Full Text of HB5787 96th General Assembly
HB5787ham001 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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Rep. Michael K. Smith
Filed: 3/18/2010
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| AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 5787
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| AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 5787 by replacing | 3 |
| everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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| "Section 5. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by | 5 |
| changing Sections 10-1-7 and 10-2.1-4 and by adding Sections | 6 |
| 10-1-7.1, 10-1-7.2, 10-2.1-6.3, and 10-2.1-6.4 as follows:
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| (65 ILCS 5/10-1-7) (from Ch. 24, par. 10-1-7)
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| Sec. 10-1-7. Examination of applicants; disqualifications.
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| (a) All applicants for offices or places in the classified | 10 |
| service, except
those mentioned in Section 10-1-17, are subject | 11 |
| to examination. The
examination shall be public, competitive, | 12 |
| and open to all citizens of the
United States, with specified | 13 |
| limitations as to residence, age, health, habits
and moral | 14 |
| character.
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| (b) Residency requirements in effect at the time an | 16 |
| individual enters the
fire or police service of a municipality |
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| (other than a municipality that
has more than 1,000,000 | 2 |
| inhabitants) cannot be made more restrictive
for that | 3 |
| individual during his or her period of service for that | 4 |
| municipality,
or be made a condition of promotion, except for | 5 |
| the rank or position of Fire or
Police Chief.
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| (c) No person with a record of misdemeanor convictions | 7 |
| except
those under Sections 11-6, 11-7, 11-9, 11-14, 11-15, | 8 |
| 11-17, 11-18, 11-19,
12-2, 12-6, 12-15, 14-4, 16-1, 21.1-3, | 9 |
| 24-3.1, 24-5, 25-1, 28-3, 31-1,
31-4, 31-6, 31-7, 32-1, 32-2, | 10 |
| 32-3, 32-4, 32-8, and subsections (1), (6) and
(8) of Section | 11 |
| 24-1 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or arrested for any cause but
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| not convicted on that cause shall be disqualified from taking | 13 |
| the examination
on grounds of habits or moral character, unless | 14 |
| the person is attempting to
qualify for a position on the | 15 |
| police department, in which case the conviction
or arrest may | 16 |
| be considered as a factor in determining the person's habits or
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| moral character.
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| (d) Persons entitled to military preference under Section | 19 |
| 10-1-16
shall not be subject to limitations specifying age | 20 |
| unless they are
applicants for a position as a fireman or a | 21 |
| policeman having no previous
employment status as a fireman or | 22 |
| policeman in the regularly constituted
fire or police | 23 |
| department of the municipality, in which case they must not
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| have attained their 35th birthday, except any person who has | 25 |
| served as an
auxiliary police officer under Section 3.1-30-20 | 26 |
| for at least 5 years and is
under 40 years of age.
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| (e) All employees of a municipality of less than 500,000 | 2 |
| population (except
those who would be excluded from the | 3 |
| classified service as provided in this
Division 1) who are | 4 |
| holding that employment as of the date a municipality
adopts | 5 |
| this Division 1, or as of July 17, 1959, whichever date is the | 6 |
| later,
and who have held that employment for at least 2 years | 7 |
| immediately before that
later date, and all firemen and | 8 |
| policemen regardless of length of service who
were either | 9 |
| appointed to their respective positions by the board of fire | 10 |
| and
police commissioners under the provisions of Division 2 of | 11 |
| this Article or who
are serving in a position (except as a | 12 |
| temporary employee) in the fire or
police department in the | 13 |
| municipality on the date a municipality adopts
this Division 1, | 14 |
| or as of July 17, 1959, whichever date is the later, shall
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| become members of the classified civil service of the | 16 |
| municipality
without examination.
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| (f) The examinations shall be practical in their character, | 18 |
| and shall
relate to those matters that will fairly test the | 19 |
| relative capacity of the
persons examined to discharge the | 20 |
| duties of the positions to which they
seek to be appointed. The | 21 |
| examinations shall include tests of physical
qualifications, | 22 |
| health, and (when appropriate) manual skill. If an applicant
is | 23 |
| unable to pass the physical examination solely as the result of | 24 |
| an injury
received by the applicant as the result of the | 25 |
| performance of an act of duty
while working as a temporary | 26 |
| employee in the position for which he or she is
being examined, |
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| however, the physical examination shall be waived and the
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| applicant shall be considered to have passed the examination. | 3 |
| No questions in
any examination shall relate to political or | 4 |
| religious opinions or
affiliations. Results of examinations | 5 |
| and the eligible registers prepared from
the results shall be | 6 |
| published by the commission within 60 days after any
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| examinations are held.
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| (g) The commission shall control all examinations, and may, | 9 |
| whenever an
examination is to take place, designate a suitable | 10 |
| number of persons,
either in or not in the official service of | 11 |
| the municipality, to be
examiners. The examiners shall conduct | 12 |
| the examinations as directed by the
commission and shall make a | 13 |
| return or report of the examinations to the
commission. If the | 14 |
| appointed examiners are in the official service of the
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| municipality, the examiners shall not receive extra | 16 |
| compensation for conducting
the examinations. The commission | 17 |
| may at any time substitute any other person,
whether or not in | 18 |
| the service of the municipality, in the place of any one
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| selected as an examiner. The commission members may themselves | 20 |
| at any time act
as examiners without appointing examiners. The | 21 |
| examiners at any examination
shall not all be members of the | 22 |
| same political party.
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| (h) In municipalities of 500,000 or more population, no | 24 |
| person who has
attained his or her 35th birthday shall be | 25 |
| eligible to take an examination for
a position as a fireman or | 26 |
| a policeman unless the person has had previous
employment |
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| status as a policeman or fireman in the regularly constituted | 2 |
| police
or fire department of the municipality, except as | 3 |
| provided in this Section.
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| (i) In municipalities of more than 5,000 but not more than | 5 |
| 200,000
inhabitants, no person who has attained his or her 35th | 6 |
| birthday shall be
eligible to take an examination for a | 7 |
| position as a fireman or a policeman
unless the person has had | 8 |
| previous employment status as a policeman or fireman
in the | 9 |
| regularly constituted police or fire department of the | 10 |
| municipality,
except as provided in this Section.
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| (j) In all municipalities, applicants who are 20 years of | 12 |
| age and who have
successfully completed 2 years of law | 13 |
| enforcement studies at an accredited
college or university may | 14 |
| be considered for appointment to active duty with
the police | 15 |
| department. An applicant described in this subsection (j) who | 16 |
| is
appointed to active duty shall not have power of arrest, nor | 17 |
| shall the
applicant be permitted to carry firearms, until he or | 18 |
| she reaches 21 years of
age.
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| (k) In municipalities of more than 500,000 population, | 20 |
| applications for
examination for and appointment to positions | 21 |
| as firefighters or police
shall be made available at various | 22 |
| branches of the public library of the
municipality.
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| (l) No municipality having a population less than 1,000,000 | 24 |
| shall require
that any fireman appointed to the lowest rank | 25 |
| serve a probationary employment
period of longer than one year. | 26 |
| The limitation on periods of probationary
employment provided |
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| in this amendatory Act of 1989 is an exclusive power and
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| function of the State. Pursuant to subsection (h) of Section 6 | 3 |
| of Article VII
of the Illinois Constitution, a home rule | 4 |
| municipality having a population less
than 1,000,000 must | 5 |
| comply with this limitation on periods of probationary
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| employment, which is a denial and limitation of home rule | 7 |
| powers.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this | 8 |
| Section, the probationary
employment period limitation may be | 9 |
| extended for a firefighter who is required, as a condition of | 10 |
| employment, to be a certified paramedic, during which time the | 11 |
| sole reason that a firefighter may be discharged without a | 12 |
| hearing is for failing to meet the requirements for paramedic | 13 |
| certification.
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| (m) To the extent that this Section or any other Section in | 15 |
| this Division conflicts with Section 10-1-7.1 or 10-1-7.2, then | 16 |
| Section 10-1-7.1 or 10-1-7.2 shall control. | 17 |
| (Source: P.A. 94-135, eff. 7-7-05; 94-984, eff. 6-30-06.)
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| (65 ILCS 5/10-1-7.1 new) | 19 |
| Sec. 10-1-7.1. Original appointments; full-time fire | 20 |
| department. | 21 |
| (a) Applicability. Unless a commission elects to follow the | 22 |
| provisions of Section 10-1-7.2, this Section shall apply to all | 23 |
| original appointments to an affected full-time fire | 24 |
| department. Existing registers of eligibles shall continue to | 25 |
| be valid until their expiration dates, or up to a maximum of 2 |
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| years after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the | 2 |
| 96th General Assembly. | 3 |
| Notwithstanding any statute, ordinance, rule, or other law | 4 |
| to the contrary, all original appointments to an affected | 5 |
| department to which this Section applies shall be administered | 6 |
| in the manner provided for in this Section. Provisions of the | 7 |
| Illinois Municipal Code, municipal ordinances, and rules | 8 |
| adopted pursuant to such authority and other laws relating to | 9 |
| initial hiring of firefighters in affected departments shall | 10 |
| continue to apply to the extent they are compatible with this | 11 |
| Section, but in the event of a conflict between this Section | 12 |
| and any other law, this Section shall control. | 13 |
| A home rule or non-home rule municipality may not | 14 |
| administer its fire department process for original | 15 |
| appointments in a manner that is inconsistent with this | 16 |
| Section. This Section is a limitation under subsection (i) of | 17 |
| Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution on the | 18 |
| concurrent exercise by home rule units of the powers and | 19 |
| functions exercised by the State. | 20 |
| (b) Original appointments. All original appointments made | 21 |
| to an affected fire department shall be made from a register of | 22 |
| eligibles established in accordance with the processes | 23 |
| established by this Section. Only persons who meet or exceed | 24 |
| the performance standards required by this Section shall be | 25 |
| placed on a register of eligibles for original appointment to | 26 |
| an affected fire department. |
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| Whenever an appointing authority authorizes action to hire | 2 |
| a person to perform the duties of a firefighter or to hire a | 3 |
| firefighter-paramedic to fill a position that is a new position | 4 |
| or vacancy due to resignation, discharge, promotion, death, the | 5 |
| granting of a disability or retirement pension, or any other | 6 |
| cause, the appointing authority shall appoint to that position | 7 |
| the person with the highest ranking on the final eligibility | 8 |
| list, except that the appointing authority shall have the right | 9 |
| to pass over that person and appoint the next highest ranked | 10 |
| person on the list if the appointing authority has reason to | 11 |
| conclude that the highest ranked person fails to meet the | 12 |
| minimum standards for the position. | 13 |
| Any candidate may pass on an appointment once without | 14 |
| losing his or her position on the register of eligibles. Any | 15 |
| candidate who passes a second time shall be removed from the | 16 |
| list provided that such action shall not prejudice a person's | 17 |
| opportunities to participate in future examinations, including | 18 |
| an examination held during the time a candidate is already on | 19 |
| the municipality's register of eligibles. | 20 |
| The sole authority to issue certificates of appointment | 21 |
| shall be vested in the Civil Service Commission. All | 22 |
| certificates of appointment issued to any officer or member of | 23 |
| an affected department shall be signed by the chairperson and | 24 |
| secretary, respectively, of the commission upon appointment of | 25 |
| such officer or member to the affected department by the | 26 |
| commission. Each person who accepts a certificate of |
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| appointment and successfully completes his or her probationary | 2 |
| period shall be enrolled as a firefighter and as a regular | 3 |
| member of the fire department. | 4 |
| For the purposes of this Section, "firefighter" means any | 5 |
| person who has been prior to, on, or after the effective date | 6 |
| of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly appointed | 7 |
| to a fire department or fire protection district or employed by | 8 |
| a State university and sworn or commissioned to perform | 9 |
| firefighter duties or paramedic duties, or both, except that | 10 |
| the following persons are not included: part-time | 11 |
| firefighters; auxiliary, reserve, or voluntary firefighters, | 12 |
| including paid-on-call firefighters; clerks and dispatchers or | 13 |
| other civilian employees of a fire department or fire | 14 |
| protection district who are not routinely expected to perform | 15 |
| firefighter duties; and elected officials. | 16 |
| (c) Qualification for placement on register of eligibles. | 17 |
| The purpose of establishing a register of eligibles is to | 18 |
| identify applicants who possess and demonstrate the mental | 19 |
| aptitude and physical ability to perform the duties required of | 20 |
| members of the fire department in order to provide the highest | 21 |
| quality of service to the public. To this end, all applicants | 22 |
| for original appointment to an affected fire department shall | 23 |
| be subject to examination and testing which shall be public, | 24 |
| competitive, and open to all applicants unless the municipality | 25 |
| shall by ordinance limit applicants to residents of the | 26 |
| municipality, county, State, or nation. Municipalities may |
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| establish educational, emergency medical service licensure, | 2 |
| and other pre-requisites for participation in an examination or | 3 |
| for hire as a firefighter. Any fee to cover the costs of the | 4 |
| application process shall not exceed $25. | 5 |
| Residency requirements in effect at the time an individual | 6 |
| enters the fire service of a municipality (other than a | 7 |
| municipality that has more than 1,000,000 inhabitants) cannot | 8 |
| be made more restrictive for that individual during his or her | 9 |
| period of service for that municipality, or be made a condition | 10 |
| of promotion, except for the rank or position of fire chief and | 11 |
| for no more than 2 positions that rank immediately below that | 12 |
| of the chief rank which are appointed positions pursuant to the | 13 |
| Fire Department Promotion Act. | 14 |
| No person who is 35 years of age or older shall be eligible | 15 |
| to take an examination for a position as a firefighter unless | 16 |
| the person has had previous employment status as a firefighter | 17 |
| in the regularly constituted fire department of the | 18 |
| municipality, except as provided in this Section. The age | 19 |
| limitation does not apply to: | 20 |
| (1) any person previously employed as a full-time | 21 |
| firefighter in a regularly constituted fire department of | 22 |
| (i) any municipality or fire protection district, | 23 |
| regardless of whether the municipality or fire protection | 24 |
| district is located in Illinois or in another state, (ii) a | 25 |
| fire protection district whose obligations were assumed by | 26 |
| a municipality under Section 21 of the Fire Protection |
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| District Act, or (iii) a municipality whose obligations | 2 |
| were taken over by a fire protection district, or | 3 |
| (2) any person who has served a municipality as a | 4 |
| regularly enrolled volunteer, paid-on-call, or part-time | 5 |
| firefighter for the 5 years immediately preceding the time | 6 |
| that the municipality begins to use full-time firefighters | 7 |
| to provide all or part of its fire protection service. | 8 |
| No person who is under 21 years of age shall be eligible | 9 |
| for employment as a firefighter. | 10 |
| No applicant shall be examined concerning his or her | 11 |
| political or religious opinions or affiliations. The | 12 |
| examinations shall be conducted by the commissioners of the | 13 |
| municipality or their designees and agents. | 14 |
| No municipality having a population of less than 1,000,000 | 15 |
| shall require that any firefighter appointed to the lowest rank | 16 |
| serve a probationary employment period of longer than one year | 17 |
| of actual active employment, which may exclude periods of | 18 |
| training, or injury or illness leaves, including duty related | 19 |
| leave, in excess of 30 calendar days. Notwithstanding anything | 20 |
| to the contrary in this Section, the probationary employment | 21 |
| period limitation may be extended for a firefighter who is | 22 |
| required, as a condition of employment, to be a certified | 23 |
| paramedic, during which time the sole reason that a firefighter | 24 |
| may be discharged without a hearing is for failing to meet the | 25 |
| requirements for paramedic certification. | 26 |
| In the event that any applicant who has been found eligible |
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| for appointment and whose name has been placed upon the final | 2 |
| eligibility register provided for in this Division 1 has not | 3 |
| been appointed to a firefighter position within one year after | 4 |
| the date of his or her physical ability examination, the | 5 |
| commission may cause a second examination to be made of that | 6 |
| applicant's physical ability prior to his or her appointment. | 7 |
| If, after the second examination, the physical ability of the | 8 |
| applicant shall be found to be less than the minimum standard | 9 |
| fixed by the rules of the commission, the applicant shall not | 10 |
| be appointed. The applicant's name shall be retained upon the | 11 |
| register of candidates eligible for appointment and when next | 12 |
| reached for certification and appointment that applicant shall | 13 |
| be again examined as provided in this Section, and if the | 14 |
| physical ability of that applicant is found to be less than the | 15 |
| minimum standard fixed by the rules of the commission, the | 16 |
| applicant shall not be appointed, and the name of the applicant | 17 |
| shall be removed from the register. | 18 |
| (d) Notice, examination, and testing components. Notice of | 19 |
| the time, place, general scope, and fee of every examination | 20 |
| shall be given by the commission, by a publication at least 2 | 21 |
| weeks preceding the examination, in one or more newspapers | 22 |
| published in the municipality, or if no newspaper is published | 23 |
| therein, then in one or more newspapers with a general | 24 |
| circulation within the municipality. Additional notice of the | 25 |
| examination may be given as the commission shall prescribe. | 26 |
| The examination and qualifying standards for employment of |
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| firefighters shall be based on: mental aptitude, physical | 2 |
| ability, preferences, moral character, and health. The mental | 3 |
| aptitude, physical ability, and preference components shall | 4 |
| determine an applicant's qualification for and placement on the | 5 |
| final register of eligibles. The examination may also include a | 6 |
| subjective component including without limitation an oral | 7 |
| interview or an assessment center exercise. | 8 |
| (e) Mental aptitude. No person who does not possess at | 9 |
| least a high school diploma or an equivalent high school | 10 |
| education shall be placed on a register of eligibles. | 11 |
| Examination of an applicant's mental aptitude shall be based | 12 |
| upon a written examination. The examination shall be practical | 13 |
| in character and relate to those matters that fairly test the | 14 |
| capacity of the persons examined to discharge the duties | 15 |
| performed by members of a fire department. Written examinations | 16 |
| shall be administered in a manner that ensures the security and | 17 |
| accuracy of the scores achieved. | 18 |
| (f) Physical ability. All candidates shall be required to | 19 |
| undergo an examination of their physical ability to perform the | 20 |
| essential functions included in the duties they may be called | 21 |
| upon to perform as a member of a fire department. For the | 22 |
| purposes of this Section, essential functions of the job are | 23 |
| functions associated with duties that a firefighter may be | 24 |
| called upon to perform in response to emergency calls. The | 25 |
| frequency of the occurrence of those duties as part of the fire | 26 |
| department's regular routine shall not be a controlling factor |
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| in the design of examination criteria or evolutions selected | 2 |
| for testing. These physical examinations shall be open, | 3 |
| competitive, and based on industry standards designed to test | 4 |
| each applicant's physical abilities in the following | 5 |
| dimensions (or a similar test designed to ensure that the | 6 |
| successful candidates are able to perform the essential | 7 |
| functions of the firefighter's job description): | 8 |
| (1) Muscular strength to perform tasks and evolutions | 9 |
| that may be required in the performance of duties including | 10 |
| grip strength, leg strength, and arm strength. Tests shall | 11 |
| be conducted under anaerobic as well as aerobic conditions | 12 |
| to test both the candidate's speed and endurance in | 13 |
| performing tasks and evolutions. Tasks tested may be based | 14 |
| on standards developed, or approved, by the local | 15 |
| appointing authority. | 16 |
| (2) The ability to climb ladders, operate from heights, | 17 |
| walk or crawl in the dark along narrow and uneven surfaces, | 18 |
| and operate in proximity to hazardous environments. | 19 |
| (3) The ability to carry out critical, time-sensitive, | 20 |
| and complex problem solving during physical exertion in | 21 |
| stressful and hazardous environments, including hot, dark, | 22 |
| tightly enclosed spaces, that is further aggravated by | 23 |
| fatigue, flashing lights, sirens, and other distractions. | 24 |
| Physical ability examinations administered under this | 25 |
| Section shall be conducted with a reasonable number of proctors | 26 |
| and monitors, open to the public, and subject to reasonable |
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| regulations of the commission. | 2 |
| (g) Scoring of examination components. The examination | 3 |
| components shall be graded on a 100-point scale. A person's | 4 |
| position on the list shall be determined by the following: (i) | 5 |
| the person's score on the written examination, (ii) the person | 6 |
| successfully passing the physical ability component, and (iii) | 7 |
| the addition of any applicable preference points. | 8 |
| Applicants who pass both the written examination and the | 9 |
| physical ability examination shall be placed on the initial | 10 |
| eligibility register. The passing score for each of these test | 11 |
| components shall be determined by calculating a mean score for | 12 |
| all applicants participating in each test. In order to qualify | 13 |
| for placement on the final eligibility register, an applicant's | 14 |
| total score, including any applicable preference points, shall | 15 |
| be at or above the mean score plus 10%. | 16 |
| The commission shall prepare and keep a register of persons | 17 |
| whose total score is not less than the minimum fixed by this | 18 |
| Section. These persons shall take rank upon the register as | 19 |
| candidates in the order of their relative excellence based on | 20 |
| the highest to the lowest total points scored on the mental | 21 |
| aptitude, physical ability, and preference components of the | 22 |
| test administered in accordance with this Section. No more than | 23 |
| 60 days after each examination, an initial eligibility list | 24 |
| shall be posted by the commission. The list shall include the | 25 |
| final grades of the candidates without reference to priority of | 26 |
| the time of examination and subject to claim for preference |
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| credit. | 2 |
| Commissions may conduct additional examinations, including | 3 |
| without limitation a polygraph test, after a final eligibility | 4 |
| register is established and before it expires with the | 5 |
| candidates ranked by total score without regard to date of | 6 |
| examination. No more than 60 days after each examination, an | 7 |
| initial eligibility list shall be posted by the commission | 8 |
| showing the final grades of the candidates without reference to | 9 |
| priority of time of examination and subject to claim for | 10 |
| preference credit. | 11 |
| (h) Preferences. The following are preferences: | 12 |
| (1) Veteran preference. Persons who were engaged in the | 13 |
| military service of the United States for a period of at | 14 |
| least one year of active duty and who were honorably | 15 |
| discharged therefrom, or who are now or have been members | 16 |
| on inactive or reserve duty in such military or naval | 17 |
| service, shall be preferred for appointment to and | 18 |
| employment with the fire department of an affected | 19 |
| department. | 20 |
| (2) Fire cadet preference. Persons who have | 21 |
| successfully completed 2 years of study in fire techniques | 22 |
| or cadet training within a cadet program established under | 23 |
| the rules of the Joint Labor and Management Committee | 24 |
| (JLMC), as defined in Section 50 of the Fire Department | 25 |
| Promotion Act, shall be preferred for appointment to and | 26 |
| employment with the fire department. |
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| (3) Educational preference. Persons who have | 2 |
| successfully obtained an associate's degree in the field of | 3 |
| fire service or emergency medical services, or a bachelor's | 4 |
| degree from an accredited college or university shall be | 5 |
| preferred for appointment to and employment with the fire | 6 |
| department. | 7 |
| (4) Paramedic preference. Persons who have obtained | 8 |
| certification as an Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic | 9 |
| (EMT-P) shall be preferred for appointment to and | 10 |
| employment with the fire department of an affected | 11 |
| department providing emergency medical services. | 12 |
| (5) Experience preference. All persons employed by a | 13 |
| municipality who have been paid-on-call or part-time | 14 |
| certified Firefighter II, State of Illinois or nationally | 15 |
| licensed EMT-B or EMT-I, or any combination of those | 16 |
| capacities shall be awarded 0.5 point for each year of | 17 |
| successful service in one or more of those capacities, up | 18 |
| to a maximum of 5 points. Certified Firefighter III and | 19 |
| State of Illinois or nationally licensed paramedics shall | 20 |
| be awarded one point per year up to a maximum of 5 points. | 21 |
| Applicants from outside the municipality who were employed | 22 |
| as full-time firefighters or firefighter-paramedics by a | 23 |
| fire protection district or another municipality for at | 24 |
| least 2 years shall have the same preference as | 25 |
| paid-on-call or part-time personnel. These additional | 26 |
| points presuppose a rating scale totaling 100 points |
|
|
|
09600HB5787ham001 |
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LRB096 16931 RLJ 39054 a |
|
| 1 |
| available for the eligibility list. If more or fewer points | 2 |
| are used in the rating scale for the eligibility list, the | 3 |
| points awarded under this subsection shall be increased or | 4 |
| decreased by a factor equal to the total possible points | 5 |
| available for the examination divided by 100. | 6 |
| (6) Residency preference. Applicants whose principal | 7 |
| residence is located within the fire department's | 8 |
| jurisdiction shall be preferred for appointment to and | 9 |
| employment with the fire department. | 10 |
| Upon request by the commission, the governing body of | 11 |
| the municipality or in the case of applicants from outside | 12 |
| the municipality the governing body of any fire protection | 13 |
| district or any other municipality shall certify to the | 14 |
| commission, within 10 days after the request, the number of | 15 |
| years of successful paid-on-call, part-time, or full-time | 16 |
| service of any person. A candidate may not receive the full | 17 |
| amount of preference points under this subsection if the | 18 |
| amount of points awarded would place the candidate before a | 19 |
| veteran on the eligibility list. If more than one candidate | 20 |
| receiving experience preference points is prevented from | 21 |
| receiving all of their points due to not being allowed to | 22 |
| pass a veteran, the candidates shall be placed on the list | 23 |
| below the veteran in rank order based on the totals | 24 |
| received if all points under this subsection were to be | 25 |
| awarded. Any remaining ties on the list shall be determined | 26 |
| by lot. |
|
|
|
09600HB5787ham001 |
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LRB096 16931 RLJ 39054 a |
|
| 1 |
| (7) Scoring of preferences. Preference points shall be | 2 |
| awarded in the order listed in items (1) through (6). The | 3 |
| commission shall give preference for original appointment | 4 |
| to persons designated in items (1) through (4) and item (6) | 5 |
| by adding to the final grade which they receive 5 points | 6 |
| for each recognized preference achieved. Experience | 7 |
| preference of up to 5 points shall then be added in | 8 |
| accordance with item (5). The numerical result thus | 9 |
| attained shall be applied by the commission in determining | 10 |
| the final eligibility list and appointment from such | 11 |
| eligibility list. | 12 |
| No person entitled to any preference shall be required to | 13 |
| claim the credit before any examination held under the | 14 |
| provisions of this Section, but the preference shall be given | 15 |
| after the posting or publication of the initial eligibility | 16 |
| list or register at the request of a person entitled to a | 17 |
| credit before any certification or appointments are made from | 18 |
| the eligibility register, upon the furnishing of verifiable | 19 |
| evidence and proof of qualifying preference credit. Candidates | 20 |
| who are eligible for preference credit shall make a claim in | 21 |
| writing within 10 days after the posting of the initial | 22 |
| eligibility list, or the claim shall be deemed waived. Final | 23 |
| eligibility registers shall be established after the awarding | 24 |
| of verified preference points, and appointment from the final | 25 |
| register shall be subject to the applicant passing the | 26 |
| qualifying standards for moral character and health. All |
|
|
|
09600HB5787ham001 |
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LRB096 16931 RLJ 39054 a |
|
| 1 |
| employment shall be subject to the commission's initial hire | 2 |
| background review including criminal history, employment | 3 |
| history, moral character, oral examination, and medical | 4 |
| examinations, all on a pass-fail basis. The medical | 5 |
| examinations must be conducted last, and may only be performed | 6 |
| after a conditional offer of employment has been extended. | 7 |
| Any person placed on an eligibility list who exceeds the | 8 |
| age requirement before being appointed to a fire department | 9 |
| shall remain eligible for appointment until the list is | 10 |
| abolished, or his or her name has been on the list for a period | 11 |
| of 2 years. No person who has attained the age of 35 years | 12 |
| shall be inducted into a fire department, except as otherwise | 13 |
| provided in this Section. | 14 |
| The commission shall strike off the names of candidates for | 15 |
| original appointment after the names have been on the list for | 16 |
| more than 2 years. | 17 |
| (i) Moral character. No person shall be appointed to a fire | 18 |
| department unless he or she is a person of good character; not | 19 |
| a habitual drunkard, a gambler, or a person who has been | 20 |
| convicted of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude. | 21 |
| However, no person shall be disqualified from appointment to | 22 |
| the fire department because of the person's record of | 23 |
| misdemeanor convictions except those under Sections 11-6, | 24 |
| 11-7, 11-9, 11-14, 11-15, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 12-2, 12-6, | 25 |
| 12-15, 14-4, 16-1, 21.1-3, 24-3.1, 24-5, 25-1, 28-3, 31-1, | 26 |
| 31-4, 31-6, 31-7, 32-1, 32-2, 32-3, 32-4, 32-8, and subsections |
|
|
|
09600HB5787ham001 |
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LRB096 16931 RLJ 39054 a |
|
| 1 |
| 1, 6, and 8 of Section 24-1 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or | 2 |
| arrest for any cause without conviction thereon. Any such | 3 |
| person who is in the department may be removed on charges | 4 |
| brought for violating this subsection and after a trial as | 5 |
| hereinafter provided. | 6 |
| A classifiable set of the fingerprints of every person who | 7 |
| is offered employment as a certificated member of an affected | 8 |
| fire department whether with or without compensation, shall be | 9 |
| furnished to the Illinois Department of State Police and to the | 10 |
| Federal Bureau of Investigation by the commission. | 11 |
| Whenever a commission is authorized or required by law to | 12 |
| consider some aspect of criminal history record information for | 13 |
| the purpose of carrying out its statutory powers and | 14 |
| responsibilities, then, upon request and payment of fees in | 15 |
| conformance with the requirements of Section 2605-400 of the | 16 |
| State Police Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois, | 17 |
| the Department of State Police is authorized to furnish, | 18 |
| pursuant to positive identification, the information contained | 19 |
| in State files as is necessary to fulfill the request. | 20 |
| (j) Temporary appointments. In order to prevent a stoppage | 21 |
| of public business, to meet extraordinary exigencies, or to | 22 |
| prevent material impairment of the fire department, the | 23 |
| commission may make temporary appointments, to remain in force | 24 |
| only until regular appointments are made under the provisions | 25 |
| of this Division, but never to exceed 60 days. No temporary | 26 |
| appointment of any one person shall be made more than twice in |
|
|
|
09600HB5787ham001 |
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LRB096 16931 RLJ 39054 a |
|
| 1 |
| any calendar year. | 2 |
| (k) A person who knowingly divulges or receives test | 3 |
| questions or answers before a written examination, or otherwise | 4 |
| knowingly violates or subverts any requirement of this Section, | 5 |
| commits a violation of this Section and may be subject to | 6 |
| charges for official misconduct. | 7 |
| A person who is the knowing recipient of test information | 8 |
| in advance of the examination shall be disqualified from the | 9 |
| examination or discharged from the position to which he or she | 10 |
| was appointed, as applicable, and otherwise subjected to | 11 |
| disciplinary actions. | 12 |
| (65 ILCS 5/10-1-7.2 new) | 13 |
| Sec. 10-1-7.2. Alternative procedure; original | 14 |
| appointment; full-time firefighter. | 15 |
| (a) Authority. The Joint Labor and Management Committee | 16 |
| (JLMC), as defined in Section 50 of the Fire Department | 17 |
| Promotion Act, may establish a community outreach program to | 18 |
| market the profession of firefighter and firefighter-paramedic | 19 |
| so as to ensure the pool of applicants recruited is of broad | 20 |
| diversity and the highest quality. | 21 |
| For the purposes of this Section, "firefighter" means any | 22 |
| person who has been prior to, on, or after the effective date | 23 |
| of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly appointed | 24 |
| to a fire department or fire protection district or employed by | 25 |
| a State university and sworn or commissioned to perform |
|
|
|
09600HB5787ham001 |
- 23 - |
LRB096 16931 RLJ 39054 a |
|
| 1 |
| firefighter duties or paramedic duties, or both, except that | 2 |
| the following persons are not included: part-time | 3 |
| firefighters; auxiliary, reserve, or voluntary firefighters, | 4 |
| including paid-on-call firefighters; clerks and dispatchers or | 5 |
| other civilian employees of a fire department or fire | 6 |
| protection district who are not routinely expected to perform | 7 |
| firefighter duties; and elected officials. | 8 |
| (b) Eligibility. Persons eligible for placement on the | 9 |
| master register of eligibles shall consist of the following: | 10 |
| Persons who have participated in and received a passing | 11 |
| total score on the mental aptitude, physical ability, and | 12 |
| preference components of a regionally administered test | 13 |
| based on the standards described in this Section. The | 14 |
| standards for administering these tests and the minimum | 15 |
| passing score required for placement on this list shall be | 16 |
| as is set forth in this Section. | 17 |
| Qualified candidates shall be listed on the master | 18 |
| register of eligibles in highest to lowest rank order based | 19 |
| upon their test scores without regard to their date of | 20 |
| examination. Candidates listed on the master register of | 21 |
| eligibles shall be eligible for appointment for 3 years | 22 |
| after the date of the certification of their final score on | 23 |
| the register without regard to the date of their | 24 |
| examination. After 3 years, the candidate's name shall be | 25 |
| struck from the list. | 26 |
| Any person currently employed as a full-time member of |
|
|
|
09600HB5787ham001 |
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LRB096 16931 RLJ 39054 a |
|
| 1 |
| a fire department or any person who has experienced a | 2 |
| non–voluntary (and non-disciplinary) separation from the | 3 |
| active workforce due to a reduction in the number of | 4 |
| departmental officers, who was appointed pursuant to this | 5 |
| Division, Division 2.1 of Article 10 of the Illinois | 6 |
| Municipal Code, or the Fire Protection District Act, and | 7 |
| who during the previous 12 months participated in and | 8 |
| received a passing score on the physical ability component | 9 |
| of the test may request that his or her name be added to | 10 |
| the master register. Any eligible person may be offered | 11 |
| employment by a local commission under the same procedures | 12 |
| as provided by this Section except that the apprenticeship | 13 |
| period may be waived and the applicant may be immediately | 14 |
| issued a certificate of original appointment by the local | 15 |
| commission. | 16 |
| (c) Qualifications for placement on register of eligibles. | 17 |
| The purpose for establishing a master register of eligibles | 18 |
| shall be to identify applicants who possess and demonstrate the | 19 |
| mental aptitude and physical ability to perform the duties | 20 |
| required of members of the fire department in order to provide | 21 |
| the highest quality of service to the public. To this end, all | 22 |
| applicants for original appointment to an affected fire | 23 |
| department through examination conducted by the Joint Labor and | 24 |
| Management Committee (JLMC) shall be subject to examination and | 25 |
| testing which shall be public, competitive, and open to all | 26 |
| applicants. Any subjective component of the testing must be |
|
|
|
09600HB5787ham001 |
- 25 - |
LRB096 16931 RLJ 39054 a |
|
| 1 |
| administered by certified assessors. All qualifying and | 2 |
| disqualifying factors applicable to examination processes for | 3 |
| local commissions in this amendatory Act of the 96th General | 4 |
| Assembly shall be applicable to persons participating in Joint | 5 |
| Labor and Management Committee examinations unless | 6 |
| specifically provided otherwise in this Section. | 7 |
| Notice of the time, place, general scope, and fee of every | 8 |
| JLMC examination shall be given by the JLMC or designated | 9 |
| testing agency, as applicable, by publication at least 30 days | 10 |
| preceding the examination, in one or more newspapers published | 11 |
| in the region, or if no newspaper is published therein, then in | 12 |
| one or more newspapers with a general circulation within the | 13 |
| region. Additional notice of the examination may be given as | 14 |
| the JLMC shall prescribe. | 15 |
| (d) Examination and testing components for placement on | 16 |
| register of eligibles. The examination and qualifying | 17 |
| standards for placement on the master register of eligibles and | 18 |
| employment shall be based on the following components: mental | 19 |
| aptitude, physical ability, preferences, moral character, and | 20 |
| health. The mental aptitude, physical ability, and preference | 21 |
| components shall determine an applicant's qualification for | 22 |
| and placement on the master register of eligibles. The | 23 |
| consideration of an applicant's general moral character and | 24 |
| health shall be administered on a pass-fail basis after a | 25 |
| conditional offer of employment is made by a local commission. | 26 |
| (e) Mental aptitude. Examination of an applicant's mental |
|
|
|
09600HB5787ham001 |
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LRB096 16931 RLJ 39054 a |
|
| 1 |
| aptitude shall be based upon written examination and an | 2 |
| applicant's prior experience demonstrating an aptitude for and | 3 |
| commitment to service as a member of a fire department. Written | 4 |
| examinations shall be practical in character and relate to | 5 |
| those matters that fairly test the capacity of the persons | 6 |
| examined to discharge the duties performed by members of a fire | 7 |
| department. Written examinations shall be administered in a | 8 |
| manner that ensures the security and accuracy of the scores | 9 |
| achieved. Any subjective component of the testing must be | 10 |
| administered by certified assessors. No person who does not | 11 |
| possess a high school diploma or an equivalent high school | 12 |
| education shall be placed on a register of eligibles. Local | 13 |
| commissions may establish educational, emergency medical | 14 |
| service licensure, and other pre-requisites for hire within | 15 |
| their jurisdiction. | 16 |
| (f) Physical ability. All candidates shall be required to | 17 |
| undergo an examination of their physical ability to perform the | 18 |
| essential functions included in the duties they may be called | 19 |
| upon to perform as a member of a fire department. For the | 20 |
| purposes of this Section, essential functions of the job are | 21 |
| functions associated with duties that a firefighter may be | 22 |
| called upon to perform in response to emergency calls. The | 23 |
| frequency of the occurrence of those duties as part of the fire | 24 |
| department's regular routine shall not be a controlling factor | 25 |
| in the design of examination criteria or evolutions selected | 26 |
| for testing. These physical examinations shall be open, |
|
|
|
09600HB5787ham001 |
- 27 - |
LRB096 16931 RLJ 39054 a |
|
| 1 |
| competitive, and based on industry standards designed to test | 2 |
| each applicant's physical abilities in each of the following | 3 |
| dimensions (or a similar test designed to ensure that the | 4 |
| successful candidates are able to perform the essential | 5 |
| functions of a firefighter's job description): | 6 |
| (1) Muscular strength to perform tasks and evolutions | 7 |
| that may be required in the performance of duties including | 8 |
| grip strength, leg strength, and arm strength. Tests shall | 9 |
| be conducted under anaerobic as well as aerobic conditions | 10 |
| to test both the candidate's speed and endurance in | 11 |
| performing tasks and evolutions. Tasks tested are to be | 12 |
| based on industry standards developed by the JLMC by rule. | 13 |
| (2) The ability to climb ladders, operate from heights, | 14 |
| walk or crawl in the dark along narrow and uneven surfaces, | 15 |
| and operate in proximity to hazardous environments. | 16 |
| (3) The ability to carry out critical, time-sensitive, | 17 |
| and complex problem solving during physical exertion in | 18 |
| stressful and hazardous environments, including hot, dark, | 19 |
| tightly enclosed spaces, that is further aggravated by | 20 |
| fatigue, flashing lights, sirens, and other distractions. | 21 |
| (g) Scoring of examination components. The examination | 22 |
| components shall be graded on a 100-point scale. A person's | 23 |
| position on the master register of eligibles shall be | 24 |
| determined by the person's score on the written examination, | 25 |
| the person successfully passing the physical ability | 26 |
| component, and the addition of any applicable preference |
|
|
|
09600HB5787ham001 |
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LRB096 16931 RLJ 39054 a |
|
| 1 |
| points. | 2 |
| Applicants who have achieved at least the mean score of all | 3 |
| applicants participating in the written examination at the same | 4 |
| time, and who successfully pass the physical ability | 5 |
| examination shall be placed on the initial eligibility | 6 |
| register. For placement on the final eligibility register, the | 7 |
| passing score shall be determined by (i) calculating the mean | 8 |
| score for all applicants participating in the written test; and | 9 |
| (ii) adding 20% to the mean score. Applicants whose total | 10 |
| scores, including any applicable preference points, are above | 11 |
| the mean score plus 20%, shall be placed on the master register | 12 |
| of eligibles by the JLMC. | 13 |
| These persons shall take rank upon the register as | 14 |
| candidates in the order of their relative excellence based on | 15 |
| the highest to the lowest total points scored on the mental | 16 |
| aptitude and physical ability components, plus any applicable | 17 |
| preference points requested and verified by the JLMC, or | 18 |
| approved testing agency. | 19 |
| No more than 60 days after each examination, a revised | 20 |
| master register of eligibles shall be posted by the JLMC | 21 |
| showing the final grades of the candidates without reference to | 22 |
| priority of time of examination. | 23 |
| (h) Preferences. The board shall give military, education, | 24 |
| and experience preference points to those who qualify for | 25 |
| placement on the master register of eligibles, on the same | 26 |
| basis as provided for examinations administered by a local |
|
|
|
09600HB5787ham001 |
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LRB096 16931 RLJ 39054 a |
|
| 1 |
| commission. | 2 |
| No person entitled to preference or credit shall be | 3 |
| required to claim the credit before any examination held under | 4 |
| the provisions of this Section. The preference shall be given | 5 |
| after the posting or publication of the applicant's initial | 6 |
| score at the request of the person before finalizing the scores | 7 |
| from all applicants taking part in a JLMC examination. | 8 |
| Candidates who are eligible for preference credit shall make a | 9 |
| claim in writing within 10 days after the posting of the | 10 |
| initial scores from any JLMC test or the claim shall be deemed | 11 |
| waived. Once preference points are awarded, the candidates | 12 |
| shall be certified to the master register in accordance with | 13 |
| their final score including preference points. | 14 |
| (i) Firefighter apprentice and firefighter-paramedic | 15 |
| apprentice. The employment of an applicant to an apprentice | 16 |
| position (including a currently employed full-time member of a | 17 |
| fire department whose apprenticeship may be reduced or waived) | 18 |
| shall be subject to the applicant passing the moral character | 19 |
| standards and health examinations of the local commission. In | 20 |
| addition, a local commission may require as a condition of | 21 |
| employment that the applicant demonstrate current physical | 22 |
| ability by either passing the local commission's approved | 23 |
| physical ability examination, or by presenting proof of | 24 |
| participating in and receiving a passing score on the physical | 25 |
| ability component of a JLMC test within a period of up to 12 | 26 |
| months before the date of the conditional offer of employment. |
|
|
|
09600HB5787ham001 |
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LRB096 16931 RLJ 39054 a |
|
| 1 |
| All offers of employment shall be subject to the local | 2 |
| commission's initial hire background review including criminal | 3 |
| history, employment history, moral character, oral | 4 |
| examination, and medical examinations which may include | 5 |
| polygraph, psychological, and drug screening components, all | 6 |
| on a pass-fail basis. The medical examinations must be | 7 |
| conducted last, and may only be performed after a conditional | 8 |
| offer of employment has been extended. | 9 |
| (j) Selection from list. Any municipality or fire | 10 |
| protection district that is a party to an intergovernmental | 11 |
| agreement under the terms of which persons have been tested for | 12 |
| placement on the master register of eligibles shall be entitled | 13 |
| to offer employment to any person on the list irrespective of | 14 |
| their ranking on the list. The offer of employment shall be to | 15 |
| the position of firefighter apprentice or | 16 |
| firefighter-paramedic apprentice. | 17 |
| Applicants passing these tests may be employed as a | 18 |
| firefighter apprentice or a firefighter-paramedic apprentice | 19 |
| who shall serve an apprenticeship period of 12 months or less | 20 |
| according to the terms and conditions of employment as the | 21 |
| employing municipality or district offers, or as provided for | 22 |
| under the terms of any collective bargaining agreement then in | 23 |
| effect. The apprenticeship period is separate from the | 24 |
| probationary period. | 25 |
| Service during the apprenticeship period shall be on a | 26 |
| probationary basis. During the apprenticeship period, the |
|
|
|
09600HB5787ham001 |
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LRB096 16931 RLJ 39054 a |
|
| 1 |
| apprentice's training and performance shall be monitored and | 2 |
| evaluated by a Joint Apprenticeship Committee. | 3 |
| The Joint Apprenticeship Committee shall consist of 4 | 4 |
| members who shall be regular members of the fire department | 5 |
| with at least 10 years of full-time work experience as a | 6 |
| firefighter or firefighter-paramedic. The fire chief and the | 7 |
| president of the exclusive bargaining representative | 8 |
| recognized by the employer shall each appoint 2 members to the | 9 |
| Joint Apprenticeship Committee. In the absence of an exclusive | 10 |
| collective bargaining representative, the chief shall appoint | 11 |
| the remaining 2 members who shall be from the ranks of company | 12 |
| officer and firefighter with at least 10 years of work | 13 |
| experience as a firefighter or firefighter-paramedic. In the | 14 |
| absence of a sufficient number of qualified firefighters, the | 15 |
| Joint Apprenticeship Committee members shall have the amount of | 16 |
| experience and the type of qualifications as is reasonable | 17 |
| given the circumstances of the fire department. In the absence | 18 |
| of a full-time member in a rank between chief and the highest | 19 |
| rank in a bargaining unit, the Joint Apprenticeship Committee | 20 |
| shall be reduced to 2 members, one to be appointed by the chief | 21 |
| and one by the union president, if any. If there is no | 22 |
| exclusive bargaining representative, the chief shall appoint | 23 |
| the second member of the Joint Apprenticeship Committee from | 24 |
| among qualified members in the ranks of company officer and | 25 |
| below. Before the conclusion of the apprenticeship period, the | 26 |
| Joint Apprenticeship Committee shall meet to consider the |
|
|
|
09600HB5787ham001 |
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LRB096 16931 RLJ 39054 a |
|
| 1 |
| apprentice's progress and performance and vote to retain the | 2 |
| apprentice as a member of the fire department or to terminate | 3 |
| the apprenticeship. If 3 of the 4 members of the Joint | 4 |
| Apprenticeship Committee affirmatively vote to retain the | 5 |
| apprentice (if a 2 member Joint Apprenticeship Committee | 6 |
| exists, then both members must affirmatively vote to retain the | 7 |
| apprentice), the local commission shall issue the apprentice a | 8 |
| certificate of original appointment to the fire department. | 9 |
| (k) A person who knowingly divulges or receives test | 10 |
| questions or answers before a written examination, or otherwise | 11 |
| knowingly violates or subverts any requirement of this Section, | 12 |
| commits a violation of this Section and may be subject to | 13 |
| charges for official misconduct. | 14 |
| A person who is the knowing recipient of test information | 15 |
| in advance of the examination shall be disqualified from the | 16 |
| examination or discharged from the position to which he or she | 17 |
| was appointed, as applicable, and otherwise subjected to | 18 |
| disciplinary actions.
| 19 |
| (65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-4) (from Ch. 24, par. 10-2.1-4)
| 20 |
| Sec. 10-2.1-4. Fire and police departments; Appointment of
| 21 |
| members; Certificates of appointments.
| 22 |
| The board of fire and police commissioners shall appoint | 23 |
| all officers
and members of the fire and police departments of | 24 |
| the municipality,
including the chief of police and the chief | 25 |
| of the fire department,
unless the council or board of trustees |
|
|
|
09600HB5787ham001 |
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LRB096 16931 RLJ 39054 a |
|
| 1 |
| shall by ordinance as to them
otherwise provide; except as | 2 |
| otherwise provided in this Section, and
except that in any | 3 |
| municipality which adopts or has
adopted this Division 2.1 and | 4 |
| also adopts or has adopted Article 5 of
this Code, the chief of | 5 |
| police and the chief of the fire department
shall be appointed | 6 |
| by the municipal manager, if it is provided by
ordinance in | 7 |
| such municipality that such chiefs, or either of them,
shall | 8 |
| not be appointed by the board of fire and police commissioners.
| 9 |
| If the chief of the fire department or the chief of the | 10 |
| police department
or both of them are appointed in the manner | 11 |
| provided by ordinance, they
may be removed or discharged by the | 12 |
| appointing authority. In such case
the appointing authority | 13 |
| shall file with the corporate authorities the reasons
for such | 14 |
| removal or discharge, which removal or discharge shall not | 15 |
| become
effective unless confirmed by a majority vote of the | 16 |
| corporate authorities.
| 17 |
| If a member of the department is appointed chief of police | 18 |
| or chief
of the fire department prior to being eligible to | 19 |
| retire on pension, he
shall be considered as on furlough from | 20 |
| the rank he held immediately
prior to his appointment as chief. | 21 |
| If he resigns as chief or is
discharged as chief prior to | 22 |
| attaining eligibility to retire on pension,
he shall revert to | 23 |
| and be established in whatever rank he currently holds,
except | 24 |
| for previously appointed positions, and thereafter
be entitled | 25 |
| to all the benefits and emoluments of that rank,
without regard | 26 |
| as to whether a vacancy then exists in that rank.
|
|
|
|
09600HB5787ham001 |
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LRB096 16931 RLJ 39054 a |
|
| 1 |
| All appointments to each department other than that of the | 2 |
| lowest
rank, however, shall be from the rank next below that to | 3 |
| which the
appointment is made except as otherwise provided in | 4 |
| this Section, and
except that the chief of police and the chief | 5 |
| of the
fire department may be appointed from among members of | 6 |
| the police and
fire departments, respectively, regardless of | 7 |
| rank, unless the council
or board of trustees shall have by | 8 |
| ordinance as to them otherwise provided.
A chief of police or | 9 |
| the chief of the fire department, having been appointed
from | 10 |
| among members
of the police or fire department, respectively, | 11 |
| shall be permitted, regardless
of rank, to
take promotional
| 12 |
| exams and be promoted to a higher classified rank than he | 13 |
| currently holds,
without having to
resign as chief of police or | 14 |
| chief of the fire department.
| 15 |
| The sole authority to issue certificates of appointment | 16 |
| shall be
vested in the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners | 17 |
| and all
certificates of appointments issued to any officer or | 18 |
| member of the fire
or police department of a municipality shall | 19 |
| be signed by the chairman
and secretary respectively of the | 20 |
| board of fire and police commissioners
of such municipality, | 21 |
| upon appointment of such officer or member of the
fire and | 22 |
| police department of such municipality by action of the board
| 23 |
| of fire and police commissioners. In any municipal fire | 24 |
| department that employs full-time firefighters and is subject | 25 |
| to a collective bargaining agreement, a person who has not | 26 |
| qualified for regular appointment under the provisions of this |
|
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| 1 |
| Division 2.1 shall not be used as a temporary or permanent | 2 |
| substitute for classified members of a municipality's fire | 3 |
| department or for regular appointment as a classified member of | 4 |
| a municipality's fire department unless mutually agreed to by | 5 |
| the employee's certified bargaining agent. Such agreement | 6 |
| shall be considered a permissive subject of bargaining. | 7 |
| Municipal fire departments covered by the changes made by this | 8 |
| amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly that are using | 9 |
| non-certificated employees as substitutes immediately prior to | 10 |
| the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General | 11 |
| Assembly may, by mutual agreement with the certified bargaining | 12 |
| agent, continue the existing practice or a modified practice | 13 |
| and that agreement shall be considered a permissive subject of | 14 |
| bargaining. A home rule unit may not regulate the hiring of | 15 |
| temporary or substitute members of the municipality's fire | 16 |
| department in a manner that is inconsistent with this Section. | 17 |
| This Section is a limitation under subsection (i) of Section 6 | 18 |
| of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution on the concurrent | 19 |
| exercise by home rule units of powers and functions exercised | 20 |
| by the State.
| 21 |
| The term "policemen" as used in this Division does not | 22 |
| include
auxiliary police officers except as provided for in | 23 |
| Section 10-2.1-6.
| 24 |
| Any full time member of a regular fire or police department | 25 |
| of any
municipality which comes under the provisions of this | 26 |
| Division or adopts
this Division 2.1 or which has adopted any |
|
|
|
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|
| 1 |
| of the prior Acts pertaining to
fire and police commissioners, | 2 |
| is a city officer.
| 3 |
| Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, the | 4 |
| Chief of
Police of a department in a non-homerule municipality | 5 |
| of more than 130,000
inhabitants may, without the advice or | 6 |
| consent of the Board of
Fire and Police Commissioners, appoint | 7 |
| up to 6 officers who shall be known
as deputy chiefs or | 8 |
| assistant deputy chiefs, and whose rank shall be
immediately | 9 |
| below that of Chief. The deputy or assistant deputy chiefs may
| 10 |
| be appointed from any rank of sworn officers of that | 11 |
| municipality, but no
person who is not such a sworn officer may | 12 |
| be so appointed. Such deputy
chief or assistant deputy chief | 13 |
| shall have the authority to direct and
issue orders to all | 14 |
| employees of the Department holding the rank of captain
or any | 15 |
| lower rank.
A deputy chief of police or assistant deputy chief | 16 |
| of police, having been
appointed from any rank
of sworn | 17 |
| officers of that municipality, shall be permitted, regardless | 18 |
| of rank,
to take promotional
exams and be promoted to a higher | 19 |
| classified rank than he currently holds,
without having to
| 20 |
| resign as deputy chief of police or assistant deputy chief of | 21 |
| police.
| 22 |
| Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, a | 23 |
| non-homerule
municipality of 130,000 or fewer inhabitants, | 24 |
| through its council or board
of trustees, may, by ordinance, | 25 |
| provide for a position of deputy chief to be
appointed by the | 26 |
| chief of the police department. The ordinance shall provide
for |
|
|
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| 1 |
| no more than one deputy chief position if the police department | 2 |
| has fewer
than 25 full-time police officers and for no more | 3 |
| than 2 deputy chief positions
if the police department has 25 | 4 |
| or more full-time police officers. The deputy
chief position
| 5 |
| shall be an exempt rank immediately below that of Chief. The | 6 |
| deputy chief may
be appointed from any rank of sworn, full-time | 7 |
| officers of the municipality's
police department, but must have | 8 |
| at least 5 years of full-time service as a
police officer in | 9 |
| that department. A deputy chief shall serve at the
discretion | 10 |
| of the Chief and, if removed from the position,
shall revert to | 11 |
| the rank currently held, without regard as to whether a
vacancy | 12 |
| exists in
that rank. A deputy chief
of police, having been | 13 |
| appointed from any rank of sworn full-time officers of
that | 14 |
| municipality's
police department, shall be permitted, | 15 |
| regardless of rank, to take promotional
exams and be
promoted | 16 |
| to a higher classified rank than he currently holds, without | 17 |
| having to
resign as deputy
chief of police.
| 18 |
| No municipality having a population less than 1,000,000 | 19 |
| shall require
that any firefighter appointed to the lowest
rank | 20 |
| serve a probationary employment period of longer than one year. | 21 |
| The
limitation on periods of probationary employment provided | 22 |
| in this
amendatory Act of 1989 is an exclusive power and | 23 |
| function of the State.
Pursuant to subsection (h) of Section 6 | 24 |
| of Article VII of the Illinois
Constitution, a home rule | 25 |
| municipality having a population less than 1,000,000
must | 26 |
| comply with this limitation on periods of probationary |
|
|
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| 1 |
| employment, which
is a denial and limitation of home rule | 2 |
| powers. Notwithstanding anything to
the contrary in this | 3 |
| Section, the probationary employment period limitation
may be | 4 |
| extended for a firefighter who is required, as a condition of | 5 |
| employment, to be a certified paramedic, during which time the | 6 |
| sole reason that a firefighter may be discharged without a | 7 |
| hearing is for failing to meet the requirements for paramedic | 8 |
| certification.
| 9 |
| To the extent that this Section or any other Section in | 10 |
| this Division conflicts with Section 10-2.1-6.3 or 10-2.1-6.4, | 11 |
| then Section 10-2.1-6.3 or 10-2.1-6.4 shall control. | 12 |
| (Source: P.A. 94-135, eff. 7-7-05; 94-984, eff. 6-30-06; | 13 |
| 95-490, eff. 6-1-08 .)
| 14 |
| (65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-6.3 new) | 15 |
| Sec. 10-2.1-6.3. Original appointments; full-time fire | 16 |
| department. | 17 |
| (a) Applicability. Unless a commission elects to follow the | 18 |
| provisions of Section 10-2.1-6.4, this Section shall apply to | 19 |
| all original appointments to an affected full-time fire | 20 |
| department. Existing registers of eligibles shall continue to | 21 |
| be valid until their expiration dates, or up to a maximum of 2 | 22 |
| years after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the | 23 |
| 96th General Assembly. | 24 |
| Notwithstanding any statute, ordinance, rule, or other law | 25 |
| to the contrary, all original appointments to an affected |
|
|
|
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| department to which this Section applies shall be administered | 2 |
| in the manner provided for in this Section. Provisions of the | 3 |
| Illinois Municipal Code, municipal ordinances, and rules | 4 |
| adopted pursuant to such authority and other laws relating to | 5 |
| initial hiring of firefighters in affected departments shall | 6 |
| continue to apply to the extent they are compatible with this | 7 |
| Section, but in the event of a conflict between this Section | 8 |
| and any other law, this Section shall control. | 9 |
| A home rule or non-home rule municipality may not | 10 |
| administer its fire department process for original | 11 |
| appointments in a manner that is inconsistent with this | 12 |
| Section. This Section is a limitation under subsection (i) of | 13 |
| Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution on the | 14 |
| concurrent exercise by home rule units of the powers and | 15 |
| functions exercised by the State. | 16 |
| (b) Original appointments. All original appointments made | 17 |
| to an affected fire department shall be made from a register of | 18 |
| eligibles established in accordance with the processes | 19 |
| established by this Section. Only persons who meet or exceed | 20 |
| the performance standards required by this Section shall be | 21 |
| placed on a register of eligibles for original appointment to | 22 |
| an affected fire department. | 23 |
| Whenever an appointing authority authorizes action to hire | 24 |
| a person to perform the duties of a firefighter or to hire a | 25 |
| firefighter-paramedic to fill a position that is a new position | 26 |
| or vacancy due to resignation, discharge, promotion, death, the |
|
|
|
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| granting of a disability or retirement pension, or any other | 2 |
| cause, the appointing authority shall appoint to that position | 3 |
| the person with the highest ranking on the final eligibility | 4 |
| list, except that the appointing authority shall have the right | 5 |
| to pass over that person and appoint the next highest ranked | 6 |
| person on the list if the appointing authority has reason to | 7 |
| conclude that the highest ranked person fails to meet the | 8 |
| minimum standards for the position. | 9 |
| Any candidate may pass on an appointment once without | 10 |
| losing his or her position on the register of eligibles. Any | 11 |
| candidate who passes a second time shall be removed from the | 12 |
| list provided that such action shall not prejudice a person's | 13 |
| opportunities to participate in future examinations, including | 14 |
| an examination held during the time a candidate is already on | 15 |
| the municipality's register of eligibles. | 16 |
| The sole authority to issue certificates of appointment | 17 |
| shall be vested in the board of fire and police commissioners. | 18 |
| All certificates of appointment issued to any officer or member | 19 |
| of an affected department shall be signed by the chairperson | 20 |
| and secretary, respectively, of the board upon appointment of | 21 |
| such officer or member to the affected department by action of | 22 |
| the board. Each person who accepts a certificate of appointment | 23 |
| and successfully completes his or her probationary period shall | 24 |
| be enrolled as a firefighter and as a regular member of the | 25 |
| fire department. | 26 |
| For the purposes of this Section, "firefighter" means any |
|
|
|
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| 1 |
| person who has been prior to, on, or after the effective date | 2 |
| of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly appointed | 3 |
| to a fire department or fire protection district or employed by | 4 |
| a State university and sworn or commissioned to perform | 5 |
| firefighter duties or paramedic duties, or both, except that | 6 |
| the following persons are not included: part-time | 7 |
| firefighters; auxiliary, reserve, or voluntary firefighters, | 8 |
| including paid-on-call firefighters; clerks and dispatchers or | 9 |
| other civilian employees of a fire department or fire | 10 |
| protection district who are not routinely expected to perform | 11 |
| firefighter duties; and elected officials. | 12 |
| (c) Qualification for placement on register of eligibles. | 13 |
| The purpose of establishing a register of eligibles is to | 14 |
| identify applicants who possess and demonstrate the mental | 15 |
| aptitude and physical ability to perform the duties required of | 16 |
| members of the fire department in order to provide the highest | 17 |
| quality of service to the public. To this end, all applicants | 18 |
| for original appointment to an affected fire department shall | 19 |
| be subject to examination and testing which shall be public, | 20 |
| competitive, and open to all applicants unless the municipality | 21 |
| shall by ordinance limit applicants to residents of the | 22 |
| municipality, county, State, or nation. Municipalities may | 23 |
| establish educational, emergency medical service licensure, | 24 |
| and other pre-requisites for participation in an examination or | 25 |
| for hire as a firefighter. Any fee to cover the costs of the | 26 |
| application process shall not exceed $25. |
|
|
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| 1 |
| Residency requirements in effect at the time an individual | 2 |
| enters the fire service of a municipality (other than a | 3 |
| municipality that has more than 1,000,000 inhabitants) cannot | 4 |
| be made more restrictive for that individual during his or her | 5 |
| period of service for that municipality, or be made a condition | 6 |
| of promotion, except for the rank or position of fire chief and | 7 |
| for no more than 2 positions that rank immediately below that | 8 |
| of the chief rank which are appointed positions pursuant to the | 9 |
| Fire Department Promotion Act. | 10 |
| No person who is 35 years of age or older shall be eligible | 11 |
| to take an examination for a position as a firefighter unless | 12 |
| the person has had previous employment status as a firefighter | 13 |
| in the regularly constituted fire department of the | 14 |
| municipality, except as provided in this Section. The age | 15 |
| limitation does not apply to: | 16 |
| (1) any person previously employed as a full-time | 17 |
| firefighter in a regularly constituted fire department of | 18 |
| (i) any municipality or fire protection district, | 19 |
| regardless of whether the municipality or fire protection | 20 |
| district is located in Illinois or in another state, (ii) a | 21 |
| fire protection district whose obligations were assumed by | 22 |
| a municipality under Section 21 of the Fire Protection | 23 |
| District Act, or (iii) a municipality whose obligations | 24 |
| were taken over by a fire protection district, or | 25 |
| (2) any person who has served a municipality as a | 26 |
| regularly enrolled volunteer, paid-on-call, or part-time |
|
|
|
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| 1 |
| firefighter for the 5 years immediately preceding the time | 2 |
| that the municipality begins to use full-time firefighters | 3 |
| to provide all or part of its fire protection service. | 4 |
| No person who is under 21 years of age shall be eligible | 5 |
| for employment as a firefighter. | 6 |
| No applicant shall be examined concerning his or her | 7 |
| political or religious opinions or affiliations. The | 8 |
| examinations shall be conducted by the commissioners of the | 9 |
| municipality or their designees and agents. | 10 |
| No municipality having a population of less than 1,000,000 | 11 |
| shall require that any firefighter appointed to the lowest rank | 12 |
| serve a probationary employment period of longer than one year | 13 |
| of actual active employment, which may exclude periods of | 14 |
| training, or injury or illness leaves, including duty related | 15 |
| leave, in excess of 30 calendar days. Notwithstanding anything | 16 |
| to the contrary in this Section, the probationary employment | 17 |
| period limitation may be extended for a firefighter who is | 18 |
| required, as a condition of employment, to be a certified | 19 |
| paramedic, during which time the sole reason that a firefighter | 20 |
| may be discharged without a hearing is for failing to meet the | 21 |
| requirements for paramedic certification. | 22 |
| In the event that any applicant who has been found eligible | 23 |
| for appointment and whose name has been placed upon the final | 24 |
| eligibility register provided for in this Section has not been | 25 |
| appointed to a firefighter position within one year after the | 26 |
| date of his or her physical ability examination, the commission |
|
|
|
09600HB5787ham001 |
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| 1 |
| may cause a second examination to be made of that applicant's | 2 |
| physical ability prior to his or her appointment. If, after the | 3 |
| second examination, the physical ability of the applicant shall | 4 |
| be found to be less than the minimum standard fixed by the | 5 |
| rules of the commission, the applicant shall not be appointed. | 6 |
| The applicant's name shall be retained upon the register of | 7 |
| candidates eligible for appointment and when next reached for | 8 |
| certification and appointment that applicant shall be again | 9 |
| examined as provided in this Section, and if the physical | 10 |
| ability of that applicant is found to be less than the minimum | 11 |
| standard fixed by the rules of the commission, the applicant | 12 |
| shall not be appointed, and the name of the applicant shall be | 13 |
| removed from the register. | 14 |
| (d) Notice, examination, and testing components. Notice of | 15 |
| the time, place, general scope, and fee of every examination | 16 |
| shall be given by the commission, by a publication at least 2 | 17 |
| weeks preceding the examination, in one or more newspapers | 18 |
| published in the municipality, or if no newspaper is published | 19 |
| therein, then in one or more newspapers with a general | 20 |
| circulation within the municipality. Additional notice of the | 21 |
| examination may be given as the commission shall prescribe. | 22 |
| The examination and qualifying standards for employment of | 23 |
| firefighters shall be based on: mental aptitude, physical | 24 |
| ability, preferences, moral character, and health. The mental | 25 |
| aptitude, physical ability, and preference components shall | 26 |
| determine an applicant's qualification for and placement on the |
|
|
|
09600HB5787ham001 |
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LRB096 16931 RLJ 39054 a |
|
| 1 |
| final register of eligibles. The examination may also include a | 2 |
| subjective component including without limitation an oral | 3 |
| interview or an assessment center exercise. | 4 |
| (e) Mental aptitude. No person who does not possess at | 5 |
| least a high school diploma or an equivalent high school | 6 |
| education shall be placed on a register of eligibles. | 7 |
| Examination of an applicant's mental aptitude shall be based | 8 |
| upon a written examination. The examination shall be practical | 9 |
| in character and relate to those matters that fairly test the | 10 |
| capacity of the persons examined to discharge the duties | 11 |
| performed by members of a fire department. Written examinations | 12 |
| shall be administered in a manner that ensures the security and | 13 |
| accuracy of the scores achieved. | 14 |
| (f) Physical ability. All candidates shall be required to | 15 |
| undergo an examination of their physical ability to perform the | 16 |
| essential functions included in the duties they may be called | 17 |
| upon to perform as a member of a fire department. For the | 18 |
| purposes of this Section, essential functions of the job are | 19 |
| functions associated with duties that a firefighter may be | 20 |
| called upon to perform in response to emergency calls. The | 21 |
| frequency of the occurrence of those duties as part of the fire | 22 |
| department's regular routine shall not be a controlling factor | 23 |
| in the design of examination criteria or evolutions selected | 24 |
| for testing. These physical examinations shall be open, | 25 |
| competitive, and based on industry standards designed to test | 26 |
| each applicant's physical abilities in the following |
|
|
|
09600HB5787ham001 |
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LRB096 16931 RLJ 39054 a |
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| 1 |
| dimensions (or a similar test designed to ensure that the | 2 |
| successful candidates are able to perform the essential | 3 |
| functions of the firefighter's job description): | 4 |
| (1) Muscular strength to perform tasks and evolutions | 5 |
| that may be required in the performance of duties including | 6 |
| grip strength, leg strength, and arm strength. Tests shall | 7 |
| be conducted under anaerobic as well as aerobic conditions | 8 |
| to test both the candidate's speed and endurance in | 9 |
| performing tasks and evolutions. Tasks tested may be based | 10 |
| on standards developed, or approved, by the local | 11 |
| appointing authority. | 12 |
| (2) The ability to climb ladders, operate from heights, | 13 |
| walk or crawl in the dark along narrow and uneven surfaces, | 14 |
| and operate in proximity to hazardous environments. | 15 |
| (3) The ability to carry out critical, time-sensitive, | 16 |
| and complex problem solving during physical exertion in | 17 |
| stressful and hazardous environments, including hot, dark, | 18 |
| tightly enclosed spaces, that is further aggravated by | 19 |
| fatigue, flashing lights, sirens, and other distractions. | 20 |
| Physical ability examinations administered under this | 21 |
| Section shall be conducted with a reasonable number of proctors | 22 |
| and monitors, open to the public, and subject to reasonable | 23 |
| regulations of the commission. | 24 |
| (g) Scoring of examination components. The examination | 25 |
| components shall be graded on a 100-point scale. A person's | 26 |
| position on the list shall be determined by the following: (i) |
|
|
|
09600HB5787ham001 |
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| 1 |
| the person's score on the written examination, (ii) the person | 2 |
| successfully passing the physical ability component, and (iii) | 3 |
| the addition of any applicable preference points. | 4 |
| Applicants who pass both the written examination and the | 5 |
| physical ability examination shall be placed on the initial | 6 |
| eligibility register. The passing score for each of these test | 7 |
| components shall be determined by calculating a mean score for | 8 |
| all applicants participating in each test. In order to qualify | 9 |
| for placement on the final eligibility register, an applicant's | 10 |
| total score, including any applicable preference points, shall | 11 |
| be at or above the mean score plus 10%. | 12 |
| The commission shall prepare and keep a register of persons | 13 |
| whose total score is not less than the minimum fixed by this | 14 |
| Section. These persons shall take rank upon the register as | 15 |
| candidates in the order of their relative excellence based on | 16 |
| the highest to the lowest total points scored on the mental | 17 |
| aptitude, physical ability, and preference components of the | 18 |
| test administered in accordance with this Section. No more than | 19 |
| 60 days after each examination, an initial eligibility list | 20 |
| shall be posted by the commission. The list shall include the | 21 |
| final grades of the candidates without reference to priority of | 22 |
| the time of examination and subject to claim for preference | 23 |
| credit. | 24 |
| Commissions may conduct additional examinations, including | 25 |
| without limitation a polygraph test, after a final eligibility | 26 |
| register is established and before it expires with the |
|
|
|
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LRB096 16931 RLJ 39054 a |
|
| 1 |
| candidates ranked by total score without regard to date of | 2 |
| examination. No more than 60 days after each examination, an | 3 |
| initial eligibility list shall be posted by the commission | 4 |
| showing the final grades of the candidates without reference to | 5 |
| priority of time of examination and subject to claim for | 6 |
| preference credit. | 7 |
| (h) Preferences. The following are preferences: | 8 |
| (1) Veteran preference. Persons who were engaged in the | 9 |
| military service of the United States for a period of at | 10 |
| least one year of active duty and who were honorably | 11 |
| discharged therefrom, or who are now or have been members | 12 |
| on inactive or reserve duty in such military or naval | 13 |
| service, shall be preferred for appointment to and | 14 |
| employment with the fire department of an affected | 15 |
| department. | 16 |
| (2) Fire cadet preference. Persons who have | 17 |
| successfully completed 2 years of study in fire techniques | 18 |
| or cadet training within a cadet program established under | 19 |
| the rules of the Joint Labor and Management Committee | 20 |
| (JLMC), as defined in Section 50 of the Fire Department | 21 |
| Promotion Act, shall be preferred for appointment to and | 22 |
| employment with the fire department. | 23 |
| (3) Educational preference. Persons who have | 24 |
| successfully obtained an associate's degree in the field of | 25 |
| fire service or emergency medical services, or a bachelor's | 26 |
| degree from an accredited college or university shall be |
|
|
|
09600HB5787ham001 |
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| 1 |
| preferred for appointment to and employment with the fire | 2 |
| department. | 3 |
| (4) Paramedic preference. Persons who have obtained | 4 |
| certification as an Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic | 5 |
| (EMT-P) shall be preferred for appointment to and | 6 |
| employment with the fire department of an affected | 7 |
| department providing emergency medical services. | 8 |
| (5) Experience preference. All persons employed by a | 9 |
| municipality who have been paid-on-call or part-time | 10 |
| certified Firefighter II, State of Illinois or nationally | 11 |
| licensed EMT-B or EMT-I, or any combination of those | 12 |
| capacities shall be awarded 0.5 point for each year of | 13 |
| successful service in one or more of those capacities, up | 14 |
| to a maximum of 5 points. Certified Firefighter III and | 15 |
| State of Illinois or nationally licensed paramedics shall | 16 |
| be awarded one point per year up to a maximum of 5 points. | 17 |
| Applicants from outside the municipality who were employed | 18 |
| as full-time firefighters or firefighter-paramedics by a | 19 |
| fire protection district or another municipality for at | 20 |
| least 2 years shall have the same preference as | 21 |
| paid-on-call or part-time personnel. These additional | 22 |
| points presuppose a rating scale totaling 100 points | 23 |
| available for the eligibility list. If more or fewer points | 24 |
| are used in the rating scale for the eligibility list, the | 25 |
| points awarded under this subsection shall be increased or | 26 |
| decreased by a factor equal to the total possible points |
|
|
|
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LRB096 16931 RLJ 39054 a |
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| 1 |
| available for the examination divided by 100. | 2 |
| (6) Residency preference. Applicants whose principal | 3 |
| residence is located within the fire department's | 4 |
| jurisdiction shall be preferred for appointment to and | 5 |
| employment with the fire department. | 6 |
| Upon request by the commission, the governing body of | 7 |
| the municipality or in the case of applicants from outside | 8 |
| the municipality the governing body of any fire protection | 9 |
| district or any other municipality shall certify to the | 10 |
| commission, within 10 days after the request, the number of | 11 |
| years of successful paid-on-call, part-time, or full-time | 12 |
| service of any person. A candidate may not receive the full | 13 |
| amount of preference points under this subsection if the | 14 |
| amount of points awarded would place the candidate before a | 15 |
| veteran on the eligibility list. If more than one candidate | 16 |
| receiving experience preference points is prevented from | 17 |
| receiving all of their points due to not being allowed to | 18 |
| pass a veteran, the candidates shall be placed on the list | 19 |
| below the veteran in rank order based on the totals | 20 |
| received if all points under this subsection were to be | 21 |
| awarded. Any remaining ties on the list shall be determined | 22 |
| by lot. | 23 |
| (7) Scoring of preferences. Preference points shall be | 24 |
| awarded in the order listed in items (1) through (6). The | 25 |
| commission shall give preference for original appointment | 26 |
| to persons designated in items (1) through (4) and item (6) |
|
|
|
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| 1 |
| by adding to the final grade which they receive 5 points | 2 |
| for each recognized preference achieved. Experience | 3 |
| preference of up to 5 points shall then be added in | 4 |
| accordance with item (5). The numerical result thus | 5 |
| attained shall be applied by the commission in determining | 6 |
| the final eligibility list and appointment from such | 7 |
| eligibility list. | 8 |
| No person entitled to any preference shall be required to | 9 |
| claim the credit before any examination held under the | 10 |
| provisions of this Section, but the preference shall be given | 11 |
| after the posting or publication of the initial eligibility | 12 |
| list or register at the request of a person entitled to a | 13 |
| credit before any certification or appointments are made from | 14 |
| the eligibility register, upon the furnishing of verifiable | 15 |
| evidence and proof of qualifying preference credit. Candidates | 16 |
| who are eligible for preference credit shall make a claim in | 17 |
| writing within 10 days after the posting of the initial | 18 |
| eligibility list, or the claim shall be deemed waived. Final | 19 |
| eligibility registers shall be established after the awarding | 20 |
| of verified preference points, and appointment from the final | 21 |
| register shall be subject to the applicant passing the | 22 |
| qualifying standards for moral character and health. All | 23 |
| employment shall be subject to the commission's initial hire | 24 |
| background review including criminal history, employment | 25 |
| history, moral character, oral examination, and medical | 26 |
| examinations, all on a pass-fail basis. The medical |
|
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| 1 |
| examinations must be conducted last, and may only be performed | 2 |
| after a conditional offer of employment has been extended. | 3 |
| Any person placed on an eligibility list who exceeds the | 4 |
| age requirement before being appointed to a fire department | 5 |
| shall remain eligible for appointment until the list is | 6 |
| abolished, or his or her name has been on the list for a period | 7 |
| of 2 years. No person who has attained the age of 35 years | 8 |
| shall be inducted into a fire department, except as otherwise | 9 |
| provided in this Section. | 10 |
| The commission shall strike off the names of candidates for | 11 |
| original appointment after the names have been on the list for | 12 |
| more than 2 years. | 13 |
| (i) Moral character. No person shall be appointed to a fire | 14 |
| department unless he or she is a person of good character; not | 15 |
| a habitual drunkard, a gambler, or a person who has been | 16 |
| convicted of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude. | 17 |
| However, no person shall be disqualified from appointment to | 18 |
| the fire department because of the person's record of | 19 |
| misdemeanor convictions except those under Sections 11-6, | 20 |
| 11-7, 11-9, 11-14, 11-15, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 12-2, 12-6, | 21 |
| 12-15, 14-4, 16-1, 21.1-3, 24-3.1, 24-5, 25-1, 28-3, 31-1, | 22 |
| 31-4, 31-6, 31-7, 32-1, 32-2, 32-3, 32-4, 32-8, and subsections | 23 |
| 1, 6, and 8 of Section 24-1 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or | 24 |
| arrest for any cause without conviction thereon. Any such | 25 |
| person who is in the department may be removed on charges | 26 |
| brought for violating this subsection and after a trial as |
|
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| 1 |
| hereinafter provided. | 2 |
| A classifiable set of the fingerprints of every person who | 3 |
| is offered employment as a certificated member of an affected | 4 |
| fire department whether with or without compensation, shall be | 5 |
| furnished to the Illinois Department of State Police and to the | 6 |
| Federal Bureau of Investigation by the commission. | 7 |
| Whenever a commission is authorized or required by law to | 8 |
| consider some aspect of criminal history record information for | 9 |
| the purpose of carrying out its statutory powers and | 10 |
| responsibilities, then, upon request and payment of fees in | 11 |
| conformance with the requirements of Section 2605-400 of the | 12 |
| State Police Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois, | 13 |
| the Department of State Police is authorized to furnish, | 14 |
| pursuant to positive identification, the information contained | 15 |
| in State files as is necessary to fulfill the request. | 16 |
| (j) Temporary appointments. In order to prevent a stoppage | 17 |
| of public business, to meet extraordinary exigencies, or to | 18 |
| prevent material impairment of the fire department, the | 19 |
| commission may make temporary appointments, to remain in force | 20 |
| only until regular appointments are made under the provisions | 21 |
| of this Division, but never to exceed 60 days. No temporary | 22 |
| appointment of any one person shall be made more than twice in | 23 |
| any calendar year. | 24 |
| (k) A person who knowingly divulges or receives test | 25 |
| questions or answers before a written examination, or otherwise | 26 |
| knowingly violates or subverts any requirement of this Section, |
|
|
|
09600HB5787ham001 |
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| 1 |
| commits a violation of this Section and may be subject to | 2 |
| charges for official misconduct. | 3 |
| A person who is the knowing recipient of test information | 4 |
| in advance of the examination shall be disqualified from the | 5 |
| examination or discharged from the position to which he or she | 6 |
| was appointed, as applicable, and otherwise subjected to | 7 |
| disciplinary actions. | 8 |
| (65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-6.4 new) | 9 |
| Sec. 10-2.1-6.4. Alternative procedure; original | 10 |
| appointment; full-time firefighter. | 11 |
| (a) Authority. The Joint Labor and Management Committee | 12 |
| (JLMC), as defined in Section 50 of the Fire Department | 13 |
| Promotion Act, may establish a community outreach program to | 14 |
| market the profession of firefighter and firefighter-paramedic | 15 |
| so as to ensure the pool of applicants recruited is of broad | 16 |
| diversity and the highest quality. | 17 |
| For the purposes of this Section, "firefighter" means any | 18 |
| person who has been prior to, on, or after the effective date | 19 |
| of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly appointed | 20 |
| to a fire department or fire protection district or employed by | 21 |
| a State university and sworn or commissioned to perform | 22 |
| firefighter duties or paramedic duties, or both, except that | 23 |
| the following persons are not included: part-time | 24 |
| firefighters; auxiliary, reserve, or voluntary firefighters, | 25 |
| including paid-on-call firefighters; clerks and dispatchers or |
|
|
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| 1 |
| other civilian employees of a fire department or fire | 2 |
| protection district who are not routinely expected to perform | 3 |
| firefighter duties; and elected officials. | 4 |
| (b) Eligibility. Persons eligible for placement on the | 5 |
| master register of eligibles shall consist of the following: | 6 |
| Persons who have participated in and received a passing | 7 |
| total score on the mental aptitude, physical ability, and | 8 |
| preference components of a regionally administered test | 9 |
| based on the standards described in this Section. The | 10 |
| standards for administering these tests and the minimum | 11 |
| passing score required for placement on this list shall be | 12 |
| as is set forth in this Section. | 13 |
| Qualified candidates shall be listed on the master | 14 |
| register of eligibles in highest to lowest rank order based | 15 |
| upon their test scores without regard to their date of | 16 |
| examination. Candidates listed on the master register of | 17 |
| eligibles shall be eligible for appointment for 3 years | 18 |
| after the date of the certification of their final score on | 19 |
| the register without regard to the date of their | 20 |
| examination. After 3 years, the candidate's name shall be | 21 |
| struck from the list. | 22 |
| Any person currently employed as a full-time member of | 23 |
| a fire department or any person who has experienced a | 24 |
| non–voluntary (and non-disciplinary) separation from the | 25 |
| active workforce due to a reduction in the number of | 26 |
| departmental officers, who was appointed pursuant to |
|
|
|
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| 1 |
| Division 1 of Article 10 of the Illinois Municipal Code, | 2 |
| Division 2.1 of Article 10 of the Illinois Municipal Code, | 3 |
| or the Fire Protection District Act, and who during the | 4 |
| previous 12 months participated in and received a passing | 5 |
| score on the physical ability component of the test may | 6 |
| request that his or her name be added to the master | 7 |
| register. Any eligible person may be offered employment by | 8 |
| a local commission under the same procedures as provided by | 9 |
| this Section except that the apprenticeship period may be | 10 |
| waived and the applicant may be immediately issued a | 11 |
| certificate of original appointment by the local | 12 |
| commission. | 13 |
| (c) Qualifications for placement on register of eligibles. | 14 |
| The purpose for establishing a master register of eligibles | 15 |
| shall be to identify applicants who possess and demonstrate the | 16 |
| mental aptitude and physical ability to perform the duties | 17 |
| required of members of the fire department in order to provide | 18 |
| the highest quality of service to the public. To this end, all | 19 |
| applicants for original appointment to an affected fire | 20 |
| department through examination conducted by the Joint Labor and | 21 |
| Management Committee (JLMC) shall be subject to examination and | 22 |
| testing which shall be public, competitive, and open to all | 23 |
| applicants. Any subjective component of the testing must be | 24 |
| administered by certified assessors. All qualifying and | 25 |
| disqualifying factors applicable to examination processes for | 26 |
| local commissions in this amendatory Act of the 96th General |
|
|
|
09600HB5787ham001 |
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| 1 |
| Assembly shall be applicable to persons participating in Joint | 2 |
| Labor and Management Committee examinations unless | 3 |
| specifically provided otherwise in this Section. | 4 |
| Notice of the time, place, general scope, and fee of every | 5 |
| JLMC examination shall be given by the JLMC or designated | 6 |
| testing agency, as applicable, by a publication at least 30 | 7 |
| days preceding the examination, in one or more newspapers | 8 |
| published in the region, or if no newspaper is published | 9 |
| therein, then in one or more newspapers with a general | 10 |
| circulation within the region. Additional notice of the | 11 |
| examination may be given as the JLMC shall prescribe. | 12 |
| (d) Examination and testing components for placement on | 13 |
| register of eligibles. The examination and qualifying | 14 |
| standards for placement on the master register of eligibles and | 15 |
| employment shall be based on the following components: mental | 16 |
| aptitude, physical ability, preferences, moral character, and | 17 |
| health. The mental aptitude, physical ability, and preference | 18 |
| components shall determine an applicant's qualification for | 19 |
| and placement on the master register of eligibles. The | 20 |
| consideration of an applicant's general moral character and | 21 |
| health shall be administered on a pass-fail basis after a | 22 |
| conditional offer of employment is made by a local commission. | 23 |
| (e) Mental aptitude. Examination of an applicant's mental | 24 |
| aptitude shall be based upon written examination and an | 25 |
| applicant's prior experience demonstrating an aptitude for and | 26 |
| commitment to service as a member of a fire department. Written |
|
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| examinations shall be practical in character and relate to | 2 |
| those matters that fairly test the capacity of the persons | 3 |
| examined to discharge the duties performed by members of a fire | 4 |
| department. Written examinations shall be administered in a | 5 |
| manner that ensures the security and accuracy of the scores | 6 |
| achieved. Any subjective component of the testing must be | 7 |
| administered by certified assessors. No person who does not | 8 |
| possess a high school diploma or an equivalent high school | 9 |
| education shall be placed on a register of eligibles. Local | 10 |
| commissions may establish educational, emergency medical | 11 |
| service licensure, and other pre-requisites for hire within | 12 |
| their jurisdiction. | 13 |
| (f) Physical ability. All candidates shall be required to | 14 |
| undergo an examination of their physical ability to perform the | 15 |
| essential functions included in the duties they may be called | 16 |
| upon to perform as a member of a fire department. For the | 17 |
| purposes of this Section, essential functions of the job are | 18 |
| functions associated with duties that a firefighter may be | 19 |
| called upon to perform in response to emergency calls. The | 20 |
| frequency of the occurrence of those duties as part of the fire | 21 |
| department's regular routine shall not be a controlling factor | 22 |
| in the design of examination criteria or evolutions selected | 23 |
| for testing. These physical examinations shall be open, | 24 |
| competitive, and based on industry standards designed to test | 25 |
| each applicant's physical abilities in each of the following | 26 |
| dimensions (or a similar test designed to ensure that the |
|
|
|
09600HB5787ham001 |
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| 1 |
| successful candidates are able to perform the essential | 2 |
| functions of a firefighter's job description): | 3 |
| (1) Muscular strength to perform tasks and evolutions | 4 |
| that may be required in the performance of duties including | 5 |
| grip strength, leg strength, and arm strength. Tests shall | 6 |
| be conducted under anaerobic as well as aerobic conditions | 7 |
| to test both the candidate's speed and endurance in | 8 |
| performing tasks and evolutions. Tasks tested are to be | 9 |
| based on industry standards developed by the JLMC by rule. | 10 |
| (2) The ability to climb ladders, operate from heights, | 11 |
| walk or crawl in the dark along narrow and uneven surfaces, | 12 |
| and operate in proximity to hazardous environments. | 13 |
| (3) The ability to carry out critical, time-sensitive, | 14 |
| and complex problem solving during physical exertion in | 15 |
| stressful and hazardous environments, including hot, dark, | 16 |
| tightly enclosed spaces, that is further aggravated by | 17 |
| fatigue, flashing lights, sirens, and other distractions. | 18 |
| (g) Scoring of examination components. The examination | 19 |
| components shall be graded on a 100-point scale. A person's | 20 |
| position on the master register of eligibles shall be | 21 |
| determined by the person's score on the written examination, | 22 |
| the person successfully passing the physical ability | 23 |
| component, and the addition of any applicable preference | 24 |
| points. | 25 |
| Applicants who have achieved at least the mean score of all | 26 |
| applicants participating in the written examination at the same |
|
|
|
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LRB096 16931 RLJ 39054 a |
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| 1 |
| time, and who successfully pass the physical ability | 2 |
| examination shall be placed on the initial eligibility | 3 |
| register. For placement on the final eligibility register, the | 4 |
| passing score shall be determined by (i) calculating the mean | 5 |
| score for all applicants participating in the written test; and | 6 |
| (ii) adding 20% to the mean score. Applicants whose total | 7 |
| scores, including any applicable preference points, are above | 8 |
| the mean score plus 20%, shall be placed on the master register | 9 |
| of eligibles by the JLMC. | 10 |
| These persons shall take rank upon the register as | 11 |
| candidates in the order of their relative excellence based on | 12 |
| the highest to the lowest total points scored on the mental | 13 |
| aptitude and physical ability components, plus any applicable | 14 |
| preference points requested and verified by the JLMC, or | 15 |
| approved testing agency. | 16 |
| No more than 60 days after each examination, a revised | 17 |
| master register of eligibles shall be posted by the JLMC | 18 |
| showing the final grades of the candidates without reference to | 19 |
| priority of time of examination. | 20 |
| (h) Preferences. The board shall give military, education, | 21 |
| and experience preference points to those who qualify for | 22 |
| placement on the master register of eligibles, on the same | 23 |
| basis as provided for examinations administered by a local | 24 |
| commission. | 25 |
| No person entitled to preference or credit shall be | 26 |
| required to claim the credit before any examination held under |
|
|
|
09600HB5787ham001 |
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LRB096 16931 RLJ 39054 a |
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| 1 |
| the provisions of this Section. The preference shall be given | 2 |
| after the posting or publication of the applicant's initial | 3 |
| score at the request of the person before finalizing the scores | 4 |
| from all applicants taking part in a JLMC examination. | 5 |
| Candidates who are eligible for preference credit shall make a | 6 |
| claim in writing within 10 days after the posting of the | 7 |
| initial scores from any JLMC test or the claim shall be deemed | 8 |
| waived. Once preference points are awarded, the candidates | 9 |
| shall be certified to the master register in accordance with | 10 |
| their final score including preference points. | 11 |
| (i) Firefighter apprentice and firefighter-paramedic | 12 |
| apprentice. The employment of an applicant to an apprentice | 13 |
| position (including a currently employed full-time member of a | 14 |
| fire department whose apprenticeship may be reduced or waived) | 15 |
| shall be subject to the applicant passing the moral character | 16 |
| standards and health examinations of the local commission. In | 17 |
| addition, a local commission may require as a condition of | 18 |
| employment that the applicant demonstrate current physical | 19 |
| ability by either passing the local commission's approved | 20 |
| physical ability examination, or by presenting proof of | 21 |
| participating in and receiving a passing score on the physical | 22 |
| ability component of a JLMC test within a period of up to 12 | 23 |
| months before the date of the conditional offer of employment. | 24 |
| All offers of employment shall be subject to the local | 25 |
| commission's initial hire background review including criminal | 26 |
| history, employment history, moral character, oral |
|
|
|
09600HB5787ham001 |
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| 1 |
| examination, and medical examinations which may include | 2 |
| polygraph, psychological, and drug screening components, all | 3 |
| on a pass-fail basis. The medical examinations must be | 4 |
| conducted last, and may only be performed after a conditional | 5 |
| offer of employment has been extended. | 6 |
| (j) Selection from list. Any municipality or fire | 7 |
| protection district that is a party to an intergovernmental | 8 |
| agreement under the terms of which persons have been tested for | 9 |
| placement on the master register of eligibles shall be entitled | 10 |
| to offer employment to any person on the list irrespective of | 11 |
| their ranking on the list. The offer of employment shall be to | 12 |
| the position of firefighter apprentice or | 13 |
| firefighter-paramedic apprentice. | 14 |
| Applicants passing these tests may be employed as a | 15 |
| firefighter apprentice or a firefighter-paramedic apprentice | 16 |
| who shall serve an apprenticeship period of 12 months or less | 17 |
| according to the terms and conditions of employment as the | 18 |
| employing municipality or district offers, or as provided for | 19 |
| under the terms of any collective bargaining agreement then in | 20 |
| effect. The apprenticeship period is separate from the | 21 |
| probationary period. | 22 |
| Service during the apprenticeship period shall be on a | 23 |
| probationary basis. During the apprenticeship period, the | 24 |
| apprentice's training and performance shall be monitored and | 25 |
| evaluated by a Joint Apprenticeship Committee. | 26 |
| The Joint Apprenticeship Committee shall consist of 4 |
|
|
|
09600HB5787ham001 |
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LRB096 16931 RLJ 39054 a |
|
| 1 |
| members who shall be regular members of the fire department | 2 |
| with at least 10 years of full-time work experience as a | 3 |
| firefighter or firefighter-paramedic. The fire chief and the | 4 |
| president of the exclusive bargaining representative | 5 |
| recognized by the employer shall each appoint 2 members to the | 6 |
| Joint Apprenticeship Committee. In the absence of an exclusive | 7 |
| collective bargaining representative, the chief shall appoint | 8 |
| the remaining 2 members who shall be from the ranks of company | 9 |
| officer and firefighter with at least 10 years of work | 10 |
| experience as a firefighter or firefighter-paramedic. In the | 11 |
| absence of a sufficient number of qualified firefighters, the | 12 |
| Joint Apprenticeship Committee members shall have the amount of | 13 |
| experience and the type of qualifications as is reasonable | 14 |
| given the circumstances of the fire department. In the absence | 15 |
| of a full-time member in a rank between chief and the highest | 16 |
| rank in a bargaining unit, the Joint Apprenticeship Committee | 17 |
| shall be reduced to 2 members, one to be appointed by the chief | 18 |
| and one by the union president, if any. If there is no | 19 |
| exclusive bargaining representative, the chief shall appoint | 20 |
| the second member of the Joint Apprenticeship Committee from | 21 |
| among qualified members in the ranks of company officer and | 22 |
| below. Before the conclusion of the apprenticeship period, the | 23 |
| Joint Apprenticeship Committee shall meet to consider the | 24 |
| apprentice's progress and performance and vote to retain the | 25 |
| apprentice as a member of the fire department or to terminate | 26 |
| the apprenticeship. If 3 of the 4 members of the Joint |
|
|
|
09600HB5787ham001 |
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LRB096 16931 RLJ 39054 a |
|
| 1 |
| Apprenticeship Committee affirmatively vote to retain the | 2 |
| apprentice (if a 2 member Joint Apprenticeship Committee | 3 |
| exists, then both members must affirmatively vote to retain the | 4 |
| apprentice), the local commission shall issue the apprentice a | 5 |
| certificate of original appointment to the fire department. | 6 |
| (k) A person who knowingly divulges or receives test | 7 |
| questions or answers before a written examination, or otherwise | 8 |
| knowingly violates or subverts any requirement of this Section, | 9 |
| commits a violation of this Section and may be subject to | 10 |
| charges for official misconduct. | 11 |
| A person who is the knowing recipient of test information | 12 |
| in advance of the examination shall be disqualified from the | 13 |
| examination or discharged from the position to which he or she | 14 |
| was appointed, as applicable, and otherwise subjected to | 15 |
| disciplinary actions. | 16 |
| Section 10. The Fire Protection District Act is amended by | 17 |
| changing Section 16.04a and by adding Sections 16.06b and | 18 |
| 16.06c as follows:
| 19 |
| (70 ILCS 705/16.04a) (from Ch. 127 1/2, par. 37.04a)
| 20 |
| Sec. 16.04a.
The board of fire commissioners shall appoint | 21 |
| all
officers and members of the fire departments of the | 22 |
| district, except the
Chief of the fire department. The board of | 23 |
| trustees shall appoint the Chief
of the fire department, who | 24 |
| shall serve at the pleasure of the board, and may
enter into a |
|
|
|
09600HB5787ham001 |
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LRB096 16931 RLJ 39054 a |
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| 1 |
| multi-year contract not exceeding 3 years with the Chief.
| 2 |
| If a member of the department is appointed Chief of the | 3 |
| fire department
prior to being eligible to retire on pension he | 4 |
| shall be considered as on
furlough from the rank he held | 5 |
| immediately prior to his appointment as
Chief. If he resigns as | 6 |
| Chief or is discharged as Chief prior to attaining
eligibility | 7 |
| to retire on pension, he shall revert to and be established in
| 8 |
| such prior rank, and thereafter be entitled to all the benefits | 9 |
| and
emoluments of such prior rank, without regard as to whether | 10 |
| a vacancy then
exists in such rank. In such instances, the | 11 |
| Chief shall be deemed to have
continued to accrue seniority in | 12 |
| the department during his period of
service as Chief, or time | 13 |
| in grade in his former rank to which he shall
revert during his | 14 |
| period of service as Chief, except solely for purposes of
any | 15 |
| layoff as provided in Section 16.13b hereafter.
| 16 |
| All appointments to each department other than that of the | 17 |
| lowest rank,
however, shall be from the rank next below that to | 18 |
| which the appointment is
made, except that the Chief of the | 19 |
| fire department may be appointed from
among members of the fire | 20 |
| department, regardless of rank.
| 21 |
| The sole authority to issue certificates of appointment | 22 |
| shall be vested
in the board of fire commissioners and all | 23 |
| certificates of appointments
issued to any officer or member of | 24 |
| the fire department shall be signed by
the chairman and | 25 |
| secretary respectively of the board of fire commissioners
upon | 26 |
| appointment of such officer or member of the fire department by |
|
|
|
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| 1 |
| action
of the board of fire commissioners.
| 2 |
| To the extent that this Section or any other Section in | 3 |
| this Act conflicts with Section 16.06b or 16.06c, then Section | 4 |
| 16.06b or 16.06c shall control. | 5 |
| (Source: P.A. 91-948, eff. 1-1-02.)
| 6 |
| (70 ILCS 705/16.06b new) | 7 |
| Sec. 16.06b. Original appointments; full-time fire | 8 |
| department. | 9 |
| (a) Applicability. Unless a commission elects to follow the | 10 |
| provisions of Section 16.06c, this Section shall apply to all | 11 |
| original appointments to an affected full-time fire | 12 |
| department. Existing registers of eligibles shall continue to | 13 |
| be valid until their expiration dates, or up to a maximum of 2 | 14 |
| years after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the | 15 |
| 96th General Assembly. | 16 |
| Notwithstanding any statute, ordinance, rule, or other law | 17 |
| to the contrary, all original appointments to an affected | 18 |
| department to which this Section applies shall be administered | 19 |
| in the manner provided for in this Section. Provisions of the | 20 |
| Illinois Municipal Code, Fire Protection District Act, fire | 21 |
| district ordinances, and rules adopted pursuant to such | 22 |
| authority and other laws relating to initial hiring of | 23 |
| firefighters in affected departments shall continue to apply to | 24 |
| the extent they are compatible with this Section, but in the | 25 |
| event of a conflict between this Section and any other law, |
|
|
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|
| 1 |
| this Section shall control. | 2 |
| (b) Original appointments. All original appointments made | 3 |
| to an affected fire department shall be made from a register of | 4 |
| eligibles established in accordance with the processes | 5 |
| required by this Section. Only persons who meet or exceed the | 6 |
| performance standards required by the Section shall be placed | 7 |
| on a register of eligibles for original appointment to an | 8 |
| affected fire department. | 9 |
| Whenever an appointing authority authorizes action to hire | 10 |
| a person to perform the duties of a firefighter or to hire a | 11 |
| firefighter-paramedic to fill a position that is a new position | 12 |
| or vacancy due to resignation, discharge, promotion, death, the | 13 |
| granting of a disability or retirement pension, or any other | 14 |
| cause, the appointing authority shall appoint to that position | 15 |
| the person with the highest ranking on the final eligibility | 16 |
| list, except that the appointing authority shall have the right | 17 |
| to pass over that person and appoint the next highest ranked | 18 |
| person on the list if the appointing authority has reason to | 19 |
| conclude that the highest ranked person fails to meet the | 20 |
| minimum standards for the position. | 21 |
| Any candidate may pass on an appointment once without | 22 |
| losing his or her position on the register of eligibles. Any | 23 |
| candidate who passes a second time shall be removed from the | 24 |
| list provided that such action shall not prejudice a person's | 25 |
| opportunities to participate in future examinations, including | 26 |
| an examination held during the time a candidate is already on |
|
|
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| 1 |
| the fire district's register of eligibles. | 2 |
| The sole authority to issue certificates of appointment | 3 |
| shall be vested in the board of fire commissioners, or board of | 4 |
| trustees serving in the capacity of a board of fire | 5 |
| commissioners. All certificates of appointment issued to any | 6 |
| officer or member of an affected department shall be signed by | 7 |
| the chairperson and secretary, respectively, of the commission | 8 |
| upon appointment of such officer or member to the affected | 9 |
| department by action of the commission. Each person who accepts | 10 |
| a certificate of appointment and successfully completes his or | 11 |
| her probationary period shall be enrolled as a firefighter and | 12 |
| as a regular member of the fire department. | 13 |
| For the purposes of this Section, "firefighter" means any | 14 |
| person who has been prior to, on, or after the effective date | 15 |
| of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly appointed | 16 |
| to a fire department or fire protection district or employed by | 17 |
| a State university and sworn or commissioned to perform | 18 |
| firefighter duties or paramedic duties, or both, except that | 19 |
| the following persons are not included: part-time | 20 |
| firefighters; auxiliary, reserve, or voluntary firefighters, | 21 |
| including paid-on-call firefighters; clerks and dispatchers or | 22 |
| other civilian employees of a fire department or fire | 23 |
| protection district who are not routinely expected to perform | 24 |
| firefighter duties; and elected officials. | 25 |
| (c) Qualification for placement on register of eligibles. | 26 |
| The purpose of establishing a register of eligibles is to |
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| identify applicants who possess and demonstrate the mental | 2 |
| aptitude and physical ability to perform the duties required of | 3 |
| members of the fire department in order to provide the highest | 4 |
| quality of service to the public. To this end, all applicants | 5 |
| for original appointment to an affected fire department shall | 6 |
| be subject to examination and testing which shall be public, | 7 |
| competitive, and open to all applicants unless the district | 8 |
| shall by ordinance limit applicants to residents of the | 9 |
| district, county, State, or nation. Districts may establish | 10 |
| educational, emergency medical service licensure, and other | 11 |
| pre-requisites for participation in an examination or for hire | 12 |
| as a firefighter. Any fee to cover the costs of the application | 13 |
| process shall not exceed $25. | 14 |
| Residency requirements in effect at the time an individual | 15 |
| enters the fire service of a district cannot be made more | 16 |
| restrictive for that individual during his or her period of | 17 |
| service for that district, or be made a condition of promotion, | 18 |
| except for the rank or position of fire chief and for no more | 19 |
| than 2 positions that rank immediately below that of the chief | 20 |
| rank which are appointed positions pursuant to the Fire | 21 |
| Department Promotion Act. | 22 |
| No person who is 35 years of age or older shall be eligible | 23 |
| to take an examination for a position as a firefighter unless | 24 |
| the person has had previous employment status as a firefighter | 25 |
| in the regularly constituted fire department of the district, | 26 |
| except as provided in this Section. The age limitation does not |
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| apply to: | 2 |
| (1) any person previously employed as a full-time | 3 |
| firefighter in a regularly constituted fire department of | 4 |
| (i) any municipality or fire protection district, | 5 |
| regardless of whether the municipality or fire protection | 6 |
| district is located in Illinois or in another state, (ii) a | 7 |
| fire protection district whose obligations were assumed by | 8 |
| a municipality under Section 21 of the Fire Protection | 9 |
| District Act, or (iii) a municipality whose obligations | 10 |
| were taken over by a fire protection district, or | 11 |
| (2) any person who has served a fire district as a | 12 |
| regularly enrolled volunteer, paid-on-call, or part-time | 13 |
| firefighter for the 5 years immediately preceding the time | 14 |
| that the district begins to use full-time firefighters to | 15 |
| provide all or part of its fire protection service. | 16 |
| No person who is under 21 years of age shall be eligible | 17 |
| for employment as a firefighter. | 18 |
| No applicant shall be examined concerning his or her | 19 |
| political or religious opinions or affiliations. The | 20 |
| examinations shall be conducted by the commissioners of the | 21 |
| district or their designees and agents. | 22 |
| No district shall require that any firefighter appointed to | 23 |
| the lowest rank serve a probationary employment period of | 24 |
| longer than one year of actual active employment, which may | 25 |
| exclude periods of training, or injury or illness leaves, | 26 |
| including duty related leave, in excess of 30 calendar days. |
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| Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section, the | 2 |
| probationary employment period limitation may be extended for a | 3 |
| firefighter who is required, as a condition of employment, to | 4 |
| be a certified paramedic, during which time the sole reason | 5 |
| that a firefighter may be discharged without a hearing is for | 6 |
| failing to meet the requirements for paramedic certification. | 7 |
| In the event that any applicant who has been found eligible | 8 |
| for appointment and whose name has been placed upon the final | 9 |
| eligibility register provided for in this Section has not been | 10 |
| appointed to a firefighter position within one year after the | 11 |
| date of his or her physical ability examination, the commission | 12 |
| may cause a second examination to be made of that applicant's | 13 |
| physical ability prior to his or her appointment. If, after the | 14 |
| second examination, the physical ability of the applicant shall | 15 |
| be found to be less than the minimum standard fixed by the | 16 |
| rules of the commission, the applicant shall not be appointed. | 17 |
| The applicant's name shall be retained upon the register of | 18 |
| candidates eligible for appointment and when next reached for | 19 |
| certification and appointment that applicant shall be again | 20 |
| examined as provided in this Section, and if the physical | 21 |
| ability of that applicant is found to be less than the minimum | 22 |
| standard fixed by the rules of the commission, the applicant | 23 |
| shall not be appointed, and the name of the applicant shall be | 24 |
| removed from the register. | 25 |
| (d) Notice, examination, and testing components. Notice of | 26 |
| the time, place, general scope, and fee of every examination |
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| shall be given by the commission, by a publication at least 2 | 2 |
| weeks preceding the examination, in one or more newspapers | 3 |
| published in the district, or if no newspaper is published | 4 |
| therein, then in one or more newspapers with a general | 5 |
| circulation within the district. Additional notice of the | 6 |
| examination may be given as the commission shall prescribe. | 7 |
| The examination and qualifying standards for employment of | 8 |
| firefighters shall be based on: mental aptitude, physical | 9 |
| ability, preferences, moral character, and health. The mental | 10 |
| aptitude, physical ability, and preference components shall | 11 |
| determine an applicant's qualification for and placement on the | 12 |
| final register of eligibles. The examination may also include a | 13 |
| subjective component including without limitation an oral | 14 |
| interview or an assessment center exercise. | 15 |
| (e) Mental aptitude. No person who does not possess at | 16 |
| least a high school diploma or an equivalent high school | 17 |
| education shall be placed on a register of eligibles. | 18 |
| Examination of an applicant's mental aptitude shall be based | 19 |
| upon a written examination. The examination shall be practical | 20 |
| in character and relate to those matters that fairly test the | 21 |
| capacity of the persons examined to discharge the duties | 22 |
| performed by members of a fire department. Written examinations | 23 |
| shall be administered in a manner that ensures the security and | 24 |
| accuracy of the scores achieved. | 25 |
| (f) Physical ability. All candidates shall be required to | 26 |
| undergo an examination of their physical ability to perform the |
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| essential functions included in the duties they may be called | 2 |
| upon to perform as a member of a fire department. For the | 3 |
| purposes of this Section, essential functions of the job are | 4 |
| functions associated with duties that a firefighter may be | 5 |
| called upon to perform in response to emergency calls. The | 6 |
| frequency of the occurrence of those duties as part of the fire | 7 |
| department's regular routine shall not be a controlling factor | 8 |
| in the design of examination criteria or evolutions selected | 9 |
| for testing. These physical examinations shall be open, | 10 |
| competitive, and based on industry standards designed to test | 11 |
| each applicant's physical abilities in the following | 12 |
| dimensions (or a similar test designed to ensure that the | 13 |
| successful candidates are able to perform the essential | 14 |
| functions of the firefighter's job description): | 15 |
| (1) Muscular strength to perform tasks and evolutions | 16 |
| that may be required in the performance of duties including | 17 |
| grip strength, leg strength, and arm strength. Tests shall | 18 |
| be conducted under anaerobic as well as aerobic conditions | 19 |
| to test both the candidate's speed and endurance in | 20 |
| performing tasks and evolutions. Tasks tested may be based | 21 |
| on standards developed, or approved, by the local | 22 |
| appointing authority. | 23 |
| (2) The ability to climb ladders, operate from heights, | 24 |
| walk or crawl in the dark along narrow and uneven surfaces, | 25 |
| and operate in proximity to hazardous environments. | 26 |
| (3) The ability to carry out critical, time-sensitive, |
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| and complex problem solving during physical exertion in | 2 |
| stressful and hazardous environments, including hot, dark, | 3 |
| tightly enclosed spaces, that is further aggravated by | 4 |
| fatigue, flashing lights, sirens, and other distractions. | 5 |
| Physical ability examinations administered under this | 6 |
| Section shall be conducted with a reasonable number of proctors | 7 |
| and monitors, open to the public, and subject to reasonable | 8 |
| regulations of the commission. | 9 |
| (g) Scoring of examination components. The examination | 10 |
| components shall be graded on a 100-point scale. A person's | 11 |
| position on the list shall be determined by the following: (i) | 12 |
| the person's score on the written examination, (ii) the person | 13 |
| successfully passing the physical ability component, and (iii) | 14 |
| the addition of any applicable preference points. | 15 |
| Applicants who pass both the written examination and the | 16 |
| physical ability examination shall be placed on the initial | 17 |
| eligibility register. The passing score for each of these test | 18 |
| components shall be determined by calculating a mean score for | 19 |
| all applicants participating in each test. In order to qualify | 20 |
| for placement on the final eligibility register, an applicant's | 21 |
| total score, including any applicable preference points, shall | 22 |
| be at or above the mean score plus 10%. | 23 |
| The commission shall prepare and keep a register of persons | 24 |
| whose total score is not less than the minimum fixed by this | 25 |
| Section. These persons shall take rank upon the register as | 26 |
| candidates in the order of their relative excellence based on |
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| the highest to the lowest total points scored on the mental | 2 |
| aptitude, physical ability, and preference components of the | 3 |
| test administered in accordance with this Section. No more than | 4 |
| 60 days after each examination, an initial eligibility list | 5 |
| shall be posted by the commission. The list shall include the | 6 |
| final grades of the candidates without reference to priority of | 7 |
| the time of examination and subject to claim for preference | 8 |
| credit. | 9 |
| Commissions may conduct additional examinations, including | 10 |
| without limitation a polygraph test, after a final eligibility | 11 |
| register is established and before it expires with the | 12 |
| candidates ranked by total score without regard to date of | 13 |
| examination. No more than 60 days after each examination, an | 14 |
| initial eligibility list shall be posted by the commission | 15 |
| showing the final grades of the candidates without reference to | 16 |
| priority of time of examination and subject to claim for | 17 |
| preference credit. | 18 |
| (h) Preferences. The following are preferences: | 19 |
| (1) Veteran preference. Persons who were engaged in the | 20 |
| military service of the United States for a period of at | 21 |
| least one year of active duty and who were honorably | 22 |
| discharged therefrom, or who are now or have been members | 23 |
| on inactive or reserve duty in such military or naval | 24 |
| service, shall be preferred for appointment to and | 25 |
| employment with the fire department of an affected | 26 |
| department. |
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| (2) Fire cadet preference. Persons who have | 2 |
| successfully completed 2 years of study in fire techniques | 3 |
| or cadet training within a cadet program established under | 4 |
| the rules of the Joint Labor and Management Committee | 5 |
| (JLMC), as defined in Section 50 of the Fire Department | 6 |
| Promotion Act, shall be preferred for appointment to and | 7 |
| employment with the fire department. | 8 |
| (3) Educational preference. Persons who have | 9 |
| successfully obtained an associate's degree in the field of | 10 |
| fire service or emergency medical services, or a bachelor's | 11 |
| degree from an accredited college or university shall be | 12 |
| preferred for appointment to and employment with the fire | 13 |
| department. | 14 |
| (4) Paramedic preference. Persons who have obtained | 15 |
| certification as an Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic | 16 |
| (EMT-P) shall be preferred for appointment to and | 17 |
| employment with the fire department of an affected | 18 |
| department providing emergency medical services. | 19 |
| (5) Experience preference. All persons employed by a | 20 |
| district who have been paid-on-call or part-time certified | 21 |
| Firefighter II, State of Illinois or nationally licensed | 22 |
| EMT-B or EMT-I, or any combination of those capacities | 23 |
| shall be awarded 0.5 point for each year of successful | 24 |
| service in one or more of those capacities, up to a maximum | 25 |
| of 5 points. Certified Firefighter III and State of | 26 |
| Illinois or nationally licensed paramedics shall be |
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| awarded one point per year up to a maximum of 5 points. | 2 |
| Applicants from outside the district who were employed as | 3 |
| full-time firefighters or firefighter-paramedics by a fire | 4 |
| protection district or municipality for at least 2 years | 5 |
| shall have the same preference as paid-on-call or part-time | 6 |
| personnel. These additional points presuppose a rating | 7 |
| scale totaling 100 points available for the eligibility | 8 |
| list. If more or fewer points are used in the rating scale | 9 |
| for the eligibility list, the points awarded under this | 10 |
| subsection shall be increased or decreased by a factor | 11 |
| equal to the total possible points available for the | 12 |
| examination divided by 100. | 13 |
| (6) Residency preference. Applicants whose principal | 14 |
| residence is located within the fire department's | 15 |
| jurisdiction shall be preferred for appointment to and | 16 |
| employment with the fire department. | 17 |
| Upon request by the commission, the governing body of | 18 |
| the district or in the case of applicants from outside the | 19 |
| district the governing body of any other fire protection | 20 |
| district or any municipality shall certify to the | 21 |
| commission, within 10 days after the request, the number of | 22 |
| years of successful paid-on-call, part-time, or full-time | 23 |
| service of any person. A candidate may not receive the full | 24 |
| amount of preference points under this subsection if the | 25 |
| amount of points awarded would place the candidate before a | 26 |
| veteran on the eligibility list. If more than one candidate |
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| receiving experience preference points is prevented from | 2 |
| receiving all of their points due to not being allowed to | 3 |
| pass a veteran, the candidates shall be placed on the list | 4 |
| below the veteran in rank order based on the totals | 5 |
| received if all points under this subsection were to be | 6 |
| awarded. Any remaining ties on the list shall be determined | 7 |
| by lot. | 8 |
| (7) Scoring of preferences. Preference points shall be | 9 |
| awarded in the order listed in items (1) through (6). The | 10 |
| commission shall give preference for original appointment | 11 |
| to persons designated in items (1) through (4) and item (6) | 12 |
| by adding to the final grade which they receive 5 points | 13 |
| for each recognized preference achieved. Experience | 14 |
| preference of up to 5 points shall then be added in | 15 |
| accordance with item (5). The numerical result thus | 16 |
| attained shall be applied by the commission in determining | 17 |
| the final eligibility list and appointment from such | 18 |
| eligibility list. | 19 |
| No person entitled to any preference shall be required to | 20 |
| claim the credit before any examination held under the | 21 |
| provisions of this Section, but the preference shall be given | 22 |
| after the posting or publication of the initial eligibility | 23 |
| list or register at the request of a person entitled to a | 24 |
| credit before any certification or appointments are made from | 25 |
| the eligibility register, upon the furnishing of verifiable | 26 |
| evidence and proof of qualifying preference credit. Candidates |
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| who are eligible for preference credit shall make a claim in | 2 |
| writing within 10 days after the posting of the initial | 3 |
| eligibility list, or the claim shall be deemed waived. Final | 4 |
| eligibility registers shall be established after the awarding | 5 |
| of verified preference points, and appointment from the final | 6 |
| register shall be subject to the applicant passing the | 7 |
| qualifying standards for moral character and health. All | 8 |
| employment shall be subject to the commission's initial hire | 9 |
| background review including criminal history, employment | 10 |
| history, moral character, oral examination, and medical | 11 |
| examinations, all on a pass-fail basis. The medical | 12 |
| examinations must be conducted last, and may only be performed | 13 |
| after a conditional offer of employment has been extended. | 14 |
| Any person placed on an eligibility list who exceeds the | 15 |
| age requirement before being appointed to a fire department | 16 |
| shall remain eligible for appointment until the list is | 17 |
| abolished, or his or her name has been on the list for a period | 18 |
| of 2 years. No person who has attained the age of 35 years | 19 |
| shall be inducted into a fire department, except as otherwise | 20 |
| provided in this Section. | 21 |
| The commission shall strike off the names of candidates for | 22 |
| original appointment after the names have been on the list for | 23 |
| more than 2 years. | 24 |
| (i) Moral character. No person shall be appointed to a fire | 25 |
| department unless he or she is a person of good character; not | 26 |
| a habitual drunkard, a gambler, or a person who has been |
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| convicted of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude. | 2 |
| However, no person shall be disqualified from appointment to | 3 |
| the fire department because of the person's record of | 4 |
| misdemeanor convictions except those under Sections 11-6, | 5 |
| 11-7, 11-9, 11-14, 11-15, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 12-2, 12-6, | 6 |
| 12-15, 14-4, 16-1, 21.1-3, 24-3.1, 24-5, 25-1, 28-3, 31-1, | 7 |
| 31-4, 31-6, 31-7, 32-1, 32-2, 32-3, 32-4, 32-8, and subsections | 8 |
| 1, 6, and 8 of Section 24-1 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or | 9 |
| arrest for any cause without conviction thereon. Any such | 10 |
| person who is in the department may be removed on charges | 11 |
| brought for violating this subsection and after a trial as | 12 |
| hereinafter provided. | 13 |
| A classifiable set of the fingerprints of every person who | 14 |
| is offered employment as a certificated member of an affected | 15 |
| fire department whether with or without compensation, shall be | 16 |
| furnished to the Illinois Department of State Police and to the | 17 |
| Federal Bureau of Investigation by the commission. | 18 |
| Whenever a commission is authorized or required by law to | 19 |
| consider some aspect of criminal history record information for | 20 |
| the purpose of carrying out its statutory powers and | 21 |
| responsibilities, then, upon request and payment of fees in | 22 |
| conformance with the requirements of Section 2605-400 of the | 23 |
| State Police Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois, | 24 |
| the Department of State Police is authorized to furnish, | 25 |
| pursuant to positive identification, the information contained | 26 |
| in State files as is necessary to fulfill the request. |
|
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| (j) Temporary appointments. In order to prevent a stoppage | 2 |
| of public business, to meet extraordinary exigencies, or to | 3 |
| prevent material impairment of the fire department, the | 4 |
| commission may make temporary appointments, to remain in force | 5 |
| only until regular appointments are made under the provisions | 6 |
| of this Section, but never to exceed 60 days. No temporary | 7 |
| appointment of any one person shall be made more than twice in | 8 |
| any calendar year. | 9 |
| (k) A person who knowingly divulges or receives test | 10 |
| questions or answers before a written examination, or otherwise | 11 |
| knowingly violates or subverts any requirement of this Section, | 12 |
| commits a violation of this Section and may be subject to | 13 |
| charges for official misconduct. | 14 |
| A person who is the knowing recipient of test information | 15 |
| in advance of the examination shall be disqualified from the | 16 |
| examination or discharged from the position to which he or she | 17 |
| was appointed, as applicable, and otherwise subjected to | 18 |
| disciplinary actions. | 19 |
| (70 ILCS 705/16.06c new) | 20 |
| Sec. 16.06c. Alternative procedure; original appointment; | 21 |
| full-time firefighter. | 22 |
| (a) Authority. The Joint Labor and Management Committee | 23 |
| (JLMC), as defined in Section 50 of the Fire Department | 24 |
| Promotion Act, may establish a community outreach program to | 25 |
| market the profession of firefighter and firefighter-paramedic |
|
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| 1 |
| so as to ensure the pool of applicants recruited is of broad | 2 |
| diversity and the highest quality. | 3 |
| For the purposes of this Section, "firefighter" means any | 4 |
| person who has been prior to, on, or after the effective date | 5 |
| of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly appointed | 6 |
| to a fire department or fire protection district or employed by | 7 |
| a State university and sworn or commissioned to perform | 8 |
| firefighter duties or paramedic duties, or both, except that | 9 |
| the following persons are not included: part-time | 10 |
| firefighters; auxiliary, reserve, or voluntary firefighters, | 11 |
| including paid-on-call firefighters; clerks and dispatchers or | 12 |
| other civilian employees of a fire department or fire | 13 |
| protection district who are not routinely expected to perform | 14 |
| firefighter duties; and elected officials. | 15 |
| (b) Eligibility. Persons eligible for placement on the | 16 |
| master register of eligibles shall consist of the following: | 17 |
| Persons who have participated in and received a passing | 18 |
| total score on the mental aptitude, physical ability, and | 19 |
| preference components of a regionally administered test | 20 |
| based on the standards described in this Section. The | 21 |
| standards for administering these tests and the minimum | 22 |
| passing score required for placement on this list shall be | 23 |
| as is set forth in this Section. | 24 |
| Qualified candidates shall be listed on the master | 25 |
| register of eligibles in highest to lowest rank order based | 26 |
| upon their test scores without regard to their date of |
|
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| examination. Candidates listed on the master register of | 2 |
| eligibles shall be eligible for appointment for 3 years | 3 |
| after the date of the certification of their final score on | 4 |
| the register without regard to the date of their | 5 |
| examination. After 3 years, the candidate's name shall be | 6 |
| struck from the list. | 7 |
| Any person currently employed as a full-time member of | 8 |
| a fire department or any person who has experienced a | 9 |
| non–voluntary (and non-disciplinary) separation from the | 10 |
| active workforce due to a reduction in the number of | 11 |
| departmental officers, who was appointed pursuant to | 12 |
| Division 1 of Article 10 of the Illinois Municipal Code, | 13 |
| Division 2.1 of Article 10 of the Illinois Municipal Code, | 14 |
| or the Fire Protection District Act, and who during the | 15 |
| previous 12 months participated in and received a passing | 16 |
| score on the physical ability component of the test may | 17 |
| request that his or her name be added to the master | 18 |
| register. Any eligible person may be offered employment by | 19 |
| a local commission under the same procedures as provided by | 20 |
| this Section except that the apprenticeship period may be | 21 |
| waived and the applicant may be immediately issued a | 22 |
| certificate of original appointment by the local | 23 |
| commission. | 24 |
| (c) Qualifications for placement on register of eligibles. | 25 |
| The purpose for establishing a master register of eligibles | 26 |
| shall be to identify applicants who possess and demonstrate the |
|
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| mental aptitude and physical ability to perform the duties | 2 |
| required of members of the fire department in order to provide | 3 |
| the highest quality of service to the public. To this end, all | 4 |
| applicants for original appointment to an affected fire | 5 |
| department through examination conducted by the Joint Labor and | 6 |
| Management Committee (JLMC) shall be subject to examination and | 7 |
| testing which shall be public, competitive, and open to all | 8 |
| applicants. Any subjective component of the testing must be | 9 |
| administered by certified assessors. All qualifying and | 10 |
| disqualifying factors applicable to examination processes for | 11 |
| local commissions in this amendatory Act of the 96th General | 12 |
| Assembly shall be applicable to persons participating in Joint | 13 |
| Labor and Management Committee examinations unless | 14 |
| specifically provided otherwise in this Section. | 15 |
| Notice of the time, place, general scope, and fee of every | 16 |
| JLMC examination shall be given by the JLMC or designated | 17 |
| testing agency, as applicable, by a publication at least 30 | 18 |
| days preceding the examination, in one or more newspapers | 19 |
| published in the region, or if no newspaper is published | 20 |
| therein, then in one or more newspapers with a general | 21 |
| circulation within the region. Additional notice of the | 22 |
| examination may be given as the JLMC shall prescribe. | 23 |
| (d) Examination and testing components for placement on | 24 |
| register of eligibles. The examination and qualifying | 25 |
| standards for placement on the master register of eligibles and | 26 |
| employment shall be based on the following components: mental |
|
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| aptitude, physical ability, preferences, moral character, and | 2 |
| health. The mental aptitude, physical ability, and preference | 3 |
| components shall determine an applicant's qualification for | 4 |
| and placement on the master register of eligibles. The | 5 |
| consideration of an applicant's general moral character and | 6 |
| health shall be administered on a pass-fail basis after a | 7 |
| conditional offer of employment is made by a local commission. | 8 |
| (e) Mental aptitude. Examination of an applicant's mental | 9 |
| aptitude shall be based upon written examination and an | 10 |
| applicant's prior experience demonstrating an aptitude for and | 11 |
| commitment to service as a member of a fire department. Written | 12 |
| examinations shall be practical in character and relate to | 13 |
| those matters that fairly test the capacity of the persons | 14 |
| examined to discharge the duties performed by members of a fire | 15 |
| department. Written examinations shall be administered in a | 16 |
| manner that ensures the security and accuracy of the scores | 17 |
| achieved. Any subjective component of the testing must be | 18 |
| administered by certified assessors. No person who does not | 19 |
| possess a high school diploma or an equivalent high school | 20 |
| education shall be placed on a register of eligibles. Local | 21 |
| commissions may establish educational, emergency medical | 22 |
| service licensure, and other pre-requisites for hire within | 23 |
| their jurisdiction. | 24 |
| (f) Physical ability. All candidates shall be required to | 25 |
| undergo an examination of their physical ability to perform the | 26 |
| essential functions included in the duties they may be called |
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| upon to perform as a member of a fire department. For the | 2 |
| purposes of this Section, essential functions of the job are | 3 |
| functions associated with duties that a firefighter may be | 4 |
| called upon to perform in response to emergency calls. The | 5 |
| frequency of the occurrence of those duties as part of the fire | 6 |
| department's regular routine shall not be a controlling factor | 7 |
| in the design of examination criteria or evolutions selected | 8 |
| for testing. These physical examinations shall be open, | 9 |
| competitive, and based on industry standards designed to test | 10 |
| each applicant's physical abilities in each of the following | 11 |
| dimensions (or a similar test designed to ensure that the | 12 |
| successful candidates are able to perform the essential | 13 |
| functions of a firefighter's job description): | 14 |
| (1) Muscular strength to perform tasks and evolutions | 15 |
| that may be required in the performance of duties including | 16 |
| grip strength, leg strength, and arm strength. Tests shall | 17 |
| be conducted under anaerobic as well as aerobic conditions | 18 |
| to test both the candidate's speed and endurance in | 19 |
| performing tasks and evolutions. Tasks tested are to be | 20 |
| based on industry standards developed by the JLMC by rule. | 21 |
| (2) The ability to climb ladders, operate from heights, | 22 |
| walk or crawl in the dark along narrow and uneven surfaces, | 23 |
| and operate in proximity to hazardous environments. | 24 |
| (3) The ability to carry out critical, time-sensitive, | 25 |
| and complex problem solving during physical exertion in | 26 |
| stressful and hazardous environments, including hot, dark, |
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| tightly enclosed spaces, that is further aggravated by | 2 |
| fatigue, flashing lights, sirens, and other distractions. | 3 |
| (g) Scoring of examination components. The examination | 4 |
| components shall be graded on a 100-point scale. A person's | 5 |
| position on the master register of eligibles shall be | 6 |
| determined by the person's score on the written examination, | 7 |
| the person successfully passing the physical ability | 8 |
| component, and the addition of any applicable preference | 9 |
| points. | 10 |
| Applicants who have achieved at least the mean score of all | 11 |
| applicants participating in the written examination at the same | 12 |
| time, and who successfully pass the physical ability | 13 |
| examination shall be placed on the initial eligibility | 14 |
| register. For placement on the final eligibility register, the | 15 |
| passing score shall be determined by (i) calculating the mean | 16 |
| score for all applicants participating in the written test; and | 17 |
| (ii) adding 20% to the mean score. Applicants whose total | 18 |
| scores, including any applicable preference points, are above | 19 |
| the mean score plus 20%, shall be placed on the master register | 20 |
| of eligibles by the JLMC. | 21 |
| These persons shall take rank upon the register as | 22 |
| candidates in the order of their relative excellence based on | 23 |
| the highest to the lowest total points scored on the mental | 24 |
| aptitude and physical ability components, plus any applicable | 25 |
| preference points requested and verified by the JLMC, or | 26 |
| approved testing agency. |
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| No more than 60 days after each examination, a revised | 2 |
| master register of eligibles shall be posted by the JLMC | 3 |
| showing the final grades of the candidates without reference to | 4 |
| priority of time of examination. | 5 |
| (h) Preferences. The board shall give military, education, | 6 |
| and experience preference points to those who qualify for | 7 |
| placement on the master register of eligibles, on the same | 8 |
| basis as provided for examinations administered by a local | 9 |
| commission. | 10 |
| No person entitled to preference or credit shall be | 11 |
| required to claim the credit before any examination held under | 12 |
| the provisions of this Section. The preference shall be given | 13 |
| after the posting or publication of the applicant's initial | 14 |
| score at the request of the person before finalizing the scores | 15 |
| from all applicants taking part in a JLMC examination. | 16 |
| Candidates who are eligible for preference credit shall make a | 17 |
| claim in writing within 10 days after the posting of the | 18 |
| initial scores from any JLMC test or the claim shall be deemed | 19 |
| waived. Once preference points are awarded, the candidates | 20 |
| shall be certified to the master register in accordance with | 21 |
| their final score including preference points. | 22 |
| (i) Firefighter apprentice and firefighter-paramedic | 23 |
| apprentice. The employment of an applicant to an apprentice | 24 |
| position (including a currently employed full-time member of a | 25 |
| fire department whose apprenticeship may be reduced or waived) | 26 |
| shall be subject to the applicant passing the moral character |
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| standards and health examinations of the local commission. In | 2 |
| addition, a local commission may require as a condition of | 3 |
| employment that the applicant demonstrate current physical | 4 |
| ability by either passing the local commission's approved | 5 |
| physical ability examination, or by presenting proof of | 6 |
| participating in and receiving a passing score on the physical | 7 |
| ability component of a JLMC test within a period of up to 12 | 8 |
| months before the date of the conditional offer of employment. | 9 |
| All offers of employment shall be subject to the local | 10 |
| commission's initial hire background review including criminal | 11 |
| history, employment history, moral character, oral | 12 |
| examination, and medical examinations which may include | 13 |
| polygraph, psychological, and drug screening components, all | 14 |
| on a pass-fail basis. The medical examinations must be | 15 |
| conducted last, and may only be performed after a conditional | 16 |
| offer of employment has been extended. | 17 |
| (j) Selection from list. Any municipality or fire | 18 |
| protection district that is a party to an intergovernmental | 19 |
| agreement under the terms of which persons have been tested for | 20 |
| placement on the master register of eligibles shall be entitled | 21 |
| to offer employment to any person on the list irrespective of | 22 |
| their ranking on the list. The offer of employment shall be to | 23 |
| the position of firefighter apprentice or | 24 |
| firefighter-paramedic apprentice. | 25 |
| Applicants passing these tests may be employed as a | 26 |
| firefighter apprentice or a firefighter-paramedic apprentice |
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| who shall serve an apprenticeship period of 12 months or less | 2 |
| according to the terms and conditions of employment as the | 3 |
| employing municipality or district offers, or as provided for | 4 |
| under the terms of any collective bargaining agreement then in | 5 |
| effect. The apprenticeship period is separate from the | 6 |
| probationary period. | 7 |
| Service during the apprenticeship period shall be on a | 8 |
| probationary basis. During the apprenticeship period, the | 9 |
| apprentice's training and performance shall be monitored and | 10 |
| evaluated by a Joint Apprenticeship Committee. | 11 |
| The Joint Apprenticeship Committee shall consist of 4 | 12 |
| members who shall be regular members of the fire department | 13 |
| with at least 10 years of full-time work experience as a | 14 |
| firefighter or firefighter-paramedic. The fire chief and the | 15 |
| president of the exclusive bargaining representative | 16 |
| recognized by the employer shall each appoint 2 members to the | 17 |
| Joint Apprenticeship Committee. In the absence of an exclusive | 18 |
| collective bargaining representative, the chief shall appoint | 19 |
| the remaining 2 members who shall be from the ranks of company | 20 |
| officer and firefighter with at least 10 years of work | 21 |
| experience as a firefighter or firefighter-paramedic. In the | 22 |
| absence of a sufficient number of qualified firefighters, the | 23 |
| Joint Apprenticeship Committee members shall have the amount of | 24 |
| experience and the type of qualifications as is reasonable | 25 |
| given the circumstances of the fire department. In the absence | 26 |
| of a full-time member in a rank between chief and the highest |
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| rank in a bargaining unit, the Joint Apprenticeship Committee | 2 |
| shall be reduced to 2 members, one to be appointed by the chief | 3 |
| and one by the union president, if any. If there is no | 4 |
| exclusive bargaining representative, the chief shall appoint | 5 |
| the second member of the Joint Apprenticeship Committee from | 6 |
| among qualified members in the ranks of company officer and | 7 |
| below. Before the conclusion of the apprenticeship period, the | 8 |
| Joint Apprenticeship Committee shall meet to consider the | 9 |
| apprentice's progress and performance and vote to retain the | 10 |
| apprentice as a member of the fire department or to terminate | 11 |
| the apprenticeship. If 3 of the 4 members of the Joint | 12 |
| Apprenticeship Committee affirmatively vote to retain the | 13 |
| apprentice (if a 2 member Joint Apprenticeship Committee | 14 |
| exists, then both members must affirmatively vote to retain the | 15 |
| apprentice), the local commission shall issue the apprentice a | 16 |
| certificate of original appointment to the fire department. | 17 |
| (k) A person who knowingly divulges or receives test | 18 |
| questions or answers before a written examination, or otherwise | 19 |
| knowingly violates or subverts any requirement of this Section, | 20 |
| commits a violation of this Section and may be subject to | 21 |
| charges for official misconduct. | 22 |
| A person who is the knowing recipient of test information | 23 |
| in advance of the examination shall be disqualified from the | 24 |
| examination or discharged from the position to which he or she | 25 |
| was appointed, as applicable, and otherwise subjected to | 26 |
| disciplinary actions.
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 2 |
| becoming law.".
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