103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB4045 Introduced , by Rep. Barbara Hernandez SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 65 ILCS 5/10-1-7 from Ch. 24, par. 10-1-7 65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-6 from Ch. 24, par. 10-2.1-6 70 ILCS 705/16.06d new Amends the Illinois Municipal Code and the Fire Protection District Act. Provides that an individual who is not a citizen but is legally authorized to work in the United States under federal law is authorized to apply for the position of firefighter, subject to all requirements and limitations, other than citizenship, to which other applicants are subject. Effective January 1, 2024. LRB103 31933 AWJ 60656 b A BILL FOR 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB4045 Introduced , by Rep. Barbara Hernandez SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 65 ILCS 5/10-1-7 from Ch. 24, par. 10-1-7 65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-6 from Ch. 24, par. 10-2.1-6 70 ILCS 705/16.06d new 65 ILCS 5/10-1-7 from Ch. 24, par. 10-1-7 65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-6 from Ch. 24, par. 10-2.1-6 70 ILCS 705/16.06d new Amends the Illinois Municipal Code and the Fire Protection District Act. Provides that an individual who is not a citizen but is legally authorized to work in the United States under federal law is authorized to apply for the position of firefighter, subject to all requirements and limitations, other than citizenship, to which other applicants are subject. Effective January 1, 2024. LRB103 31933 AWJ 60656 b LRB103 31933 AWJ 60656 b A BILL FOR
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB4045 Introduced , by Rep. Barbara Hernandez SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
65 ILCS 5/10-1-7 from Ch. 24, par. 10-1-7 65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-6 from Ch. 24, par. 10-2.1-6 70 ILCS 705/16.06d new 65 ILCS 5/10-1-7 from Ch. 24, par. 10-1-7 65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-6 from Ch. 24, par. 10-2.1-6 70 ILCS 705/16.06d new
65 ILCS 5/10-1-7 from Ch. 24, par. 10-1-7
65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-6 from Ch. 24, par. 10-2.1-6
70 ILCS 705/16.06d new
Amends the Illinois Municipal Code and the Fire Protection District Act. Provides that an individual who is not a citizen but is legally authorized to work in the United States under federal law is authorized to apply for the position of firefighter, subject to all requirements and limitations, other than citizenship, to which other applicants are subject. Effective January 1, 2024.
LRB103 31933 AWJ 60656 b LRB103 31933 AWJ 60656 b
LRB103 31933 AWJ 60656 b
A BILL FOR
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HB4045 LRB103 31933 AWJ 60656 b
1 AN ACT concerning local government.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by
5 changing Sections 10-1-7 and 10-2.1-6 as follows:
6 (65 ILCS 5/10-1-7) (from Ch. 24, par. 10-1-7)
7 Sec. 10-1-7. Examination of applicants; disqualifications.
8 (a) All applicants for offices or places in the classified
9 service, except those mentioned in Section 10-1-17, are
10 subject to examination. The examination shall be public,
11 competitive, and open to all citizens of the United States,
12 with specified limitations as to residence, age, health,
13 habits, and moral character. An individual who is not a
14 citizen but is legally authorized to work in the United States
15 under federal law is authorized to apply for the position of
16 firefighter, subject to all requirements and limitations,
17 other than citizenship, to which other applicants are subject.
18 (b) Residency requirements in effect at the time an
19 individual enters the fire or police service of a municipality
20 (other than a municipality that has more than 1,000,000
21 inhabitants) cannot be made more restrictive for that
22 individual during his or her period of service for that
23 municipality, or be made a condition of promotion, except for
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB4045 Introduced , by Rep. Barbara Hernandez SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
65 ILCS 5/10-1-7 from Ch. 24, par. 10-1-7 65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-6 from Ch. 24, par. 10-2.1-6 70 ILCS 705/16.06d new 65 ILCS 5/10-1-7 from Ch. 24, par. 10-1-7 65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-6 from Ch. 24, par. 10-2.1-6 70 ILCS 705/16.06d new
65 ILCS 5/10-1-7 from Ch. 24, par. 10-1-7
65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-6 from Ch. 24, par. 10-2.1-6
70 ILCS 705/16.06d new
Amends the Illinois Municipal Code and the Fire Protection District Act. Provides that an individual who is not a citizen but is legally authorized to work in the United States under federal law is authorized to apply for the position of firefighter, subject to all requirements and limitations, other than citizenship, to which other applicants are subject. Effective January 1, 2024.
LRB103 31933 AWJ 60656 b LRB103 31933 AWJ 60656 b
LRB103 31933 AWJ 60656 b
A BILL FOR
65 ILCS 5/10-1-7 from Ch. 24, par. 10-1-7
65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-6 from Ch. 24, par. 10-2.1-6
70 ILCS 705/16.06d new
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1 the rank or position of Fire or Police Chief.
2 (c) No person with a record of misdemeanor convictions
3 except those under Sections 11-1.50, 11-6, 11-7, 11-9, 11-14,
4 11-15, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 11-30, 11-35, 12-2, 12-6, 12-15,
5 14-4, 16-1, 21.1-3, 24-3.1, 24-5, 25-1, 28-3, 31-1, 31-4,
6 31-6, 31-7, 32-1, 32-2, 32-3, 32-4, and 32-8, subdivisions
7 (a)(1) and (a)(2)(C) of Section 11-14.3, and paragraphs (1),
8 (6), and (8) of subsection (a) of Section 24-1 of the Criminal
9 Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 or arrested for any
10 cause but not convicted on that cause shall be disqualified
11 from taking the examination on grounds of habits or moral
12 character, unless the person is attempting to qualify for a
13 position on the police department, in which case the
14 conviction or arrest may be considered as a factor in
15 determining the person's habits or moral character.
16 (d) Persons entitled to military preference under Section
17 10-1-16 shall not be subject to limitations specifying age
18 unless they are applicants for a position as a fireman or a
19 policeman having no previous employment status as a fireman or
20 policeman in the regularly constituted fire or police
21 department of the municipality, in which case they must not
22 have attained their 35th birthday, except any person who has
23 served as an auxiliary police officer under Section 3.1-30-20
24 for at least 5 years and is under 40 years of age.
25 (e) All employees of a municipality of less than 500,000
26 population (except those who would be excluded from the
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1 classified service as provided in this Division 1) who are
2 holding that employment as of the date a municipality adopts
3 this Division 1, or as of July 17, 1959, whichever date is the
4 later, and who have held that employment for at least 2 years
5 immediately before that later date, and all firemen and
6 policemen regardless of length of service who were either
7 appointed to their respective positions by the board of fire
8 and police commissioners under the provisions of Division 2 of
9 this Article or who are serving in a position (except as a
10 temporary employee) in the fire or police department in the
11 municipality on the date a municipality adopts this Division
12 1, or as of July 17, 1959, whichever date is the later, shall
13 become members of the classified civil service of the
14 municipality without examination.
15 (f) The examinations shall be practical in their
16 character, and shall relate to those matters that will fairly
17 test the relative capacity of the persons examined to
18 discharge the duties of the positions to which they seek to be
19 appointed. The examinations shall include tests of physical
20 qualifications, health, and (when appropriate) manual skill.
21 If an applicant is unable to pass the physical examination
22 solely as the result of an injury received by the applicant as
23 the result of the performance of an act of duty while working
24 as a temporary employee in the position for which he or she is
25 being examined, however, the physical examination shall be
26 waived and the applicant shall be considered to have passed
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1 the examination. No questions in any examination shall relate
2 to political or religious opinions or affiliations. Results of
3 examinations and the eligible registers prepared from the
4 results shall be published by the commission within 60 days
5 after any examinations are held.
6 (g) The commission shall control all examinations, and
7 may, whenever an examination is to take place, designate a
8 suitable number of persons, either in or not in the official
9 service of the municipality, to be examiners. The examiners
10 shall conduct the examinations as directed by the commission
11 and shall make a return or report of the examinations to the
12 commission. If the appointed examiners are in the official
13 service of the municipality, the examiners shall not receive
14 extra compensation for conducting the examinations unless the
15 examiners are subject to a collective bargaining agreement
16 with the municipality. The commission may at any time
17 substitute any other person, whether or not in the service of
18 the municipality, in the place of any one selected as an
19 examiner. The commission members may themselves at any time
20 act as examiners without appointing examiners. The examiners
21 at any examination shall not all be members of the same
22 political party.
23 (h) In municipalities of 500,000 or more population, no
24 person who has attained his or her 35th birthday shall be
25 eligible to take an examination for a position as a fireman or
26 a policeman unless the person has had previous employment
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1 status as a policeman or fireman in the regularly constituted
2 police or fire department of the municipality, except as
3 provided in this Section.
4 (i) In municipalities of more than 5,000 but not more than
5 200,000 inhabitants, no person who has attained his or her
6 35th birthday shall be eligible to take an examination for a
7 position as a fireman or a policeman unless the person has had
8 previous employment status as a policeman or fireman in the
9 regularly constituted police or fire department of the
10 municipality, except as provided in this Section.
11 (j) In all municipalities, applicants who are 20 years of
12 age and who have successfully completed 2 years of law
13 enforcement studies at an accredited college or university may
14 be considered for appointment to active duty with the police
15 department. An applicant described in this subsection (j) who
16 is appointed to active duty shall not have power of arrest, nor
17 shall the applicant be permitted to carry firearms, until he
18 or she reaches 21 years of age.
19 (k) In municipalities of more than 500,000 population,
20 applications for examination for and appointment to positions
21 as firefighters or police shall be made available at various
22 branches of the public library of the municipality.
23 (l) No municipality having a population less than
24 1,000,000 shall require that any fireman appointed to the
25 lowest rank serve a probationary employment period of longer
26 than one year. The limitation on periods of probationary
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1 employment provided in Public Act 86-990 is an exclusive power
2 and function of the State. Pursuant to subsection (h) of
3 Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution, a home
4 rule municipality having a population less than 1,000,000 must
5 comply with this limitation on periods of probationary
6 employment, which is a denial and limitation of home rule
7 powers. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this
8 Section, the probationary employment period limitation may be
9 extended for a firefighter who is required, as a condition of
10 employment, to be a licensed paramedic, during which time the
11 sole reason that a firefighter may be discharged without a
12 hearing is for failing to meet the requirements for paramedic
13 licensure.
14 (m) To the extent that this Section or any other Section in
15 this Division conflicts with Section 10-1-7.1 or 10-1-7.2,
16 then Section 10-1-7.1 or 10-1-7.2 shall control.
17 (Source: P.A. 102-813, eff. 5-13-22.)
18 (65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-6) (from Ch. 24, par. 10-2.1-6)
19 Sec. 10-2.1-6. Examination of applicants;
20 disqualifications.
21 (a) All applicants for a position in either the fire or
22 police department of the municipality shall be under 35 years
23 of age, shall be subject to an examination that shall be
24 public, competitive, and open to all applicants (unless the
25 council or board of trustees by ordinance limit applicants to
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1 electors of the municipality, county, state, or nation) and
2 shall be subject to reasonable limitations as to residence,
3 health, habits, and moral character. An individual who is not
4 a citizen but is legally authorized to work in the United
5 States under federal law is authorized to apply for the
6 position of firefighter, subject to all requirements and
7 limitations, other than citizenship, to which other applicants
8 are subject. The municipality may not charge or collect any
9 fee from an applicant who has met all prequalification
10 standards established by the municipality for any such
11 position. With respect to a police department, a veteran shall
12 be allowed to exceed the maximum age provision of this Section
13 by the number of years served on active military duty, but by
14 no more than 10 years of active military duty.
15 (b) Residency requirements in effect at the time an
16 individual enters the fire or police service of a municipality
17 (other than a municipality that has more than 1,000,000
18 inhabitants) cannot be made more restrictive for that
19 individual during his period of service for that municipality,
20 or be made a condition of promotion, except for the rank or
21 position of Fire or Police Chief.
22 (c) No person with a record of misdemeanor convictions
23 except those under Sections 11-1.50, 11-6, 11-7, 11-9, 11-14,
24 11-15, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 11-30, 11-35, 12-2, 12-6, 12-15,
25 14-4, 16-1, 21.1-3, 24-3.1, 24-5, 25-1, 28-3, 31-1, 31-4,
26 31-6, 31-7, 32-1, 32-2, 32-3, 32-4, and 32-8, subdivisions
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1 (a)(1) and (a)(2)(C) of Section 11-14.3, and paragraphs (1),
2 (6), and (8) of subsection (a) of Section 24-1 of the Criminal
3 Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012, or arrested for any
4 cause but not convicted on that cause shall be disqualified
5 from taking the examination to qualify for a position in the
6 fire department on grounds of habits or moral character.
7 (d) The age limitation in subsection (a) does not apply
8 (i) to any person previously employed as a policeman or
9 fireman in a regularly constituted police or fire department
10 of (I) any municipality, regardless of whether the
11 municipality is located in Illinois or in another state, or
12 (II) a fire protection district whose obligations were assumed
13 by a municipality under Section 21 of the Fire Protection
14 District Act, (ii) to any person who has served a municipality
15 as a regularly enrolled volunteer fireman for 5 years
16 immediately preceding the time that municipality begins to use
17 full time firemen to provide all or part of its fire protection
18 service, or (iii) to any person who has served as an auxiliary
19 police officer under Section 3.1-30-20 for at least 5 years
20 and is under 40 years of age, (iv) to any person who has served
21 as a deputy under Section 3-6008 of the Counties Code and
22 otherwise meets necessary training requirements, or (v) to any
23 person who has served as a sworn officer as a member of the
24 Illinois State Police.
25 (e) Applicants who are 20 years of age and who have
26 successfully completed 2 years of law enforcement studies at
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1 an accredited college or university may be considered for
2 appointment to active duty with the police department. An
3 applicant described in this subsection (e) who is appointed to
4 active duty shall not have power of arrest, nor shall the
5 applicant be permitted to carry firearms, until he or she
6 reaches 21 years of age.
7 (f) Applicants who are 18 years of age and who have
8 successfully completed 2 years of study in fire techniques,
9 amounting to a total of 4 high school credits, within the cadet
10 program of a municipality may be considered for appointment to
11 active duty with the fire department of any municipality.
12 (g) The council or board of trustees may by ordinance
13 provide that persons residing outside the municipality are
14 eligible to take the examination.
15 (h) The examinations shall be practical in character and
16 relate to those matters that will fairly test the capacity of
17 the persons examined to discharge the duties of the positions
18 to which they seek appointment. No person shall be appointed
19 to the police or fire department if he or she does not possess
20 a high school diploma or an equivalent high school education.
21 A board of fire and police commissioners may, by its rules,
22 require police applicants to have obtained an associate's
23 degree or a bachelor's degree as a prerequisite for
24 employment. The examinations shall include tests of physical
25 qualifications and health. A board of fire and police
26 commissioners may, by its rules, waive portions of the
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1 required examination for police applicants who have previously
2 been full-time sworn officers of a regular police department
3 in any municipal, county, university, or State law enforcement
4 agency, provided they are certified by the Illinois Law
5 Enforcement Training Standards Board and have been with their
6 respective law enforcement agency within the State for at
7 least 2 years. No person shall be appointed to the police or
8 fire department if he or she has suffered the amputation of any
9 limb unless the applicant's duties will be only clerical or as
10 a radio operator. No applicant shall be examined concerning
11 his or her political or religious opinions or affiliations.
12 The examinations shall be conducted by the board of fire and
13 police commissioners of the municipality as provided in this
14 Division 2.1.
15 The requirement that a police applicant possess an
16 associate's degree under this subsection may be waived if one
17 or more of the following applies: (1) the applicant has served
18 for 24 months of honorable active duty in the United States
19 Armed Forces and has not been discharged dishonorably or under
20 circumstances other than honorable; (2) the applicant has
21 served for 180 days of active duty in the United States Armed
22 Forces in combat duty recognized by the Department of Defense
23 and has not been discharged dishonorably or under
24 circumstances other than honorable; or (3) the applicant has
25 successfully received credit for a minimum of 60 credit hours
26 toward a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or
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1 university.
2 The requirement that a police applicant possess a
3 bachelor's degree under this subsection may be waived if one
4 or more of the following applies: (1) the applicant has served
5 for 36 months of honorable active duty in the United States
6 Armed Forces and has not been discharged dishonorably or under
7 circumstances other than honorable or (2) the applicant has
8 served for 180 days of active duty in the United States Armed
9 Forces in combat duty recognized by the Department of Defense
10 and has not been discharged dishonorably or under
11 circumstances other than honorable.
12 (i) No person who is classified by his local selective
13 service draft board as a conscientious objector, or who has
14 ever been so classified, may be appointed to the police
15 department.
16 (j) No person shall be appointed to the police or fire
17 department unless he or she is a person of good character and
18 not an habitual drunkard, gambler, or a person who has been
19 convicted of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude. No
20 person, however, shall be disqualified from appointment to the
21 fire department because of his or her record of misdemeanor
22 convictions except those under Sections 11-1.50, 11-6, 11-7,
23 11-9, 11-14, 11-15, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 11-30, 11-35, 12-2,
24 12-6, 12-15, 14-4, 16-1, 21.1-3, 24-3.1, 24-5, 25-1, 28-3,
25 31-1, 31-4, 31-6, 31-7, 32-1, 32-2, 32-3, 32-4, and 32-8,
26 subdivisions (a)(1) and (a)(2)(C) of Section 11-14.3, and
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1 paragraphs (1), (6), and (8) of subsection (a) of Section 24-1
2 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012, or
3 arrest for any cause without conviction on that cause. Any
4 such person who is in the department may be removed on charges
5 brought and after a trial as provided in this Division 2.1.
6 (Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22.)
7 Section 10. The Fire Protection District Act is amended by
8 adding Section 16.06d as follows:
9 (70 ILCS 705/16.06d new)
10 Sec. 16.06d. Noncitizen applicants. An individual who is
11 not a citizen but is legally authorized to work in the United
12 States under federal law is authorized to apply for the
13 position of firefighter, subject to all requirements and
14 limitations, other than citizenship, to which other applicants
15 are subject.
16 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
17 1, 2024.
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