50 ILCS 705/8.4

(50 ILCS 705/8.4)

Sec. 8.4. Law enforcement compliance verification.

(a)(1) Unless on inactive status under subsection (b) of Section 8.1 or subsection (b) of Section 8.2, every law enforcement officer subject to this Act shall submit a verification form that confirms compliance with this Act. The verification shall apply to the 3 calendar years preceding the date of verification. Law enforcement officers shall submit the officer's first report by January 30 during the initial three-year reporting period, as determined on the basis of the law enforcement officer's last name under paragraph (2) of this subsection then every third year of the officer's applicable three-year report period as determined by the Board. At the conclusion of each law enforcement officer's applicable reporting period, the chief administrative officer of the officer's law enforcement agency is to determine the compliance of each officer under this Section. An officer may verify their successful completion of training requirements with their law enforcement agency. Each law enforcement officer is responsible for reporting and demonstrating compliance to the officer's chief administrative officer.

(2) The applicable three-year reporting period shall begin on January 30, 2023 for law enforcement officers whose last names being with the letters A through G, on January 30, 2024 for law enforcement officers whose last names being with the letters H through O, and January 30, 2025 for law enforcement officers whose last names being with the letters P through Z.

(3) The compliance verification form shall be in a form and manner prescribed by the Board and, at a minimum, include the following: (i) verification that the law enforcement officer has completed the mandatory training programs in the preceding 3 years; (ii) the law enforcement officer's current employment information, including but not limited to, the termination of any previous law enforcement or security employment in the relevant time period; and (iii) a statement verifying that the officer has not committed misconduct under Section 6.1.

(b) (1) On October 1 of each year, the Board shall send notice to all certified law enforcement officers, unless exempted in (a), of the upcoming deadline to submit the compliance verification form. No later than March 1 of each year, the Board shall send notice to all certified law enforcement officers who have failed to submit the compliance verification form, as well as the officer's law enforcement agencies. The Board shall not send a notice of noncompliance to law enforcement officers whom the Board knows, based on the status of the law enforcement officer's certification status, are inactive or retired. The Board may accept compliance verification forms until April 1 of the year in which a law enforcement officer is required to submit the form.

(2) No earlier than April 1 of the year in which a law enforcement officer is required to submit a verification form, the Board may determine a law enforcement officer's certification to be inactive if the law enforcement officer failed to either: (1) submit a compliance verification in accordance with this Section; or (2) report an exemption from the requirements of this Section. The Board shall then send notice, by mail or email, to any such law enforcement officer and the officer's law enforcement agency that the officer's certificate will be deemed inactive on the date specified in the notice, which shall be no sooner than 21 days from the date of the notice, because of the officer's failure to comply or report compliance, or failure to report an exemption. The Board shall deem inactive the certificate of such law enforcement officers on the date specified in the notice unless the Board determines before that date that the law enforcement officer has complied. A determination that a certificate is inactive under this section is not a disciplinary sanction.

(3) A law enforcement officer who was on inactive status shall, upon return to active status, be required to complete the deferred training programs within 1 year.

(4) The Board may waive the reporting requirements, as required in this section, if the law enforcement officer or the officer's law enforcement agency demonstrates the existence of mitigating circumstances justifying the law enforcement officer's failure to obtain the training requirements due to failure of the officer's law enforcement agency or the Board to offer the training requirement during the officer's required compliance verification period. If the Board finds that the law enforcement officer can meet the training requirements with extended time, the Board may allow the law enforcement officer a maximum of six additional months to complete the requirements.

(5) A request for a training waiver under this subsection due to the mitigating circumstance shall be in writing, accompanied by verifying documentation, and shall be submitted to the Board not less than 30 days before the end of the law enforcement officer's required compliance verification period.

(6) A law enforcement officer whose request for waiver under this subsection is denied, is entitled to a request for a review by the Board. The law enforcement officer or the officer's law enforcement agency must request a review within 20 days after the waiver being denied. The burden of proof shall be on the law enforcement officer to show why the officer is entitled to a waiver.

(c) Recordkeeping and audits.

(1) For four years after the end of each reporting period, each certified law enforcement officer shall maintain sufficient documentation necessary to corroborate compliance with the mandatory training requirements under this Act.

(2) Notwithstanding any other provision in state law, for four years after the end of each reporting period, each law enforcement agency shall maintain sufficient documentation necessary to corroborate compliance with the mandatory training requirements under this Act of each officer it employs or employed within the relevant time period.

(3) The Board may audit compliance verification forms submitted to determine the accuracy of the submissions. The audit may include but is not limited to, training verification and a law enforcement officer background check.

(d) Audits that reveal an inaccurate verification.

(1) If an audit conducted under paragraph (3) of subsection (c) of this Section reveals inaccurate information, the Board shall provide the law enforcement officer and employing law enforcement agency with written notice containing: (i) the results of the audit, specifying each alleged inaccuracy; (ii) a summary of the basis of that determination; and (iii) a deadline, which shall be at least 30 days from the date of the notice, for the law enforcement officer to file a written response if the law enforcement officer objects to any of the contents of the notice.

(2) After considering any response from the law enforcement officer, if the Board determines that the law enforcement officer filed an inaccurate verification, the law enforcement officer shall be given 60 days in which to file an amended verification form, together with all documentation specified in paragraph (e)(1), demonstrating full compliance with the applicable requirements.

(3) If the results of the audit suggest that the law enforcement officer willfully filed a false verification form, the Board shall submit a formal complaint to the Panel for decertification. An officer who has been decertified for willfully filing a false verification form shall not be eligible for reactivation under subsection (e).

(e) Reactivation. A law enforcement officer who has been deemed inactive due to noncompliance with the reporting requirements under paragraph (a)(1) may request to have the Board re-activate his or her certification upon submitting a compliance verification form that shows full compliance for the period in which the law enforcement officer was deemed inactive due to noncompliance. The Board shall make a determination regarding a submission under this subsection active no later than 7 days after the Board determines full compliance or continued noncompliance.

A law enforcement officer whose request for reactivation under this subsection (e) is denied is entitled to request a review by the Board. The law enforcement officer or the officer's law enforcement agency must request a review within 20 days after reactivation being denied. The burden of proof shall be on the law enforcement officer or law enforcement agency to show that the officer is in full compliance.

(f) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly and Public Act 101-652 take effect July 1, 2022.

(Source: P.A. 101-652, eff. 1-1-22; 102-694, eff. 1-7-22.)