS 742/35)

Sec. 35. Written examinations.

(a) The appointing authority may not condition eligibility to take the written examination on the candidate's score on any of the previous components of the examination. The written examination for a particular rank shall consist of matters relating to the duties regularly performed by persons holding that rank within the department. The examination shall be based only on the contents of written materials that the appointing authority has identified and made readily available to potential examinees at least 90 days before the examination is administered. The test questions and material must be pertinent to the particular rank for which the examination is being given. The written examination shall be administered after the determination and posting of the seniority list, ascertained merit points, and subjective evaluation scores. The written examination shall be administered, the test materials opened, and the results scored and tabulated.

(b) Written examinations shall be graded at the examination site on the day of the examination immediately upon completion of the test in front of the observers if such observers are appointed under Section 25, or if the tests are graded offsite by a bona fide testing agency, the observers shall witness the sealing and the shipping of the tests for grading and the subsequent opening of the scores upon the return from the testing agency. Every examinee shall have the right (i) to obtain his or her score on the examination on the day of the examination or upon the day of its return from the testing agency (or the appointing authority shall require the testing agency to mail the individual scores to any address submitted by the candidates on the day of the examination); and (ii) to review the answers to the examination that the examiners consider correct. The appointing authority may hold a review session after the examination for the purpose of gathering feedback on the examination from the candidates. The review sessions shall be at no cost to the candidates.

(c) Sample written examinations may be examined by the appointing authority and members of the department, but no person in the department or the appointing authority (including the Chief, Civil Service Commissioners, Board of Fire and Police Commissioners, Board of Fire Commissioners, or Fire Protection District Board of Trustees and other appointed or elected officials) may see or examine the specific questions on the actual written examination before the examination is administered. If a sample examination is used, actual test questions shall not be included. It is a violation of this Act for any member of the department or the appointing authority to obtain or divulge foreknowledge of the contents of the written examination before it is administered.

(d) Each department shall maintain reading and study materials for its current written examination and the reading list for the last 2 written examinations or for a period of 5 years, whichever is less, for each rank and shall make these materials available and accessible at each duty station.

(e) The provisions of this Section do not apply to the extent that they are in conflict with provisions otherwise agreed to in a collective bargaining agreement.

(Source: P.A. 93-411, eff. 8-4-03.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.