HB4417 Engrossed LRB095 16813 HLH 42850 b

1     AN ACT concerning local government.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 5. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by
5 changing Sections 10-2.1-6 and 10-2.1-14 as follows:
 
6     (65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-6)  (from Ch. 24, par. 10-2.1-6)
7     Sec. 10-2.1-6. Examination of applicants;
8 disqualifications.
9     (a) All applicants for a position in either the fire or
10 police department of the municipality shall be under 35 years
11 of age, shall be subject to an examination that shall be
12 public, competitive, and open to all applicants (unless the
13 council or board of trustees by ordinance limit applicants to
14 electors of the municipality, county, state or nation) and
15 shall be subject to reasonable limitations as to residence,
16 health, habits, and moral character. The municipality may not
17 charge or collect any fee from an applicant who has met all
18 prequalification standards established by the municipality for
19 any such position.
20     (b) Residency requirements in effect at the time an
21 individual enters the fire or police service of a municipality
22 (other than a municipality that has more than 1,000,000
23 inhabitants) cannot be made more restrictive for that

 

 

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1 individual during his period of service for that municipality,
2 or be made a condition of promotion, except for the rank or
3 position of Fire or Police Chief.
4     (c) No person with a record of misdemeanor convictions
5 except those under Sections 11-6, 11-7, 11-9, 11-14, 11-15,
6 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 12-2, 12-6, 12-15, 14-4, 16-1, 21.1-3,
7 24-3.1, 24-5, 25-1, 28-3, 31-1, 31-4, 31-6, 31-7, 32-1, 32-2,
8 32-3, 32-4, 32-8, and subsections (1), (6) and (8) of Section
9 24-1 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or arrested for any cause but
10 not convicted on that cause shall be disqualified from taking
11 the examination to qualify for a position in the fire
12 department on grounds of habits or moral character.
13     (d) The age limitation in subsection (a) does not apply (i)
14 to any person previously employed as a policeman or fireman in
15 a regularly constituted police or fire department of (I) any
16 municipality, regardless of whether the municipality is
17 located in Illinois or in another state, or (II) a fire
18 protection district whose obligations were assumed by a
19 municipality under Section 21 of the Fire Protection District
20 Act, (ii) to any person who has served a municipality as a
21 regularly enrolled volunteer fireman for 5 years immediately
22 preceding the time that municipality begins to use full time
23 firemen to provide all or part of its fire protection service,
24 or (iii) to any person who has served as an auxiliary police
25 officer under Section 3.1-30-20 for at least 5 years and is
26 under 40 years of age, (iv) to any person who has served as a

 

 

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1 deputy under Section 3-6008 of the Counties Code and otherwise
2 meets necessary training requirements, or (v) to any person who
3 has served as a sworn officer as a member of the Illinois
4 Department of State Police.
5     (e) Applicants who are 20 years of age and who have
6 successfully completed 2 years of law enforcement studies at an
7 accredited college or university may be considered for
8 appointment to active duty with the police department. An
9 applicant described in this subsection (e) who is appointed to
10 active duty shall not have power of arrest, nor shall the
11 applicant be permitted to carry firearms, until he or she
12 reaches 21 years of age.
13     (f) Applicants who are 18 years of age and who have
14 successfully completed 2 years of study in fire techniques,
15 amounting to a total of 4 high school credits, within the cadet
16 program of a municipality may be considered for appointment to
17 active duty with the fire department of any municipality.
18     (g) The council or board of trustees may by ordinance
19 provide that persons residing outside the municipality are
20 eligible to take the examination.
21     (h) The examinations shall be practical in character and
22 relate to those matters that will fairly test the capacity of
23 the persons examined to discharge the duties of the positions
24 to which they seek appointment. No person shall be appointed to
25 the police or fire department if he or she does not possess a
26 high school diploma or an equivalent high school education. A

 

 

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1 board of fire and police commissioners may, by its rules,
2 require police applicants to have obtained an associate's
3 degree or a bachelor's degree as a prerequisite for employment.
4 The examinations shall include tests of physical
5 qualifications and health. A board of fire and police
6 commissioners may, by its rules, waive portions of the required
7 examination for police applicants who have previously been
8 full-time sworn officers of a regular police department in any
9 municipal, county, university, or State law enforcement
10 agency, provided they are certified by the Illinois Law
11 Enforcement Training Standards Board and have been with their
12 respective law enforcement agency within the State for at least
13 2 years. No person shall be appointed to the police or fire
14 department if he or she has suffered the amputation of any limb
15 unless the applicant's duties will be only clerical or as a
16 radio operator. No applicant shall be examined concerning his
17 or her political or religious opinions or affiliations. The
18 examinations shall be conducted by the board of fire and police
19 commissioners of the municipality as provided in this Division
20 2.1.
21     (i) No person who is classified by his local selective
22 service draft board as a conscientious objector, or who has
23 ever been so classified, may be appointed to the police
24 department.
25     (j) No person shall be appointed to the police or fire
26 department unless he or she is a person of good character and

 

 

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1 not an habitual drunkard, gambler, or a person who has been
2 convicted of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude. No
3 person, however, shall be disqualified from appointment to the
4 fire department because of his or her record of misdemeanor
5 convictions except those under Sections 11-6, 11-7, 11-9,
6 11-14, 11-15, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 12-2, 12-6, 12-15, 14-4,
7 16-1, 21.1-3, 24-3.1, 24-5, 25-1, 28-3, 31-1, 31-4, 31-6, 31-7,
8 32-1, 32-2, 32-3, 32-4, 32-8, and subsections (1), (6) and (8)
9 of Section 24-1 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or arrest for any
10 cause without conviction on that cause. Any such person who is
11 in the department may be removed on charges brought and after a
12 trial as provided in this Division 2.1.
13 (Source: P.A. 94-29, eff. 6-14-05; 94-984, eff. 6-30-06;
14 95-165, eff. 1-1-08.)
 
15     (65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-14)  (from Ch. 24, par. 10-2.1-14)
16     Sec. 10-2.1-14. Register of eligibles. The board of fire
17 and police commissioners shall prepare and keep a register of
18 persons whose general average standing, upon examination, is
19 not less than the minimum fixed by the rules of the board, and
20 who are otherwise eligible. These persons shall take rank upon
21 the register as candidates in the order of their relative
22 excellence as determined by examination, without reference to
23 priority of time of examination. The board of fire and police
24 commissioners may prepare and keep a second register of persons
25 who have previously been full-time sworn officers of a regular

 

 

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1 police department in any municipal, county, university, or
2 State law enforcement agency, provided they are certified by
3 the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board and have
4 been with their respective law enforcement agency within the
5 State for at least 2 years. The persons on this list shall take
6 rank upon the register as candidates in the order of their
7 relative excellence as determined by members of the board of
8 fire and police commissioners. Applicants who have been awarded
9 a certificate attesting to their successful completion of the
10 Minimum Standards Basic Law Enforcement Training Course, as
11 provided in the Illinois Police Training Act, may be given
12 preference in appointment over noncertified applicants.
13 Applicants for appointment to fire departments who are licensed
14 as an EMT-B, EMT-I, or EMT-P under the Emergency Medical
15 Services (EMS) Systems Act, may be given preference in
16 appointment over non-licensed applicants.
17     Within 60 days after each examination, an eligibility list
18 shall be posted by the board, which shall show the final grades
19 of the candidates without reference to priority of time of
20 examination and subject to claim for military credit.
21 Candidates who are eligible for military credit shall make a
22 claim in writing within 10 days after the posting of the
23 eligibility list or such claim shall be deemed waived.
24 Appointment shall be subject to a final physical examination.
25     If a person is placed on an eligibility list and becomes
26 overage before he or she is appointed to a police or fire

 

 

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1 department, the person remains eligible for appointment until
2 the list is abolished pursuant to authorized procedures.
3 Otherwise no person who has attained the age of 36 years shall
4 be inducted as a member of a police department and no person
5 who has attained the age of 35 years shall be inducted as a
6 member of a fire department, except as otherwise provided in
7 this division.
8 (Source: P.A. 94-281, eff. 1-1-06.)