Public Act 095-0956
 		





SB2070 Enrolled
LRB095 18341 HLH 44425 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 Fire Department Promotion Act is amended  by 
changing Sections 20 and 50 as follows:
 



    (50 ILCS 742/20)



    Sec. 20. Promotion lists. 

    (a) For the purpose of granting a promotion to any rank to 
which this Act
applies, the appointing authority shall from 
time to time, as necessary,
prepare a preliminary promotion 
list in accordance with this Act. The
preliminary promotion 
list shall be distributed, posted, or otherwise made

conveniently available by the appointing authority to all 
members of the
department.

    (b) A person's position on the preliminary promotion list 
shall be
determined by a combination of factors which may 
include any of the following:
(i) the person's score on the 
written examination for that rank, determined in
accordance 
with Section 35; (ii) the person's seniority within the 
department,
determined in accordance with Section 40; (iii) the 
person's ascertained
merit, determined in accordance with 
Section 45; and (iv) the person's score on
the subjective 
evaluation, determined in accordance with Section 50.

Candidates shall be ranked on the list in rank order based on 
the highest to
the lowest total points scored on all of the 
components of the test.
Promotional components, as defined 
herein, shall be determined and
administered in accordance with 
the referenced Section, unless otherwise
modified or agreed to 
as provided by paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (d)
(e)
of 
Section 10.  The use of physical criteria, including but not 
limited to
fitness testing, agility testing, and medical 
evaluations, is specifically
barred from the promotion 
process.

    (c) A person on the preliminary promotion list who is 
eligible for a
veteran's
preference under the laws and 
agreements applicable to the department
may file a written 
application for that preference within 10 days after the

initial posting of the preliminary promotion list.  The 
preference shall be
calculated as provided under Section 55 and 
added to the total score
achieved by the candidate on the test.  
The appointing authority shall then
make adjustments to the 
rank order of the preliminary promotion list based
on any 
veteran's preferences awarded.  The final adjusted promotion

list shall then be distributed, posted, or otherwise made 
conveniently
available by the appointing authority to all 
members of the department.

    (d) Whenever a promotional rank is created or becomes 
vacant due to
resignation, discharge, promotion, death, or the 
granting of a disability or
retirement pension, or any other 
cause, the appointing authority shall appoint
to that position 
the person with the highest ranking on the final promotion
list 
for that rank, except that the appointing authority shall have 
the right
to pass over that person and appoint the next highest 
ranked person on the list
if the appointing authority has 
reason to conclude that the highest ranking
person has 
demonstrated substantial shortcomings in work performance or 
has
engaged in misconduct affecting the person's ability to 
perform the duties of
the promoted rank since the posting of 
the promotion list.  If the highest
ranking person is passed 
over, the appointing authority shall document its
reasons for 
its decision to select the next highest ranking person on the 
list.
 Unless the reasons for passing over the highest ranking 
person are not remediable
remedial, no person who is the 
highest ranking person on the list at the time
of the vacancy 
shall be passed over more than once.  Any dispute as to the

selection of the first or second highest-ranking person shall 
be subject to
resolution in accordance with any grievance 
procedure in effect covering the
employee.

    A vacancy shall be deemed to occur in a position on the 
date upon which the
position is vacated, and on that same date, 
a vacancy shall occur in all ranks
inferior to that rank, 
provided that the position or positions continue to be
funded 
and authorized by the corporate authorities. If a vacated 
position is
not filled due to a lack of funding or 
authorization and is subsequently
reinstated, the final 
promotion list shall be continued in effect until all
positions 
vacated have been filled or for a period up to 5 years 
beginning from
the date on which the position was vacated.  In 
such event, the candidate or
candidates who would have 
otherwise been  promoted when the vacancy originally
occurred 
shall be promoted.

    Any candidate may refuse a promotion once without losing 
his or her position
on the final adjusted promotion list.  Any 
candidate who refuses promotion a
second time shall be removed 
from the final adjusted promotion list, provided
that such 
action shall not prejudice a person's opportunities to 
participate in
future promotion examinations.

    (e) A final adjusted promotion list shall remain valid and 
unaltered for a
period of not less than 2 nor more than 3 years 
after the date of the initial
posting.  Integrated lists are 
prohibited and when a list expires it shall be
void, except as 
provided in subsection (d) of this Section.  If a promotion
list 
is not in effect,  a successor list shall be prepared and 
distributed
within 180 days after a vacancy, as defined in 
subsection (d) of this Section.

    (f) This Section 20 does not apply to the initial hiring 
list.

(Source: P.A. 93-411, eff. 8-4-03.)

 



    (50 ILCS 742/50)



    Sec. 50. Subjective evaluation. 

    (a) A promotion test may include subjective evaluation 
components.
Subjective evaluations may include an oral 
interview, tactical evaluation,
performance evaluation, or 
other component based on subjective evaluation of
the examinee.  
The methods used for subjective evaluations may include using

any employee assessment centers, evaluation systems, chief's 
points, or other
methods.

    (b) Any subjective component shall be identified to all 
candidates prior to
its application,  be job-related, and be 
applied uniformly to all candidates.
Every examinee shall have 
the right to documentation of his or her score
on the 
subjective component upon the completion of the subjective 
examination
component or its application. A designated 
representative of the contracting union party shall be notified 
and be entitled to be present to monitor any preliminary 
meeting between certified assessors or representatives of a 
testing agency and representatives of the appointing authority 
held prior to the administration of the test to candidates for 
promotion. 

    (c) Where chief's points or other subjective methods
are 
employed that are not amenable to monitoring, monitors shall 
not be
required, but any disputes as to the results of such 
methods shall be subject
to resolution in accordance with any 
collectively bargained grievance
procedure in effect at the 
time of the test.

    (d) Where performance evaluations are used as a basis for 
promotions, they
shall be given annually and made readily 
available to each candidate for
review and they shall include 
any disagreement or documentation the employee
provides to 
refute or contest the evaluation.  These annual evaluations are 
not
subject to grievance procedures, unless used for points in 
the promotion
process.

    (e) Total points awarded for subjective components shall be 
posted before
the written examination is administered and 
before the promotion list is
compiled.

    (f) Persons selected to grade candidates for promotion 
during an assessment center process shall be impartial 
professionals who have undergone training to be certified 
assessors. The training and certification requirements shall, 
at a minimum, provide that, to obtain and maintain 
certification, assessors shall complete a course of basic 
training, subscribe to a code of ethical conduct, complete 
continuing education, and satisfy minimum activity levels.
    (g) The standards for certification shall be established by 
a Joint Labor and Management Committee (JLMC) composed of 4 
members: 2 designated by a statewide association whose 
membership is predominantly fire chiefs representing 
management interests of the Illinois fire service, and 2  
designated by  a statewide labor organization that is a 
representative of sworn or commissioned firefighters in 
Illinois.  Members may serve terms of one  year subject to 
reappointment.

    For the purposes of this Section, the term "statewide labor 
organization" has the meaning ascribed to it in Section 10-3-12 
of the Illinois Municipal Code.

    In developing certification standards the JLMC may seek the 
advice and counsel of professionals and experts and may appoint 
an advisory committee.

    The JLMC's initial certification standards shall be 
submitted to the Office of the State Fire Marshal by January 1, 
2009. The JLMC may provisionally certify persons who have prior 
experience as assessors on promotional examinations in the fire 
service.  Effective January 1, 2010 only those persons who meet 
the certification standards developed by the JLMC and submitted 
to the Office of the State Fire Marshal may be selected to 
grade candidates on a subjective component of a promotional 
examination conducted under the authority of this Act; provided 
this requirement shall be waived for persons employed or 
appointed by the jurisdiction administering the examination.

    The JLMC shall annually:

        (1) issue public notice offering persons who are 
    interested in qualifying as certified assessors the 
    opportunity to enroll in training; and

        (2) submit to the Office of the State Fire Marshal an 
    amended list of persons who remain certified, are newly 
    certified, or who are no longer certified.

    (h) The Office of the State Fire Marshal shall support the 
program by adopting certification standards based on those 
submitted by the JLMC and by establishing a roster of certified 
assessors composed of persons certified by the JLMC.

    If the parties have not agreed to contract with a 
particular testing company to provide certified assessors, 
either party may request the Office to provide the names of 
certified assessors.  Within 7 days after receiving a request 
from either party for a list of certified assessors, the Office 
shall select at random from the roster of certified assessors a 
panel numbering not less than 2 times the number of assessors 
required.  The parties shall augment the number by a factor of 
50% by designating assessors who may serve as alternates to the 
primary assessors.
    The parties shall select assessors from the list or lists 
provided by the Office or from the panel obtained by the 
testing company as provided above. Within 7 days following the 
receipt of the list, the parties shall notify the Office of the 
assessors they have selected.  Unless the parties agree on an 
alternate selection procedure, they shall alternatively strike 
names from the list provided by the Office until only the 
number of required assessors remain. A coin toss shall 
determine which party strikes the first name.  If the parties 
fail to notify the Office in a timely manner of their selection 
of assessors, the Office shall appoint the assessors required 
from the roster of certified assessors.  In the event an 
assessor is not able to participate in the assessment center 
process for which he was selected, either of the parties 
involved in the promotion process may request that additional 
names of certified assessors be provided by the Office. 
(Source: P.A. 93-411, eff. 8-4-03.)


 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.