HB5934ham001 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Counties & Townships Committee

Filed: 3/11/2010

09600HB5934ham001 LRB096 16082 RLJ 38224 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 5934

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 5934 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 5. The Park District Code is amended by changing Section 8-23 as follows:

(70 ILCS 1205/8-23)

Sec. 8-23. Criminal background investigations.

(a) An applicant for employment with a park district is required as a condition of employment to authorize an investigation to determine if the applicant has been convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) of this Section or has been convicted, within 7 years of the application for employment with the park district, of any other felony under the laws of this State or of any offense committed or attempted in any other state or against the laws of the United States that, if committed or attempted in this State, would have been punishable as a felony under the laws of this State. Authorization for the investigation shall be furnished by the applicant to the park district. Upon receipt of this authorization, the park district shall submit the applicant's name, sex, race, date of birth, and social security number to the Department of State Police on forms prescribed by the Department of State Police. The Department of State Police shall conduct a search of the Illinois criminal history records database to ascertain if the applicant being considered for employment has been convicted of committing or attempting to commit any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) of this Section or has been convicted of committing or attempting to commit, within 7 years of the application for employment with the park district, any other felony under the laws of this State. The Department of State Police shall charge the park district a fee for conducting the investigation, which fee shall be deposited in the State Police Services Fund and shall not exceed the cost of the inquiry. The applicant shall not be charged a fee by the park district for the investigation.

(b) If the search of the Illinois criminal history record database indicates that the applicant has been convicted of committing or attempting to commit any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) or has been convicted of committing or attempting to commit, within 7 years of the application for employment with the park district, any other felony under the laws of this State, the Department of State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall furnish, pursuant to a fingerprint based background check, records of convictions, until expunged, to the president of the park district. Any information concerning the record of convictions obtained by the president shall be confidential and may only be transmitted to those persons who are necessary to the decision on whether to hire the applicant for employment. A copy of the record of convictions obtained from the Department of State Police shall be provided to the applicant for employment. Any person who releases any confidential information concerning any criminal convictions of an applicant for employment shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor, unless the release of such information is authorized by this Section.

(c) No park district shall knowingly employ a person who has been convicted for committing attempted first degree murder or for committing or attempting to commit first degree murder, a Class X felony, or any one or more of the following offenses: (i) those defined in Sections 11-6, 11-9, 11-14, 11-15, 11-15.1, 11-16, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 11-19.1, 11-19.2, 11-20, 11-20.1, 11-21, 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, and 12-16 of the Criminal Code of 1961; (ii) those defined in the Cannabis Control Act, except those defined in Sections 4(a), 4(b), and 5(a) of that Act; (iii) those defined in the Illinois Controlled Substances Act; (iv) those defined in the Methamphetamine Control and Community Protection Act; and (v) any offense committed or attempted in any other state or against the laws of the United States, which, if committed or attempted in this State, would have been punishable as one or more of the foregoing offenses. Further, no park district shall knowingly employ a person who has been found to be the perpetrator of sexual or physical abuse of any minor under 18 years of age pursuant to proceedings under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. No park district shall knowingly employ a person for whom a criminal background investigation has not been initiated.

(d) Notwithstanding subsection (c), no park district may discharge any employee of a park district on the basis of a prior conviction for a drug offense under the Cannabis Control Act if all of the following requirements are met:

(1) the employee was not sentenced to a period of incarceration as a result of his or her drug conviction; and

(2) the employee was convicted of violating the Cannabis Control Act more than 20 years prior to his or her employment with the park district.

(Source: P.A. 93-418, eff. 1-1-04; 94-556, eff. 9-11-05.)

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