Public Act 098-0510
 
SB1908 EnrolledLRB098 08317 OMW 40962 b

    AN ACT concerning local government.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by
changing Section 10-2.1-6 as follows:
 
    (65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-6)  (from Ch. 24, par. 10-2.1-6)
    Sec. 10-2.1-6. Examination of applicants;
disqualifications.
    (a) All applicants for a position in either the fire or
police department of the municipality shall be under 35 years
of age, shall be subject to an examination that shall be
public, competitive, and open to all applicants (unless the
council or board of trustees by ordinance limit applicants to
electors of the municipality, county, state or nation) and
shall be subject to reasonable limitations as to residence,
health, habits, and moral character. The municipality may not
charge or collect any fee from an applicant who has met all
prequalification standards established by the municipality for
any such position. With respect to a police department, a
veteran shall be allowed to exceed the maximum age provision of
this Section by the number of years served on active military
duty, but by no more than 10 years of active military duty.
    (b) Residency requirements in effect at the time an
individual enters the fire or police service of a municipality
(other than a municipality that has more than 1,000,000
inhabitants) cannot be made more restrictive for that
individual during his period of service for that municipality,
or be made a condition of promotion, except for the rank or
position of Fire or Police Chief.
    (c) No person with a record of misdemeanor convictions
except those under Sections 11-1.50, 11-6, 11-7, 11-9, 11-14,
11-15, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 11-30, 11-35, 12-2, 12-6, 12-15,
14-4, 16-1, 21.1-3, 24-3.1, 24-5, 25-1, 28-3, 31-1, 31-4, 31-6,
31-7, 32-1, 32-2, 32-3, 32-4, and 32-8, subdivisions (a)(1) and
(a)(2)(C) of Section 11-14.3, and subsections (1), (6) and (8)
of Section 24-1 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal
Code of 2012, or arrested for any cause but not convicted on
that cause shall be disqualified from taking the examination to
qualify for a position in the fire department on grounds of
habits or moral character.
    (d) The age limitation in subsection (a) does not apply (i)
to any person previously employed as a policeman or fireman in
a regularly constituted police or fire department of (I) any
municipality, regardless of whether the municipality is
located in Illinois or in another state, or (II) a fire
protection district whose obligations were assumed by a
municipality under Section 21 of the Fire Protection District
Act, (ii) to any person who has served a municipality as a
regularly enrolled volunteer fireman for 5 years immediately
preceding the time that municipality begins to use full time
firemen to provide all or part of its fire protection service,
or (iii) to any person who has served as an auxiliary police
officer under Section 3.1-30-20 for at least 5 years and is
under 40 years of age, (iv) to any person who has served as a
deputy under Section 3-6008 of the Counties Code and otherwise
meets necessary training requirements, or (v) to any person who
has served as a sworn officer as a member of the Illinois
Department of State Police.
    (e) Applicants who are 20 years of age and who have
successfully completed 2 years of law enforcement studies at an
accredited college or university may be considered for
appointment to active duty with the police department. An
applicant described in this subsection (e) who is appointed to
active duty shall not have power of arrest, nor shall the
applicant be permitted to carry firearms, until he or she
reaches 21 years of age.
    (f) Applicants who are 18 years of age and who have
successfully completed 2 years of study in fire techniques,
amounting to a total of 4 high school credits, within the cadet
program of a municipality may be considered for appointment to
active duty with the fire department of any municipality.
    (g) The council or board of trustees may by ordinance
provide that persons residing outside the municipality are
eligible to take the examination.
    (h) The examinations shall be practical in character and
relate to those matters that will fairly test the capacity of
the persons examined to discharge the duties of the positions
to which they seek appointment. No person shall be appointed to
the police or fire department if he or she does not possess a
high school diploma or an equivalent high school education. A
board of fire and police commissioners may, by its rules,
require police applicants to have obtained an associate's
degree or a bachelor's degree as a prerequisite for employment.
The examinations shall include tests of physical
qualifications and health. A board of fire and police
commissioners may, by its rules, waive portions of the required
examination for police applicants who have previously been
full-time sworn officers of a regular police department in any
municipal, county, university, or State law enforcement
agency, provided they are certified by the Illinois Law
Enforcement Training Standards Board and have been with their
respective law enforcement agency within the State for at least
2 years. No person shall be appointed to the police or fire
department if he or she has suffered the amputation of any limb
unless the applicant's duties will be only clerical or as a
radio operator. No applicant shall be examined concerning his
or her political or religious opinions or affiliations. The
examinations shall be conducted by the board of fire and police
commissioners of the municipality as provided in this Division
2.1.
    The requirement that a police applicant possess an
associate's degree under this subsection may be waived if one
or more of the following applies: (1) the applicant has served
for 24 months of honorable active duty in the United States
Armed Forces and has not been discharged dishonorably or under
circumstances other than honorable or (2) the applicant has
served for 180 days of active duty in the United States Armed
Forces in combat duty recognized by the Department of Defense
and has not been discharged dishonorably or under circumstances
other than honorable.
    The requirement that a police applicant possess a
bachelor's degree under this subsection may be waived if one or
more of the following applies: (1) the applicant has served for
36 months of honorable active duty in the United States Armed
Forces and has not been discharged dishonorably or under
circumstances other than honorable or (2) the applicant has
served for 180 days of active duty in the United States Armed
Forces in combat duty recognized by the Department of Defense
and has not been discharged dishonorably or under circumstances
other than honorable.
    (i) No person who is classified by his local selective
service draft board as a conscientious objector, or who has
ever been so classified, may be appointed to the police
department.
    (j) No person shall be appointed to the police or fire
department unless he or she is a person of good character and
not an habitual drunkard, gambler, or a person who has been
convicted of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude. No
person, however, shall be disqualified from appointment to the
fire department because of his or her record of misdemeanor
convictions except those under Sections 11-1.50, 11-6, 11-7,
11-9, 11-14, 11-15, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 11-30, 11-35, 12-2,
12-6, 12-15, 14-4, 16-1, 21.1-3, 24-3.1, 24-5, 25-1, 28-3,
31-1, 31-4, 31-6, 31-7, 32-1, 32-2, 32-3, 32-4, and 32-8,
subdivisions (a)(1) and (a)(2)(C) of Section 11-14.3, and
subsections (1), (6) and (8) of Section 24-1 of the Criminal
Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012, or arrest for any
cause without conviction on that cause. Any such person who is
in the department may be removed on charges brought and after a
trial as provided in this Division 2.1.
(Source: P.A. 96-472, eff. 8-14-09; 96-1551, eff. 7-1-11;
97-1150, eff. 1-25-13.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.