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92_HB0201eng HB0201 Engrossed LRB9201055MWdvB 1 AN ACT concerning the Office of Secretary of State. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The Secretary of State Act is amended by 5 adding Section 14 as follows: 6 (15 ILCS 305/14 new) 7 Sec. 14. Inspector General. 8 (a) The Secretary of State must, with the advice and 9 consent of the Senate, appoint an Inspector General for the 10 purpose of detection, deterrence, and prevention of fraud, 11 waste, mismanagement, misconduct, and other abuses in the 12 Office of the Secretary of State. The Inspector General must 13 review, coordinate, and institute methods and procedures to 14 increase the integrity, productivity, and efficiency of the 15 Office of Secretary of State. The duties of the Inspector 16 General shall supplement and not supplant the duties of the 17 Chief Auditor for the Secretary of State's Office. The 18 Inspector General must report directly to the Secretary of 19 State. 20 (b) The Secretary of State may designate the Inspector 21 General and members of the Inspector General's office as 22 peace officers. These inspectors shall have all the powers 23 possessed by police officers in municipalities and by 24 sheriffs of counties, and the inspectors may exercise those 25 powers anywhere in the State in the investigation of 26 allegations of criminal behavior affecting the operations of 27 the Office of Secretary of State. 28 No inspector may have peace officer status or exercise 29 police powers unless he or she successfully completes the 30 basic police training mandated and approved by the Illinois 31 Law Enforcement Training Standards Board or the Board waives HB0201 Engrossed -2- LRB9201055MWdvB 1 the training requirement by reason of the inspector's prior 2 law enforcement experience or training, or both. 3 The Board may not waive the training requirement unless 4 the inspector has had a minimum of 5 years experience as a 5 sworn officer of a local, state, or federal law enforcement 6 agency, 2 of which must have been in an investigatory 7 capacity. 8 (c) In addition to the authority otherwise provided by 9 this Section, the Inspector General, is authorized: 10 (1) To have access to all records, reports, audits, 11 reviews, documents, papers, recommendations, or other 12 material available that relates to programs and 13 operations with respect to which the Inspector General 14 has responsibilities under this Section. 15 (2) To make any investigations and reports relating 16 to the administration of the programs and operations of 17 the Office of the Secretary of State that are, in the 18 judgment of the Inspector General, necessary or 19 desirable. 20 (3) To request any information or assistance that 21 may be necessary for carrying out the duties and 22 responsibilities provided by this Section from any local, 23 state, or federal governmental agency or unit thereof. 24 (4) To require by subpoena appearance of witnesses 25 and the production of all information, documents, 26 reports, answers, records, accounts, papers, and other 27 data and documentary evidence necessary in the 28 performance of the functions assigned by this Section. 29 Any person who knowingly (A) fails to appear in response 30 to a subpoena; (B) fails to answer any question; (C) 31 fails to produce any books or papers pertinent to an 32 investigation under this Section; or (D) gives false 33 testimony during an investigation under this Section is 34 guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. HB0201 Engrossed -3- LRB9201055MWdvB 1 (5) To have direct and prompt access to the 2 Secretary of State for any purpose pertaining to the 3 performance of functions and responsibilities under this 4 Section. 5 (d) The Inspector General may receive and investigate 6 complaints or information from an employee of the Secretary 7 of State concerning the possible existence of an activity 8 constituting a violation of law, rules, or regulations; 9 mismanagement; abuse of authority; or substantial and 10 specific danger to the public health and safety. Any 11 employee who knowingly files a frivolous complaint may be 12 subject to discipline as set forth in the rules of the 13 Department of Personnel of the Secretary of State. 14 The Inspector General may not, after receipt of a 15 complaint or information from an employee, disclose the 16 identity of the employee without the consent of the employee, 17 unless the Inspector General determines the disclosure is in 18 the best interests of or reasonably necessary to further or 19 advance the investigation. 20 Any employee who has the authority to take, direct others 21 to take, recommend, or approve any personnel action may not, 22 with respect to that authority, take or threaten to take any 23 action against any employee as a reprisal for making a 24 complaint or disclosing information to an Inspector General, 25 unless the complaint was made or the information disclosed 26 with the knowledge that it was false or with willful 27 disregard for its truth or falsity. 28 (e) The Inspector General must adopt rules establishing 29 minimum requirements for initiating, conducting, and 30 completing investigations. The rules must establish criteria 31 for determining, based upon the nature of the allegation, the 32 appropriate method of investigation, which may include, but 33 is not limited to, site visits, telephone contacts, personal 34 interviews, or requests for written responses. The rules HB0201 Engrossed -4- LRB9201055MWdvB 1 must also clarify how the Office of the Inspector General 2 shall interact with other local, State, and federal law 3 enforcement agencies in investigations.