SB2219 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 08949 RTM 19004 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
SB2219

Introduced 2/7/2025, by Sen. Cristina Castro

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

20 ILCS 2905/3	from Ch. 127 1/2, par. 3
50 ILCS 742/50

Amends the State Fire Marshal Act. Provides that the Illinois Fire Advisory Commission may, at the call of the Chair, meet in person or remotely. Amends the Fire Department Promotion Act. Provides that the Joint Labor and Management Committee that establishes the standards for certification in subjects and skills related to the fire service may, at the call of the Chair, meet in person or remotely.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning fire departments.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The State Fire Marshal Act is amended by changing Section 3 as follows:

(20 ILCS 2905/3) (from Ch. 127 1/2, par. 3)

Sec. 3. There is created the Illinois Fire Advisory Commission which shall advise the Office in the exercise of its powers and duties. The Commission shall be appointed by the Governor as follows:

(1) 3 professional, full-time paid firefighters;

(2) one volunteer firefighter;

(3) one Fire Protection Engineer who is registered in Illinois;

(4) one person who is a representative of the fire insurance industry in Illinois;

(5) one person who is a representative of a registered United States Department of Labor apprenticeship program primarily instructing in the installation and repair of fire extinguishing systems;

(6) one licensed operating or stationary engineer who has an associate degree in facilities engineering technology and has knowledge of the operation and maintenance of fire alarm and fire extinguishing systems primarily for the life safety of occupants in a variety of commercial or residential structures; and

(7) 3 persons with an interest in and knowledgeable about fire prevention methods.

In addition, the following shall serve as ex officio members of the Commission: the Chicago Fire Commissioner, or his or her designee; the executive officer, or his or her designee, of each of the following organizations: the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association, the Illinois Fire Protection District Association, the Illinois Fire Inspectors Association, the Illinois Professional Firefighters Association, the Illinois Firemen's Association, the Associated Firefighters of Illinois, the Illinois Society of Fire Service Instructors, the Illinois Chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators, the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) Illinois, and the Fire Service Institute, University of Illinois.

The Governor shall designate, at the time of appointment, 3 members to serve terms expiring on the third Monday in January, 1979; 3 members to serve terms expiring the third Monday in January, 1980; and 2 members to serve terms expiring the third Monday in January, 1981. The additional member appointed by the Governor pursuant to Public Act 85-718 shall serve for a term expiring the third Monday in January, 1990. Thereafter, all terms shall be for 3 years. A member shall serve until his or her successor is appointed and qualified. A vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired term.

The Governor shall designate one of the appointed members to be chairperson of the Commission.

The Commission may, at the call of the Chair, meet in person or remotely.

Members shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for their actual reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.

(Source: P.A. 101-234, eff. 8-9-19; 102-269, eff. 8-6-21; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22.)

Section 10. The Fire Department Promotion Act is amended by changing Section 50 as follows:

(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. The Joint Labor and Management Committee may, at the call of the Chair, meet in person or remotely.

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 may charge reasonable fees that are related to the costs of administering authorized programs and conducting classes, including without limitation the costs of monitoring programs and classes, to the following: (i) applicants for certifications or recertifications, (ii) recipients of certifications or recertifications, and (iii) individuals and entities approved by the JLMC to conduct programs or classes.

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. 97-174, eff. 7-22-11.)