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90_SB0713
New Act
Creates the Fire Department Promotion Act. Provides that
promotions in municipal fire departments and fire protection
district fire departments shall be based upon a pass/fail
examination, seniority within the department, and veteran's
preference. Requires promotion of the person at the top of
the promotion list. Pre-empts home rule, but exempts
Chicago. Contains other provisions. Effective immediately.
LRB9003221EGfg
LRB9003221EGfg
1 AN ACT in relation to fire department promotions.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5 Fire Department Promotion Act.
6 Section 5. Definitions. For the purposes of this Act:
7 "Affected department" or "department" means a municipal
8 fire department or the fire department operated by a fire
9 protection district. The terms do not include fire
10 departments operated by the State, a county, a municipality
11 with a population over 1,000,000, or any unit of local
12 government other than a municipality or fire protection
13 district.
14 "Departmental authority" means the board of police and
15 fire commissioners, civil service commissioners,
16 superintendent or department head, fire protection district
17 board of trustees, or other entity having the authority to
18 administer and grant promotions in an affected department.
19 "Promotion" means any permanent advancement in rank
20 within an affected department for which an examination is
21 ordinarily required. "Promotion" does not include (i) a
22 temporary appointment to an administrative or executive
23 position for which an examination is not ordinarily required,
24 (ii) an appointment to a position held only at the pleasure
25 of the appointing authority, or (iii) appointment as the
26 Superintendent, Chief, or other chief executive officer of an
27 affected department.
28 Section 10. Application of Act.
29 (a) In the case of an affected department in which
30 promotions are not subject to a collective bargaining
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1 agreement in effect on January 1, 1998, this Act applies to
2 all promotions made on or after that date. In the case of an
3 affected department in which promotions are subject to a
4 collective bargaining agreement on January 1, 1998, this Act
5 applies to all promotions made after the expiration or
6 renewal of that collective bargaining agreement, except to
7 the extent that the parties mutually agree to continue the
8 provisions of that collective bargaining agreement.
9 (b) In accordance with subsection (i) of Section 6 of
10 Article VII of the Illinois Constitution, this Act is a
11 limitation on the concurrent exercise by home rule units of
12 powers and functions exercised by the State. A home rule
13 municipality may not administer promotions in its fire
14 department in a manner inconsistent with this Act.
15 (c) This Act does not apply to any municipality with a
16 population over 1,000,000.
17 Section 15. Promotion procedure.
18 (a) Notwithstanding any statute, ordinance, rule, or
19 other law to the contrary, all promotions in an affected
20 department to which this Act applies shall be administered in
21 the manner provided in this Act. Provisions of the Municipal
22 Code, the Fire Protection District Act, municipal ordinances,
23 and other laws relating to promotions in affected departments
24 shall continue to be effective to the extent that they are
25 compatible with this Act, but in the event of conflict
26 between this Act and any other law, this Act controls.
27 (b) For the purpose of granting promotions to any rank
28 in any affected department to which this Act applies, the
29 departmental authority shall administer one or more
30 examinations that conform with the provisions of Section 20.
31 All persons who pass the promotion examination for that rank
32 shall be placed on a preliminary promotion list in order of
33 their true seniority with the department, calculated from the
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1 date of hire, but excluding any periods of suspension or
2 leave. This preliminary promotion list shall be distributed,
3 posted, or otherwise made conveniently available by the
4 departmental authority to all members of the department.
5 (c) Any person on the promotion list who is eligible for
6 a veteran's preference under the laws and agreements
7 applicable to the department may file a written application
8 for that preference within 10 days after the initial posting
9 of the preliminary promotion list. The preference shall be
10 calculated as provided in Section 25 and applied as an
11 adjustment to the person's seniority on the promotion list.
12 The departmental authority shall make adjustments to the
13 preliminary promotion list based on any veteran's preferences
14 claimed, and the adjusted promotion list shall then be
15 distributed, posted, or otherwise made conveniently available
16 by the departmental authority to all members of the
17 department.
18 (d) Whenever a position to be filled by promotion is
19 created or becomes vacant, the departmental authority shall
20 appoint to that position the person on the adjusted promotion
21 list for that rank who has the most seniority (including any
22 applicable adjustment for veteran's preference).
23 (e) An adjusted promotion list prepared in accordance
24 with this Section shall be valid for a period of 2 years from
25 the date of its initial distribution or posting, or for such
26 other period as may be specified in a collective bargaining
27 agreement applicable to the department.
28 Section 20. Examinations.
29 (a) The promotion examination for a particular rank
30 shall consist of a written multiple-choice test of the
31 examinee's knowledge of matters relating to the duties
32 regularly performed by persons holding that rank within the
33 department. The examination shall be based only on the
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1 contents of written materials that the departmental authority
2 has identified and made readily available to potential
3 examinees at least 6 months before the examination is
4 administered. The promotion examination shall not include
5 any written essay, oral examination, character or performance
6 evaluation, or other component based on subjective evaluation
7 of the examinee, and the department may not condition
8 eligibility to take a promotion examination upon these
9 techniques or any other process based on subjective
10 evaluation.
11 (b) Promotion examinations shall be graded at the
12 examination site on the day of the examination, and every
13 examinee shall have the right (i) to be present while the
14 examinations are being graded, (ii) to learn his or her score
15 on the examination on the day of the examination, and (iii)
16 to learn the answers to the examination that the examiners
17 consider correct. An examinee who answers 70% of the
18 questions on a promotion examination correctly shall be
19 deemed to have passed the examination. The examinee's score
20 on the examination shall be used only to determine whether
21 the examinee passed or failed and shall not be used to
22 establish any ranking on a promotion list or for any other
23 purpose.
24 (c) For each rank to be filled by promotion, the
25 departmental authority shall provide a separate examination.
26 The departmental authority may employ consultants to design
27 and administer promotion examinations and may adopt any
28 nationally recognized examinations or study materials that
29 may become available, so long as they comply with the
30 requirements of this Act.
31 (d) Each department shall maintain reading and study
32 materials for its current and last 3 previous promotion
33 examinations for each rank and shall make these materials
34 readily and conveniently available to all members of the
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1 department.
2 Section 25. Veteran's preference. Veteran's preference
3 shall be calculated as an increase in seniority, equal to one
4 month of additional seniority for each month of qualifying
5 military service, up to a maximum of 30 months. Once a
6 person has received a promotion from a promotion list on
7 which his or her position was adjusted for veteran's
8 preference, regardless of whether that promotion list was
9 prepared under this Act, the person shall not be eligible for
10 any subsequent veteran's preference under this Act.
11 Section 30. Right to review. Any person who believes
12 that an error has been made with respect to his or her
13 eligibility to take an examination, examination result,
14 placement or position on a promotion list, or veteran's
15 preference shall be entitled to a review of the matter by the
16 departmental authority or as otherwise provided by law or in
17 an applicable collective bargaining agreement. This Section
18 is not exclusive and does not limit any right to seek review
19 or redress under any other law or agreement.
20 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
21 becoming law.