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| Public Act 094-0135 | 
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    AN ACT concerning local government.
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    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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    Section 5. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended  by  | ||||
changing Sections 10-1-7 and 10-2.1-4 as follows:
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    (65 ILCS 5/10-1-7)  (from Ch. 24, par. 10-1-7)
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    Sec. 10-1-7. Examination of applicants; disqualifications. 
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    (a) All applicants for offices or places in the classified  | ||||
service, except
those mentioned in Section 10-1-17, are subject  | ||||
to examination.  The
examination shall be public, competitive,  | ||||
and open to all citizens of the
United States, with specified  | ||||
limitations as to residence, age, health, habits
and moral  | ||||
character.
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    (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 or her period of service for that  | ||||
municipality,
or be made a condition of promotion, except for  | ||||
the rank or position of Fire or
Police Chief. 
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    (c) No person with a record of misdemeanor convictions  | ||||
except
those under Sections 11-6, 11-7, 11-9, 11-14, 11-15,  | ||||
11-17, 11-18, 11-19,
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, 32-8, and subsections (1), (6) and
(8) of Section  | ||||
24-1 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or arrested for any cause but
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not convicted on that cause shall be disqualified from taking  | ||||
the examination
on grounds of habits or moral character, unless  | ||||
the person is attempting to
qualify for a position on the  | ||||
police department, in which case the conviction
or arrest may  | ||||
be considered as a factor in determining the person's habits or
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moral character.
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    (d) Persons entitled to military preference under Section  | ||
10-1-16
shall not be subject to limitations specifying age  | ||
unless they are
applicants for a position as a fireman or a  | ||
policeman having no previous
employment status as a fireman or  | ||
policeman in the regularly constituted
fire or police  | ||
department of the municipality, in which case they must not
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have attained their 35th birthday, except any person who has  | ||
served as an
auxiliary policeman under Section 3.1-30-20 for at  | ||
least 5 years and is
under 40 years of age. 
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    (e) All employees of a municipality of less than 500,000  | ||
population (except
those who would be excluded from the  | ||
classified service as provided in this
Division 1) who are  | ||
holding that employment as of the date a municipality
adopts  | ||
this Division 1, or as of July 17, 1959, whichever date is the  | ||
later,
and who have held that employment for at least 2 years  | ||
immediately before that
later date, and all firemen and  | ||
policemen regardless of length of service who
were either  | ||
appointed to their respective positions by the board of fire  | ||
and
police  commissioners under the provisions of Division 2 of  | ||
this Article or who
are serving in a position (except as a  | ||
temporary employee) in the fire or
police department in the  | ||
municipality on the date a municipality adopts
this Division 1,  | ||
or as of July 17, 1959, whichever date is the later, shall
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become members of the classified civil service of the  | ||
municipality
without examination.
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    (f) The examinations shall be practical in their character,  | ||
and shall
relate to those matters that will fairly test the  | ||
relative capacity of the
persons examined to discharge the  | ||
duties of the positions to which they
seek to be appointed.  The  | ||
examinations shall include tests of physical
qualifications,  | ||
health, and (when appropriate) manual skill.  If an applicant
is  | ||
unable to pass the physical examination solely as the result of  | ||
an injury
received by the applicant as the result of the  | ||
performance of an act of duty
while working as a temporary  | ||
employee in the position for which he or she is
being examined,  | ||
however, the physical examination shall be waived and the
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applicant shall be considered to have passed the examination.  | ||
No questions in
any examination shall relate to political or  | ||
religious opinions or
affiliations. Results of examinations  | ||
and the eligible registers prepared from
the results shall be  | ||
published by the commission within 60 days after any
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examinations are held.
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    (g) The commission shall control all examinations, and may,  | ||
whenever an
examination is to take place, designate a suitable  | ||
number of persons,
either in or not in the official service of  | ||
the municipality, to be
examiners. The examiners shall conduct  | ||
the examinations as directed by the
commission and shall make a  | ||
return or report of the examinations to the
commission. If the  | ||
appointed examiners are in the official service of the
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municipality, the examiners shall not receive extra  | ||
compensation for conducting
the examinations. The commission  | ||
may at any time substitute any other person,
whether or not in  | ||
the service of the municipality, in the place of any one
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selected as an examiner. The commission members may themselves  | ||
at any time act
as examiners without appointing examiners. The  | ||
examiners at any examination
shall not all be members of the  | ||
same political party.
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    (h) In municipalities of 500,000 or more population, no  | ||
person who has
attained his or her 35th birthday shall be  | ||
eligible to take an examination for
a position as a fireman or  | ||
a policeman unless the person has had previous
employment  | ||
status as a policeman or fireman in the regularly constituted  | ||
police
or fire department of the municipality, except as  | ||
provided in this Section.
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    (i) In municipalities of more than 5,000 but not more than  | ||
200,000
inhabitants, no person who has attained his or her 35th  | ||
birthday shall be
eligible to take an examination for a  | ||
position as a fireman or a policeman
unless the person has had  | ||
previous employment status as a policeman or fireman
in the  | ||
regularly constituted police or fire department of the  | ||
municipality,
except as provided in this Section.
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    (j) In all municipalities, 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 (j) 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.
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    (k) In municipalities of more than 500,000 population,  | ||
applications for
examination for and appointment to positions  | ||
as firefighters or police
shall be made available at various  | ||
branches of the public library of the
municipality.
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    (l) No municipality having a population less than 1,000,000  | ||
shall require
that any fireman appointed to the lowest rank  | ||
serve a probationary employment
period of longer than one year.   | ||
The limitation on periods of probationary
employment provided  | ||
in this amendatory Act of 1989 is an exclusive power and
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function of the State. Pursuant to subsection (h) of Section 6  | ||
of Article VII
of the Illinois Constitution, a home rule  | ||
municipality having a population less
than 1,000,000 must  | ||
comply with this limitation on periods of probationary
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employment, which is a denial and limitation of home rule  | ||
powers.
 Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this  | ||
Section, the probationary
employment period limitation may be  | ||
extended for a firefighter who is required, as a condition of  | ||
employment, to be a certified paramedic, during which time the  | ||
sole reason that a firefighter may be discharged without a  | ||
hearing is for failing to meet the requirements for paramedic  | ||
certification
shall not apply to a fireman whose position also
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includes paramedic responsibilities.
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(Source: P.A. 86-990; 87-1119.)
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    (65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-4)  (from Ch. 24, par. 10-2.1-4)
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    Sec. 10-2.1-4. Fire and police departments; Appointment of
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members; Certificates of appointments.
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    The board of fire and police commissioners shall appoint  | ||
all officers
and members of the fire and police departments of  | ||
the municipality,
including the chief of police and the chief  | ||
of the fire department,
unless the council or board of trustees  | ||
shall by ordinance as to them
otherwise provide; except as  | ||
otherwise provided in this Section, and
except that in any  | ||
municipality which adopts or has
adopted this Division 2.1 and  | ||
also adopts or has adopted Article 5 of
this Code, the chief of  | ||
police and the chief of the fire department
shall be appointed  | ||
by the municipal manager, if it is provided by
ordinance in  | ||
such municipality that such chiefs, or either of them,
shall  | ||
not be appointed by the board of fire and police commissioners.
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    If the chief of the fire department or the chief of the  | ||
police department
or both of them are appointed in the manner  | ||
provided by ordinance, they
may be removed or discharged by the  | ||
appointing authority.  In such case
the appointing authority  | ||
shall file with the corporate authorities the reasons
for such  | ||
removal or discharge, which removal or discharge shall not  | ||
become
effective unless confirmed by a majority vote of the  | ||
corporate authorities.
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    If a member of the department is appointed chief of police  | ||
or chief
of the fire department prior to being eligible to  | ||
retire on pension, he
shall be considered as on furlough from  | ||
the rank he held immediately
prior to his appointment as chief.  | ||
If he resigns as chief or is
discharged as chief prior to  | ||
attaining eligibility to retire on pension,
he shall revert to  | ||
and be established in whatever rank he currently holds,
except  | ||
for previously appointed positions, and thereafter
be entitled  | ||
to all the benefits and emoluments of that rank,
without regard  | ||
as to whether a vacancy then exists in that rank.
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    All appointments to each department other than that of the  | ||
lowest
rank, however, shall be from the rank next below that to  | ||
which the
appointment is made except as otherwise provided in  | ||
this Section, and
except that the chief of police and the chief  | ||
of the
fire department may be appointed from among members of  | ||
the police and
fire departments, respectively, regardless of  | ||
rank, unless the council
or board of trustees shall have by  | ||
ordinance as to them otherwise provided.
 A chief of police or  | ||
the chief of the fire department, having been appointed
from  | ||
among members
of the police or fire department, respectively,  | ||
shall be permitted, regardless
of rank, to
take promotional
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exams and be promoted to a higher classified rank than he  | ||
currently holds,
without having to
resign as chief of police or  | ||
chief of the fire department.
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    The sole authority to issue certificates of appointment  | ||
shall be
vested in the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners  | ||
and all
certificates of appointments issued to any officer or  | ||
member of the fire
or police department of a municipality shall  | ||
be signed by the chairman
and secretary respectively of the  | ||
board of fire and police commissioners
of such municipality,  | ||
upon appointment of such officer or member of the
fire and  | ||
police department of such municipality by action of the board
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of fire and police commissioners.
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    The term "policemen" as used in this Division does not  | ||
include
auxiliary policemen except as provided for in Section  | ||
10-2.1-6.
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    Any full time member of a regular fire or police department  | ||
of any
municipality which comes under the provisions of this  | ||
Division or adopts
this Division 2.1 or which has adopted any  | ||
of the prior Acts pertaining to
fire and police commissioners,  | ||
is a city officer.
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    Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, the  | ||
Chief of
Police of a department in a non-homerule municipality  | ||
of more than 130,000
inhabitants may, without the advice or  | ||
consent of the Board of
Fire and Police Commissioners, appoint  | ||
up to 6 officers who shall be known
as deputy chiefs or  | ||
assistant deputy chiefs, and whose rank shall be
immediately  | ||
below that of Chief.  The deputy or assistant deputy chiefs may
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be appointed from any rank of sworn officers of that  | ||
municipality, but no
person who is not such a sworn officer may  | ||
be so appointed.  Such deputy
chief or assistant deputy chief  | ||
shall have the authority to direct and
issue orders to all  | ||
employees of the Department holding the rank of captain
or any  | ||
lower rank.
 A deputy chief of police or assistant deputy chief  | ||
of police, having been
appointed from any rank
of sworn  | ||
officers of that municipality, shall be permitted, regardless  | ||
of rank,
to take promotional
exams and be promoted to a higher  | ||
classified rank than he currently holds,
without having to
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resign as deputy chief of police or assistant deputy chief of  | ||
police.
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    Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, a  | ||
non-homerule
municipality of 130,000 or fewer inhabitants,  | ||
through its council or board
of trustees, may, by ordinance,  | ||
provide for a position of deputy chief to be
appointed by the  | ||
chief of the police department.  The ordinance shall provide
for  | ||
no more than one deputy chief position if the police department  | ||
has fewer
than 25 full-time police officers and for no more  | ||
than 2 deputy chief positions
if the police department has 25  | ||
or more full-time police officers.  The deputy
chief position
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shall be an exempt rank immediately below that of Chief.  The  | ||
deputy chief may
be appointed from any rank of sworn, full-time  | ||
officers of the municipality's
police department, but must have  | ||
at least 5 years of full-time service as a
police officer in  | ||
that department.  A deputy chief shall serve at the
discretion  | ||
of the Chief and, if removed from the position,
shall revert to  | ||
the rank currently held, without regard as to whether a
vacancy  | ||
exists in
that rank. A deputy chief
of police, having been  | ||
appointed from any rank of sworn full-time officers of
that  | ||
municipality's
police department, shall be permitted,  | ||
regardless of rank, to take promotional
exams and be
promoted  | ||
to a higher classified rank than he currently holds, without  | ||
having to
resign as deputy
chief of police.
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    No municipality having a population less than 1,000,000  | ||
shall require
that any firefighter
fireman appointed to the  | ||
lowest
rank serve a probationary employment period of longer  | ||
than one year.  The
limitation on periods of probationary  | ||
employment provided in this
amendatory Act of 1989 is an  | ||
exclusive power and function of the State.
Pursuant to  | ||
subsection (h) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois
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Constitution, a home rule municipality having a population less  | ||
than 1,000,000
must comply with this limitation on periods of  | ||
probationary employment, which
is a denial and limitation of  | ||
home rule powers.  Notwithstanding anything to
the contrary in  | ||
this Section, the probationary employment period limitation
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may be extended for a firefighter who is required, as a  | ||
condition of employment, to be a certified paramedic, during  | ||
which time the sole reason that a firefighter may be discharged  | ||
without a hearing is for failing to meet the requirements for  | ||
paramedic certification
shall not apply to a fireman whose  | ||
position also includes paramedic
responsibilities.
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(Source: P.A. 93-486, eff. 8-8-03.)
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    Section 10. The Fire Protection District Act is amended  by  | ||
changing Section 16.13b as follows:
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    (70 ILCS 705/16.13b)  (from Ch. 127 1/2, par. 37.13b)
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    Sec. 16.13b. Unless the employer and a labor organization  | ||
have agreed
to a contract provision providing for final and  | ||
binding arbitration of
disputes concerning the existence of  | ||
just cause for disciplinary action,
no officer or member of the  | ||
fire department of any protection district who
has held that  | ||
position for one year shall be removed or discharged
except for  | ||
just cause, upon written charges specifying the
complainant and  | ||
the basis for the charges, and after a hearing on those
charges  | ||
before the board of fire commissioners, affording the officer  | ||
or
member an opportunity to be heard in his own defense.   In  | ||
such case the
appointing authority shall file with the board of  | ||
trustees the reasons for
such removal or discharge, which  | ||
removal or discharge shall not become
effective unless  | ||
confirmed by a majority vote of the board of trustees.
If  | ||
written charges are brought against an officer or member,
the  | ||
board of fire commissioners shall conduct a fair and impartial  | ||
hearing
of the charges, to be commenced within 30 days of the  | ||
filing thereof, which
hearing may be continued from time to  | ||
time.  The Chief of the department
shall bear the burden of  | ||
proving the guilt of the officer or member by a
preponderance  | ||
of the evidence.  In case an officer or member is found
guilty,  | ||
the board may discharge him, or may suspend him not exceeding  | ||
30
calendar days without pay.  The board may suspend any officer  | ||
or member
pending the hearing with or without pay, but in no  | ||
event shall the
suspension pending hearing and the ultimate  | ||
suspension imposed on the
officer or member, if any, exceed 30  | ||
calendar days without pay in the
aggregate.  If the board of  | ||
fire commissioners determines that the charges
are not  | ||
sustained, the officer or member shall be reimbursed for all  | ||
wages
withheld or lost, if any. In the conduct of this hearing,  | ||
each member of
the board shall have power to secure by its  | ||
subpoena both the attendance
and testimony of witnesses and the  | ||
production of books and papers relevant
to the hearing.
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    Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, a  | ||
probationary employment period may be extended beyond one year  | ||
for a firefighter who is required as a condition of employment  | ||
to be a certified paramedic, during which time the sole reason  | ||
that a firefighter may be discharged without a hearing is for  | ||
failing to meet the requirements for paramedic certification.
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    The age for mandatory retirement of firemen in the service  | ||
of any
department of such district is 65 years, unless the  | ||
board of trustees shall
by ordinance provide for an earlier  | ||
mandatory retirement age of not less
than 60 years.
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    The provisions of the Administrative Review Law, and all  | ||
amendments and
modifications thereof, and the rules adopted  | ||
pursuant thereto, shall apply
to and govern all proceedings for  | ||
the judicial review of final
administrative decisions of the  | ||
board of fire commissioners hereunder.  The
term  | ||
"administrative decision" is defined as in Section 3-101 of the  | ||
Code
of Civil Procedure.
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    Nothing in this Section shall be construed to prevent the  | ||
Chief of the
fire department from suspending without pay a  | ||
member of his department for
a period of not more than 5   | ||
consecutive calendar days, but he shall
notify the board in  | ||
writing of such suspension.  Any fireman so suspended
may appeal  | ||
to the board of fire commissioners for a review of the
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suspension within 5 calendar days after such suspension.  Upon  | ||
such appeal,
the Chief of the department shall bear the burden  | ||
of proof in establishing
the guilt of the officer or member by  | ||
a preponderance of the evidence.  The
board may sustain the  | ||
action of the Chief of the department, may reduce the
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suspension to a lesser penalty, or may reverse it with  | ||
instructions that
the officer or member receive his pay and  | ||
other benefits withheld for the
period involved, or may suspend  | ||
the officer for an additional period of not
more than 30 days,  | ||
or discharge him, depending upon the facts presented.
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(Source: P.A. 86-562.)
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    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon  | ||
becoming law.
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