50 ILCS 105/ Public Officer Prohibited Activities Act.

(50 ILCS 105/0.01) (from Ch. 102, par. 0.01)

Sec. 0.01. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Public Officer Prohibited Activities Act.

(Source: P.A. 86-1324.)

(50 ILCS 105/1) (from Ch. 102, par. 1)

Sec. 1. County board. No member of a county board, during the term of office for which he or she is elected, may be appointed to, accept, or hold any office other than (i) chairman of the county board or member of the regional planning commission by appointment or election of the board of which he or she is a member, (ii) alderperson of a city or member of the board of trustees of a village or incorporated town if the city, village, or incorporated town has fewer than 1,000 inhabitants and is located in a county having fewer than 50,000 inhabitants, or (iii) trustee of a forest preserve district created under Section 18.5 of the Conservation District Act, unless he or she first resigns from the office of county board member or unless the holding of another office is authorized by law. Any such prohibited appointment or election is void. This Section shall not preclude a member of the county board from being appointed or selected to serve as (i) a member of a County Extension Board as provided in Section 7 of the County Cooperative Extension Law, (ii) a member of an Emergency Telephone System Board as provided in Section 15.4 of the Emergency Telephone System Act, (iii) a member of the board of review as provided in Section 6-30 of the Property Tax Code, or (iv) a public administrator or public guardian as provided in Section 13-1 of the Probate Act of 1975. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit an elected county official from holding elected office in another unit of local government so long as there is no contractual relationship between the county and the other unit of local government. This amendatory Act of 1995 is declarative of existing law and is not a new enactment.

(Source: P.A. 102-15, eff. 6-17-21.)

(50 ILCS 105/1.1) (from Ch. 102, par. 1.1)

Sec. 1.1. A member of the county board in a county having fewer than 550,000 inhabitants, during the term of office for which he is elected, may also hold the office of township highway commissioner.

(Source: P.A. 86-1330.)

(50 ILCS 105/1.2)

Sec. 1.2. County board member; education office. A member of the county board in a county having fewer than 40,000 inhabitants, during the term of office for which he or she is elected, may also hold the office of member of the board of education, regional board of school trustees, board of school directors, board of a community college district, or board of school inspectors.

(Source: P.A. 97-460, eff. 8-19-11.)

(50 ILCS 105/1.3)

Sec. 1.3. Municipal board member; education office. In a city, village, or incorporated town with fewer than 2,500 inhabitants, an alderperson of the city or a member of the board of trustees of a village or incorporated town, during the term of office for which he or she is elected, may also hold the office of member of the board of education, regional board of school trustees, board of school directors, or board of school inspectors.

(Source: P.A. 102-15, eff. 6-17-21.)

(50 ILCS 105/2) (from Ch. 102, par. 2)

Sec. 2. No alderperson of any city, or member of the board of trustees of any village, during the term of office for which he or she is elected, may accept, be appointed to, or hold any office by the appointment of the mayor or president of the board of trustees, unless the alderperson or board member is granted a leave of absence from such office, or unless he or she first resigns from the office of alderperson or member of the board of trustees, or unless the holding of another office is authorized by law. The alderperson or board member may, however, serve as a volunteer fireman and receive compensation for that service. The alderperson may also serve as a commissioner of the Beardstown Regional Flood Prevention District board. Any appointment in violation of this Section is void. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit an elected municipal official from holding elected office in another unit of local government as long as there is no contractual relationship between the municipality and the other unit of local government. This amendatory Act of 1995 is declarative of existing law and is not a new enactment.

(Source: P.A. 102-15, eff. 6-17-21.)

(50 ILCS 105/2a) (from Ch. 102, par. 2a)

Sec. 2a. Township officials.

(a) No township supervisor or trustee, during the term of office for which he or she is elected, may accept, be appointed to, or hold any office by the appointment of the board of township trustees unless he or she first resigns from the office of supervisor or trustee or unless the appointment is specifically authorized by law. A supervisor or trustee may, however, serve as a volunteer firefighter and receive compensation for that service. Any appointment in violation of this Section is void. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit an elected township official from holding elected office in another unit of local government as long as there is no contractual relationship between the township and the other unit of local government. This amendatory Act of 1995 is declarative of existing law and is not a new enactment.

(b) On and after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly, a person elected to or appointed to fill a vacancy in an elected township position, including, but not limited to, a trustee, a supervisor, a highway commissioner, a clerk, an assessor, or a collector, shall not be employed by the township, except that a supervisor or trustee may serve as a volunteer firefighter and receive compensation for that service as provided in subsection (a).

(Source: P.A. 100-868, eff. 1-1-19.)

(50 ILCS 105/3) (from Ch. 102, par. 3)

Sec. 3. Prohibited interest in contracts.

(a) No person holding any office, either by election or appointment under the laws or Constitution of this State, may be in any manner financially interested directly in his own name or indirectly in the name of any other person, association, trust, or corporation, in any contract or the performance of any work in the making or letting of which such officer may be called upon to act or vote. No such officer may represent, either as agent or otherwise, any person, association, trust, or corporation, with respect to any application or bid for any contract or work in regard to which such officer may be called upon to vote. Nor may any such officer take or receive, or offer to take or receive, either directly or indirectly, any money or other thing of value as a gift or bribe or means of influencing his vote or action in his official character. Any contract made and procured in violation hereof is void. This Section shall not apply to any person serving on an advisory panel or commission, to any director serving on a hospital district board as provided under subsection (a-5) of Section 13 of the Hospital District Law, or to any person serving as both a contractual employee and as a member of a public hospital board as provided under Article 11 of the Illinois Municipal Code in a municipality with a population between 13,000 and 16,000 that is located in a county with a population between 50,000 and 70,000.

(b) However, any elected or appointed member of the governing body may provide materials, merchandise, property, services, or labor, subject to the following provisions under either paragraph (1) or (2):

(1) If:

A. the contract is with a person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, or cooperative association in which such interested member of the governing body of the municipality has less than a 7 1/2% share in the ownership; and

B. such interested member publicly discloses the nature and extent of his interest prior to or during deliberations concerning the proposed award of the contract; and

C. such interested member abstains from voting on the award of the contract, though he shall be considered present for the purposes of establishing a quorum; and

D. such contract is approved by a majority vote of those members presently holding office; and

E. the contract is awarded after sealed bids to the lowest responsible bidder if the amount of the contract exceeds $1500, or awarded without bidding if the amount of the contract is less than $1500; and

F. the award of the contract would not cause the aggregate amount of all such contracts so awarded to the same person, firm, association, partnership, corporation, or cooperative association in the same fiscal year to exceed $25,000.

(2) If:

A. the award of the contract is approved by a majority vote of the governing body of the municipality provided that any such interested member shall abstain from voting; and

B. the amount of the contract does not exceed $2,000; and

C. the award of the contract would not cause the aggregate amount of all such contracts so awarded to the same person, firm, association, partnership, corporation, or cooperative association in the same fiscal year to exceed $4,000; and

D. such interested member publicly discloses the nature and extent of his interest prior to or during deliberations concerning the proposed award of the contract; and

E. such interested member abstains from voting on the award of the contract, though he shall be considered present for the purposes of establishing a quorum.

(b-5) In addition to the above exemptions, any elected or appointed member of the governing body may provide materials, merchandise, property, services, or labor if:

A. the contract is with a person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, or cooperative association in which the interested member of the governing body of the municipality, advisory panel, or commission has less than a 1% share in the ownership; and

B. the award of the contract is approved by a majority vote of the governing body of the municipality provided that any such interested member shall abstain from voting; and

C. such interested member publicly discloses the nature and extent of his interest before or during deliberations concerning the proposed award of the contract; and

D. such interested member abstains from voting on the award of the contract, though he shall be considered present for the purposes of establishing a quorum.

(c) A contract for the procurement of public utility services by a public entity with a public utility company is not barred by this Section by one or more members of the governing body of the public entity being an officer or employee of the public utility company or holding an ownership interest of no more than 7 1/2% in the public utility company, or holding an ownership interest of any size if the public entity is a municipality with a population of less than 7,500 and the public utility's rates are approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission. An elected or appointed member of the governing body of the public entity having such an interest shall be deemed not to have a prohibited interest under this Section.

(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section or any other law to the contrary, until January 1, 1994, a member of the city council of a municipality with a population under 20,000 may purchase real estate from the municipality, at a price of not less than 100% of the value of the real estate as determined by a written MAI certified appraisal or by a written certified appraisal of a State certified or licensed real estate appraiser, if the purchase is approved by a unanimous vote of the city council members then holding office (except for the member desiring to purchase the real estate, who shall not vote on the question).

(e) For the purposes of this Section only, a municipal officer shall not be deemed interested if the officer is an employee of a company or owns or holds an interest of 1% or less in the municipal officer's individual name in a company, or both, that company is involved in the transaction of business with the municipality, and that company's stock is traded on a nationally recognized securities market, provided the interested member: (i) publicly discloses the fact that he or she is an employee or holds an interest of 1% or less in a company before deliberation of the proposed award of the contract; (ii) refrains from evaluating, recommending, approving, deliberating, or otherwise participating in negotiation, approval, or both, of the contract, work, or business; (iii) abstains from voting on the award of the contract though he or she shall be considered present for purposes of establishing a quorum; and (iv) the contract is approved by a majority vote of those members currently holding office.

A municipal officer shall not be deemed interested if the officer owns or holds an interest of 1% or less, not in the officer's individual name but through a mutual fund or exchange-traded fund, in a company, that company is involved in the transaction of business with the municipality, and that company's stock is traded on a nationally recognized securities market.

(f) Under either of the following circumstances, a municipal, county, or township officer may hold a position on the board of a not-for-profit corporation that is interested in a contract, work, or business of the municipality, county, or township:

(1) If the municipal, county, or township officer is appointed by the governing body of the municipality, county, or township to represent the interests of the municipality, county, or township on a not-for-profit corporation's board, then the municipal, county, or township officer may actively vote on matters involving either that board or the municipality, county, or township, at any time, so long as the membership on the not-for-profit board is not a paid position, except that the municipal, county, or township officer may be reimbursed by the not-for-profit board for expenses incurred as the result of membership on the not-for-profit board.

(2) If the municipal, county, or township officer is not appointed to the governing body of a not-for-profit corporation by the governing body of the municipality, county, or township, then the municipal, county, or township officer may continue to serve; however, the municipal, county, or township officer shall abstain from voting on any proposition before the municipal, county, or township governing body directly involving the not-for-profit corporation and, for those matters, shall not be counted as present for the purposes of a quorum of the municipal, county, or township governing body.

(Source: P.A. 103-25, eff. 1-1-24.)

(50 ILCS 105/3.1) (from Ch. 102, par. 3.1)

Sec. 3.1. Before any contract relating to the ownership or use of real property is entered into by and between the State or any local governmental unit or any agency of either the identity of every owner and beneficiary having any interest, real or personal, in such property, and every member, shareholder, limited partner, or general partner entitled to receive more than 7 1/2% of the total distributable income of any limited liability company, corporation, or limited partnership having any interest, real or personal, in such property must be disclosed. The disclosure shall be in writing and shall be subscribed by a member, owner, authorized trustee, corporate official, general partner, or managing agent, or his or her authorized attorney, under oath. However, if the interest, stock, or shares in a limited liability company, corporation, or general partnership is publicly traded and there is no readily known individual having greater than a 7 1/2% interest, then a statement to that effect, subscribed to under oath by a member, officer of the corporation, general partner, or managing agent, or his or her authorized attorney, shall fulfill the disclosure statement requirement of this Section. As a condition of contracts entered into on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1995, the beneficiaries of a lease shall furnish the trustee of a trust subject to disclosure under this Section with a binding non-revocable letter of direction authorizing the trustee to provide the State with an up-to-date disclosure whenever requested by the State. The letter of direction shall be binding on beneficiaries' heirs, successors, and assigns during the term of the contract. This Section shall be liberally construed to accomplish the purpose of requiring the identification of the actual parties benefiting from any transaction with a governmental unit or agency involving the procurement of the ownership or use of real property thereby.

For any entity that is wholly or partially owned by another entity, the names of the owners of the wholly or partially owning entity shall be disclosed under this Section, as well as the names of the owners of the wholly or partially owned entity.

(Source: P.A. 91-361, eff. 7-29-99.)

(50 ILCS 105/3.2) (from Ch. 102, par. 3.2)

Sec. 3.2. Pecuniary interest allowed in contracts of deposit and financial service with local banks and savings and loan associations. Nothing contained in this Act, including the restrictions set forth in subsections (b), (c), and (d) of Section 3, shall preclude a contract of deposit of monies, loans, or other financial services by a unit of local government, school district, community college district, State university, or a police or firefighter's pension fund established under Article 3 or 4 of the Illinois Pension Code with a local bank or local savings and loan association, regardless of whether a member or members of the governing body of the unit (including any director serving on a hospital district board as provided under subsection (a-5) of Section 13 of the Hospital District Law) are interested in the bank or savings and loan association as a director, an officer, employee, or holder of less than 7 1/2% of the total ownership interest. A member or members holding such an interest in such a contract shall not be deemed to be holding a prohibited interest for purposes of this Act. The interested member or members of the governing body must publicly state the nature and extent of their interest during deliberations concerning the proposed award of such a contract, but shall not participate in any further deliberations concerning the proposed award. The interested member or members shall not vote on such a proposed award. Any member or members abstaining from participation in deliberations and voting under this Section may be considered present for purposes of establishing a quorum. Award of such a contract shall require approval by a majority vote of those members presently holding office. Consideration and award of any such contract in which a member or members are interested may only be made at a regularly scheduled public meeting of the governing body of the unit or district.

(Source: P.A. 90-197, eff. 1-1-98.)

(50 ILCS 105/4) (from Ch. 102, par. 4)

Sec. 4. Any alderperson, member of a board of trustees, supervisor or county commissioner, or other person holding any office, either by election or appointment under the laws or constitution of this state, who violates any provision of the preceding sections, is guilty of a Class 4 felony and in addition thereto, any office or official position held by any person so convicted shall become vacant, and shall be so declared as part of the judgment of court. This Section does not apply to a violation of subsection (b) of Section 2a.

(Source: P.A. 102-15, eff. 6-17-21.)

(50 ILCS 105/4.1)

Sec. 4.1. Retaliation against a whistleblower.

(a) It is prohibited for a unit of local government, any agent or representative of a unit of local government, or another employee to retaliate against an employee or contractor who:

(1) reports an improper governmental action under this Section;

(2) cooperates with an investigation by an auditing official related to a report of improper governmental action; or

(3) testifies in a proceeding or prosecution arising out of an improper governmental action.

(b) To invoke the protections of this Section, an employee shall make a written report of improper governmental action to the appropriate auditing official. An employee who believes he or she has been retaliated against in violation of this Section must submit a written report to the auditing official within 60 days of gaining knowledge of the retaliatory action. If the auditing official is the individual doing the improper governmental action, then a report under this subsection may be submitted to any State's Attorney.

(c) Each auditing official shall establish written processes and procedures for managing complaints filed under this Section, and each auditing official shall investigate and dispose of reports of improper governmental action in accordance with these processes and procedures. If an auditing official concludes that an improper governmental action has taken place or concludes that the relevant unit of local government, department, agency, or supervisory officials have hindered the auditing official's investigation into the report, the auditing official shall notify in writing the chief executive of the unit of local government and any other individual or entity the auditing official deems necessary in the circumstances.

(d) An auditing official may transfer a report of improper governmental action to another auditing official for investigation if an auditing official deems it appropriate, including, but not limited to, the appropriate State's Attorney.

(e) To the extent allowed by law, the identity of an employee reporting information about an improper governmental action shall be kept confidential unless the employee waives confidentiality in writing. Auditing officials may take reasonable measures to protect employees who reasonably believe they may be subject to bodily harm for reporting improper government action.

(f) The following remedies are available to employees subjected to adverse actions for reporting improper government action:

(1) Auditing officials may reinstate, reimburse for lost wages or expenses incurred, promote, or provide some other form of restitution.

(2) In instances where an auditing official determines that restitution will not suffice, the auditing official may make his or her investigation findings available for the purposes of aiding in that employee or the employee's attorney's effort to make the employee whole.

(g) A person who engages in prohibited retaliatory action under subsection (a) is subject to the following penalties: a fine of no less than $500 and no more than $5,000, suspension without pay, demotion, discharge, civil or criminal prosecution, or any combination of these penalties, as appropriate.

(h) Every employee shall receive a written summary or a complete copy of this Section upon commencement of employment and at least once each year of employment. At the same time, the employee shall also receive a copy of the written processes and procedures for reporting improper governmental actions from the applicable auditing official.

(i) As used in this Section:

"Auditing official" means any elected, appointed, or hired individual, by whatever name, in a unit of local government whose duties are similar to, but not limited to, receiving, registering, and investigating complaints and information concerning misconduct, inefficiency, and waste within the unit of local government; investigating the performance of officers, employees, functions, and programs; and promoting economy, efficiency, effectiveness and integrity in the administration of the programs and operations of the municipality. If a unit of local government does not have an "auditing official", the "auditing official" shall be a State's Attorney of the county in which the unit of local government is located.

"Employee" means anyone employed by a unit of local government, whether in a permanent or temporary position, including full-time, part-time, and intermittent workers. "Employee" also includes members of appointed boards or commissions, whether or not paid. "Employee" also includes persons who have been terminated because of any report or complaint submitted under this Section.

"Improper governmental action" means any action by a unit of local government employee, an appointed member of a board, commission, or committee, or an elected official of the unit of local government that is undertaken in violation of a federal, State, or unit of local government law or rule; is an abuse of authority; violates the public's trust or expectation of his or her conduct; is of substantial and specific danger to the public's health or safety; or is a gross waste of public funds. The action need not be within the scope of the employee's, elected official's, board member's, commission member's, or committee member's official duties to be subject to a claim of "improper governmental action". "Improper governmental action" does not include a unit of local government personnel actions, including, but not limited to employee grievances, complaints, appointments, promotions, transfers, assignments, reassignments, reinstatements, restorations, reemployment, performance evaluations, reductions in pay, dismissals, suspensions, demotions, reprimands, or violations of collective bargaining agreements, except to the extent that the action amounts to retaliation.

"Retaliate", "retaliation", or "retaliatory action" means any adverse change in an employee's employment status or the terms and conditions of employment that results from an employee's protected activity under this Section. "Retaliatory action" includes, but is not limited to, denial of adequate staff to perform duties; frequent staff changes; frequent and undesirable office changes; refusal to assign meaningful work; unsubstantiated letters of reprimand or unsatisfactory performance evaluations; demotion; reduction in pay; denial of promotion; transfer or reassignment; suspension or dismissal; or other disciplinary action made because of an employee's protected activity under this Section.

(Source: P.A. 101-652, eff. 7-1-21; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22.)

(50 ILCS 105/4.5)

Sec. 4.5. False verification; perjury. A person is guilty of perjury who:

(1) In swearing on oath or otherwise affirming a statement in writing as required under this Act, knowingly makes a false statement as to, or knowingly omits a material fact relating to, the identification of an individual or entity that has an ownership interest in real property, or that is material to an issue or point in question in the written disclosure pertaining to a contract for the ownership or use of real property.

(2) Having taken a lawful oath or made affirmation, testifies willfully and falsely as to any of those matters for the purpose of inducing the State or any local governmental unit or any agency of either to enter into a contract for the ownership or use of real property.

(3) Suborns any other person to so swear, affirm, or testify.

Upon conviction of perjury, a person shall be sentenced as provided in Section 32-2 or 32-3, respectively, of the Criminal Code of 2012 for those offenses.

This Section applies to written statements made or testimony given on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1995.

(Source: P.A. 97-1150, eff. 1-25-13.)