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| [ Introduced ] | [ House Amendment 002 ] |
91_HB2902eng HB2902 Engrossed LRB9108904NTsbA 1 AN ACT concerning criminal background investigations. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The Park District Code is amended by adding 5 Section 8-23 as follows: 6 (70 ILCS 1205/8-23 new) 7 Sec. 8-23. Criminal background investigations. 8 (a) An applicant for employment with a park district is 9 required as a condition of employment to authorize an 10 investigation to determine if the applicant has been 11 convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses 12 in subsection (c) of this Section or has been convicted, 13 within 7 years of the application for employment with the 14 park district, of any other felony under the laws of this 15 State or of any offense committed or attempted in any other 16 state or against the laws of the United States that, if 17 committed or attempted in this State, would have been 18 punishable as a felony under the laws of this State. 19 Authorization for the investigation shall be furnished by the 20 applicant to the park district. Upon receipt of this 21 authorization, the park district shall submit the applicant's 22 name, sex, race, date of birth, and social security number to 23 the Department of State Police on forms prescribed by the 24 Department of State Police. The Department of State Police 25 shall conduct an investigation to ascertain if the applicant 26 being considered for employment has been convicted of any of 27 the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) of 28 this Section or has been convicted, within 7 years of the 29 application for employment with the park district, of any 30 other felony under the laws of this State or of any offense 31 committed or attempted in any other state or against the laws HB2902 Engrossed -2- LRB9108904NTsbA 1 of the United States that, if committed or attempted in this 2 State, would have been punishable as a felony under the laws 3 of this State. The Department of State Police shall charge 4 the park district a fee for conducting the investigation, 5 which fee shall be deposited in the State Police Services 6 Fund and shall not exceed the cost of the inquiry. The 7 applicant shall not be charged a fee by the park district for 8 the investigation. 9 (b) The Department of State Police shall furnish, 10 pursuant to positive identification, records of convictions, 11 until expunged, to the president of the park district. Any 12 information concerning the record of convictions obtained by 13 the president shall be confidential and may only be 14 transmitted to those persons who are necessary to the 15 decision on whether to hire the applicant for employment. A 16 copy of the record of convictions obtained from the 17 Department of State Police shall be provided to the applicant 18 for employment. Any person who releases any confidential 19 information concerning any criminal convictions of an 20 applicant for employment shall be guilty of a Class A 21 misdemeanor, unless the release of such information is 22 authorized by this Section. 23 (c) No park district shall knowingly employ a person who 24 has been convicted for committing attempted first degree 25 murder or for committing or attempting to commit first degree 26 murder, a Class X felony, or any one or more of the following 27 offenses: (i) those defined in Sections 11-6, 11-9, 11-14, 28 11-15, 11-15.1, 11-16, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 11-19.1, 11-19.2, 29 11-20, 11-20.1, 11-21, 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, and 30 12-16 of the Criminal Code of 1961; (ii) those defined in the 31 Cannabis Control Act, except those defined in Sections 4(a), 32 4(b), and 5(a) of that Act; (iii) those defined in the 33 Illinois Controlled Substances Act; and (iv) any offense 34 committed or attempted in any other state or against the laws HB2902 Engrossed -3- LRB9108904NTsbA 1 of the United States, which, if committed or attempted in 2 this State, would have been punishable as one or more of the 3 foregoing offenses. Further, no park district shall 4 knowingly employ a person who has been found to be the 5 perpetrator of sexual or physical abuse of any minor under 18 6 years of age pursuant to proceedings under Article II of the 7 Juvenile Court Act of 1987. No park district shall knowingly 8 employ a person for whom a criminal background investigation 9 has not been initiated. 10 Section 10. The Chicago Park District Act is amended by 11 adding Section 16a-5 as follows: 12 (70 ILCS 1505/16a-5 new) 13 Sec. 16a-5. Criminal background investigations. 14 (a) An applicant for employment with the Chicago Park 15 District is required as a condition of employment to 16 authorize an investigation to determine if the applicant has 17 been convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug 18 offenses in subsection (c) of this Section or has been 19 convicted, within 7 years of the application for employment 20 with the Chicago Park District, of any other felony under the 21 laws of this State or of any offense committed or attempted 22 in any other state or against the laws of the United States 23 that, if committed or attempted in this State, would have 24 been punishable as a felony under the laws of this State. 25 Authorization for the investigation shall be furnished by the 26 applicant to the Chicago Park District. Upon receipt of this 27 authorization, the Chicago Park District shall submit the 28 applicant's name, sex, race, date of birth, and social 29 security number to the Department of State Police on forms 30 prescribed by the Department of State Police. The Department 31 of State Police shall conduct an investigation to ascertain 32 if the applicant being considered for employment has been HB2902 Engrossed -4- LRB9108904NTsbA 1 convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses 2 in subsection (c) of this Section or has been convicted, 3 within 7 years of the application for employment with the 4 Chicago Park District, of any other felony under the laws of 5 this State or of any offense committed or attempted in any 6 other state or against the laws of the United States that, if 7 committed or attempted in this State, would have been 8 punishable as a felony under the laws of this State. The 9 Department of State Police shall charge the Chicago Park 10 District a fee for conducting the investigation, which fee 11 shall be deposited in the State Police Services Fund and 12 shall not exceed the cost of the inquiry. The applicant 13 shall not be charged a fee by the Chicago Park District for 14 the investigation. 15 (b) The Department of State Police shall furnish, 16 pursuant to positive identification, records of convictions, 17 until expunged, to the president of the Chicago Park 18 District. Any information concerning the record of 19 convictions obtained by the president shall be confidential 20 and may only be transmitted to those persons who are 21 necessary to the decision on whether to hire the applicant 22 for employment. A copy of the record of convictions obtained 23 from the Department of State Police shall be provided to the 24 applicant for employment. Any person who releases any 25 confidential information concerning any criminal convictions 26 of an applicant for employment shall be guilty of a Class A 27 misdemeanor, unless the release of such information is 28 authorized by this Section. 29 (c) The Chicago Park District may not knowingly employ a 30 person who has been convicted for committing attempted first 31 degree murder or for committing or attempting to commit first 32 degree murder, a Class X felony, or any one or more of the 33 following offenses: (i) those defined in Sections 11-6, 34 11-9, 11-14, 11-15, 11-15.1, 11-16, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, HB2902 Engrossed -5- LRB9108904NTsbA 1 11-19.1, 11-19.2, 11-20, 11-20.1, 11-21, 12-13, 12-14, 2 12-14.1, 12-15, and 12-16 of the Criminal Code of 1961; (ii) 3 those defined in the Cannabis Control Act, except those 4 defined in Sections 4(a), 4(b), and 5(a) of that Act; (iii) 5 those defined in the Illinois Controlled Substances Act; and 6 (iv) any offense committed or attempted in any other state or 7 against the laws of the United States, which, if committed or 8 attempted in this State, would have been punishable as one or 9 more of the foregoing offenses. Further, the Chicago Park 10 District may not knowingly employ a person who has been found 11 to be the perpetrator of sexual or physical abuse of any 12 minor under 18 years of age pursuant to proceedings under 13 Article II of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. The Chicago 14 Park District may not knowingly employ a person for whom a 15 criminal background investigation has not been initiated. 16 Section 15. The School Code is amended by changing 17 Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 as follows: 18 (105 ILCS 5/10-21.9) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-21.9) 19 Sec. 10-21.9. Criminal background investigations. 20 (a) After August 1, 1985, certified and noncertified 21 applicants for employment with a school district, except 22 school bus driver applicants, are required as a condition of 23 employment to authorize an investigation to determine if such 24 applicants have been convicted of any of the enumerated 25 criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) of this Section 26 or have been convicted, within 7 years of the application for 27 employment with the school district, of any other felony 28 under the laws of this State or of any offense committed or 29 attempted in any other state or against the laws of the 30 United States that, if committed or attempted in this State, 31 would have been punishable as a felony under the laws of this 32 State. Authorization for the investigation shall be furnished HB2902 Engrossed -6- LRB9108904NTsbA 1 by the applicant to the school district, except that if the 2 applicant is a substitute teacher seeking employment in more 3 than one school district, a teacher seeking concurrent 4 part-time employment positions with more than one school 5 district (as a reading specialist, special education teacher 6 or otherwise), or an educational support personnel employee 7 seeking employment positions with more than one district, any 8 such district may require the applicant to furnish 9 authorization for the investigation to the regional 10 superintendent of the educational service region in which are 11 located the school districts in which the applicant is 12 seeking employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time 13 teacher or concurrent educational support personnel employee. 14 Upon receipt of this authorization, the school district or 15 the appropriate regional superintendent, as the case may be, 16 shall submit the applicant's name, sex, race, date of birth 17 and social security number to the Department of State Police 18 on forms prescribed by the Department. The regional 19 superintendent submitting the requisite information to the 20 Department of State Police shall promptly notify the school 21 districts in which the applicant is seeking employment as a 22 substitute or concurrent part-time teacher or concurrent 23 educational support personnel employee that the investigation 24 of the applicant has been requested. The Department of State 25 Police shall conduct an investigation to ascertain if the 26 applicant being considered for employment has been convicted 27 of any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in 28 subsection (c) or has been convicted, within 7 years of the 29 application for employment with the school district, of any 30 other felony under the laws of this State or of any offense 31 committed or attempted in any other state or against the laws 32 of the United States that, if committed or attempted in this 33 State, would have been punishable as a felony under the laws 34 of this State. The Department shall charge the school HB2902 Engrossed -7- LRB9108904NTsbA 1 district or the appropriate regional superintendent a fee for 2 conducting such investigation, which fee shall be deposited 3 in the State Police Services Fund and shall not exceed the 4 cost of the inquiry; and the applicant shall not be charged a 5 fee for such investigation by the school district or by the 6 regional superintendent. The regional superintendent may 7 seek reimbursement from the State Board of Education or the 8 appropriate school district or districts for fees paid by the 9 regional superintendent to the Department for the criminal 10 background investigations required by this Section. 11 (b) The Department shall furnish, pursuant to positive 12 identification, records of convictions, until expunged, to 13 the president of the school board for the school district 14 which requested the investigation, or to the regional 15 superintendent who requested the investigation. Any 16 information concerning the record of convictions obtained by 17 the president of the school board or the regional 18 superintendent shall be confidential and may only be 19 transmitted to the superintendent of the school district or 20 his designee, the appropriate regional superintendent if the 21 investigation was requested by the school district, the 22 presidents of the appropriate school boards if the 23 investigation was requested from the Department of State 24 Police by the regional superintendent, the State 25 Superintendent of Education, the State Teacher Certification 26 Board or any other person necessary to the decision of hiring 27 the applicant for employment. A copy of the record of 28 convictions obtained from the Department of State Police 29 shall be provided to the applicant for employment. If an 30 investigation of an applicant for employment as a substitute 31 or concurrent part-time teacher or concurrent educational 32 support personnel employee in more than one school district 33 was requested by the regional superintendent, and the 34 Department of State Police upon investigation ascertains that HB2902 Engrossed -8- LRB9108904NTsbA 1 the applicant has not been convicted of any of the enumerated 2 criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) or has not been 3 convicted, within 7 years of the application for employment 4 with the school district, of any other felony under the laws 5 of this State or of any offense committed or attempted in any 6 other state or against the laws of the United States that, if 7 committed or attempted in this State, would have been 8 punishable as a felony under the laws of this State and so 9 notifies the regional superintendent, then the regional 10 superintendent shall issue to the applicant a certificate 11 evidencing that as of the date specified by the Department of 12 State Police the applicant has not been convicted of any of 13 the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) or 14 has not been convicted, within 7 years of the application for 15 employment with the school district, of any other felony 16 under the laws of this State or of any offense committed or 17 attempted in any other state or against the laws of the 18 United States that, if committed or attempted in this State, 19 would have been punishable as a felony under the laws of this 20 State. The school board of any school district located in 21 the educational service region served by the regional 22 superintendent who issues such a certificate to an applicant 23 for employment as a substitute teacher in more than one such 24 district may rely on the certificate issued by the regional 25 superintendent to that applicant, or may initiate its own 26 investigation of the applicant through the Department of 27 State Police as provided in subsection (a). Any person who 28 releases any confidential information concerning any criminal 29 convictions of an applicant for employment shall be guilty of 30 a Class A misdemeanor, unless the release of such information 31 is authorized by this Section. 32 (c) No school board shall knowingly employ a person who 33 has been convicted for committing attempted first degree 34 murder or for committing or attempting to commit first degree HB2902 Engrossed -9- LRB9108904NTsbA 1 murder or a Class X felony or any one or more of the 2 following offenses: (i) those defined in Sections 11-6, 11-9, 3 11-14, 11-15, 11-15.1, 11-16, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 11-19.1, 4 11-19.2, 11-20, 11-20.1, 11-21, 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15 5 and 12-16 of the "Criminal Code of 1961"; (ii) those defined 6 in the "Cannabis Control Act" except those defined in 7 Sections 4(a), 4(b) and 5(a) of that Act; (iii) those defined 8 in the "Illinois Controlled Substances Act"; and (iv) any 9 offense committed or attempted in any other state or against 10 the laws of the United States, which if committed or 11 attempted in this State, would have been punishable as one or 12 more of the foregoing offenses. Further, no school board 13 shall knowingly employ a person who has been found to be the 14 perpetrator of sexual or physical abuse of any minor under 18 15 years of age pursuant to proceedings under Article II of the 16 Juvenile Court Act of 1987. 17 (d) No school board shall knowingly employ a person for 18 whom a criminal background investigation has not been 19 initiated. 20 (e) Upon receipt of the record of a conviction of or a 21 finding of child abuse by a holder of any certificate issued 22 pursuant to Article 21 or Section 34-8.1 or 34-83 of the 23 School Code, the appropriate regional superintendent of 24 schools or the State Superintendent of Education shall 25 initiate the certificate suspension and revocation 26 proceedings authorized by law. 27 (f) After January 1, 1990 the provisions of this Section 28 shall apply to all employees of persons or firms holding 29 contracts with any school district including, but not limited 30 to, food service workers, school bus drivers and other 31 transportation employees, who have direct, daily contact with 32 the pupils of any school in such district. For purposes of 33 criminal background investigations on employees of persons or 34 firms holding contracts with more than one school district HB2902 Engrossed -10- LRB9108904NTsbA 1 and assigned to more than one school district, the regional 2 superintendent of the educational service region in which the 3 contracting school districts are located may, at the request 4 of any such school district, be responsible for receiving the 5 authorization for investigation prepared by each such 6 employee and submitting the same to the Department of State 7 Police. Any information concerning the record of conviction 8 of any such employee obtained by the regional superintendent 9 shall be promptly reported to the president of the 10 appropriate school board or school boards. 11 (Source: P.A. 89-428, eff. 12-13-95; 89-462, eff. 5-29-96; 12 89-610, eff. 8-6-96; 90-566, eff. 1-2-98.) 13 (105 ILCS 5/34-18.5) (from Ch. 122, par. 34-18.5) 14 Sec. 34-18.5. Criminal background investigations. 15 (a) After August 1, 1985, certified and noncertified 16 applicants for employment with the school district are 17 required as a condition of employment to authorize an 18 investigation to determine if such applicants have been 19 convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses 20 in subsection (c) of this Section or have been convicted, 21 within 7 years of the application for employment with the 22 school district, of any other felony under the laws of this 23 State or of any offense committed or attempted in any other 24 state or against the laws of the United States that, if 25 committed or attempted in this State, would have been 26 punishable as a felony under the laws of this State. 27 Authorization for the investigation shall be furnished by the 28 applicant to the school district, except that if the 29 applicant is a substitute teacher seeking employment in more 30 than one school district, or a teacher seeking concurrent 31 part-time employment positions with more than one school 32 district (as a reading specialist, special education teacher 33 or otherwise), or an educational support personnel employee HB2902 Engrossed -11- LRB9108904NTsbA 1 seeking employment positions with more than one district, any 2 such district may require the applicant to furnish 3 authorization for the investigation to the regional 4 superintendent of the educational service region in which are 5 located the school districts in which the applicant is 6 seeking employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time 7 teacher or concurrent educational support personnel employee. 8 Upon receipt of this authorization, the school district or 9 the appropriate regional superintendent, as the case may be, 10 shall submit the applicant's name, sex, race, date of birth 11 and social security number to the Department of State Police 12 on forms prescribed by the Department. The regional 13 superintendent submitting the requisite information to the 14 Department of State Police shall promptly notify the school 15 districts in which the applicant is seeking employment as a 16 substitute or concurrent part-time teacher or concurrent 17 educational support personnel employee that the investigation 18 of the applicant has been requested. The Department of State 19 Police shall conduct an investigation to ascertain if the 20 applicant being considered for employment has been convicted 21 of any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in 22 subsection (c) or has been convicted, within 7 years of the 23 application for employment with the school district, of any 24 other felony under the laws of this State or of any offense 25 committed or attempted in any other state or against the laws 26 of the United States that, if committed or attempted in this 27 State, would have been punishable as a felony under the laws 28 of this State. The Department shall charge the school 29 district or the appropriate regional superintendent a fee for 30 conducting such investigation, which fee shall be deposited 31 in the State Police Services Fund and shall not exceed the 32 cost of the inquiry; and the applicant shall not be charged a 33 fee for such investigation by the school district or by the 34 regional superintendent. The regional superintendent may HB2902 Engrossed -12- LRB9108904NTsbA 1 seek reimbursement from the State Board of Education or the 2 appropriate school district or districts for fees paid by the 3 regional superintendent to the Department for the criminal 4 background investigations required by this Section. 5 (b) The Department shall furnish, pursuant to positive 6 identification, records of convictions, until expunged, to 7 the president of the board of education for the school 8 district which requested the investigation, or to the 9 regional superintendent who requested the investigation. Any 10 information concerning the record of convictions obtained by 11 the president of the board of education or the regional 12 superintendent shall be confidential and may only be 13 transmitted to the general superintendent of the school 14 district or his designee, the appropriate regional 15 superintendent if the investigation was requested by the 16 board of education for the school district, the presidents of 17 the appropriate board of education or school boards if the 18 investigation was requested from the Department of State 19 Police by the regional superintendent, the State 20 Superintendent of Education, the State Teacher Certification 21 Board or any other person necessary to the decision of hiring 22 the applicant for employment. A copy of the record of 23 convictions obtained from the Department of State Police 24 shall be provided to the applicant for employment. If an 25 investigation of an applicant for employment as a substitute 26 or concurrent part-time teacher or concurrent educational 27 support personnel employee in more than one school district 28 was requested by the regional superintendent, and the 29 Department of State Police upon investigation ascertains that 30 the applicant has not been convicted of any of the enumerated 31 criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) or has not been 32 convicted, within 7 years of the application for employment 33 with the school district, of any other felony under the laws 34 of this State or of any offense committed or attempted in any HB2902 Engrossed -13- LRB9108904NTsbA 1 other state or against the laws of the United States that, if 2 committed or attempted in this State, would have been 3 punishable as a felony under the laws of this State and so 4 notifies the regional superintendent, then the regional 5 superintendent shall issue to the applicant a certificate 6 evidencing that as of the date specified by the Department of 7 State Police the applicant has not been convicted of any of 8 the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) or 9 has not been convicted, within 7 years of the application for 10 employment with the school district, of any other felony 11 under the laws of this State or of any offense committed or 12 attempted in any other state or against the laws of the 13 United States that, if committed or attempted in this State, 14 would have been punishable as a felony under the laws of this 15 State. The school board of any school district located in 16 the educational service region served by the regional 17 superintendent who issues such a certificate to an applicant 18 for employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time 19 teacher or concurrent educational support personnel employee 20 in more than one such district may rely on the certificate 21 issued by the regional superintendent to that applicant, or 22 may initiate its own investigation of the applicant through 23 the Department of State Police as provided in subsection (a). 24 Any person who releases any confidential information 25 concerning any criminal convictions of an applicant for 26 employment shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor, unless 27 the release of such information is authorized by this 28 Section. 29 (c) The board of education shall not knowingly employ a 30 person who has been convicted for committing attempted first 31 degree murder or for committing or attempting to commit first 32 degree murder or a Class X felony or any one or more of the 33 following offenses: (i) those defined in Sections 11-6, 34 11-9, 11-14, 11-15, 11-15.1, 11-16, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, HB2902 Engrossed -14- LRB9108904NTsbA 1 11-19.1, 11-19.2, 11-20, 11-20.1, 11-21, 12-13, 12-14, 2 12-14.1, 12-15 and 12-16 of the Criminal Code of 1961; (ii) 3 those defined in the Cannabis Control Act, except those 4 defined in Sections 4(a), 4(b) and 5(a) of that Act; (iii) 5 those defined in the Illinois Controlled Substances Act; and 6 (iv) any offense committed or attempted in any other state or 7 against the laws of the United States, which if committed or 8 attempted in this State, would have been punishable as one or 9 more of the foregoing offenses. Further, the board of 10 education shall not knowingly employ a person who has been 11 found to be the perpetrator of sexual or physical abuse of 12 any minor under 18 years of age pursuant to proceedings under 13 Article II of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. 14 (d) The board of education shall not knowingly employ a 15 person for whom a criminal background investigation has not 16 been initiated. 17 (e) Upon receipt of the record of a conviction of or a 18 finding of child abuse by a holder of any certificate issued 19 pursuant to Article 21 or Section 34-8.1 or 34-83 of the 20 School Code, the board of education or the State 21 Superintendent of Education shall initiate the certificate 22 suspension and revocation proceedings authorized by law. 23 (f) After March 19, 1990, the provisions of this Section 24 shall apply to all employees of persons or firms holding 25 contracts with any school district including, but not limited 26 to, food service workers, school bus drivers and other 27 transportation employees, who have direct, daily contact with 28 the pupils of any school in such district. For purposes of 29 criminal background investigations on employees of persons or 30 firms holding contracts with more than one school district 31 and assigned to more than one school district, the regional 32 superintendent of the educational service region in which the 33 contracting school districts are located may, at the request 34 of any such school district, be responsible for receiving the HB2902 Engrossed -15- LRB9108904NTsbA 1 authorization for investigation prepared by each such 2 employee and submitting the same to the Department of State 3 Police. Any information concerning the record of conviction 4 of any such employee obtained by the regional superintendent 5 shall be promptly reported to the president of the 6 appropriate school board or school boards. 7 (Source: P.A. 89-428, eff. 12-13-95; 89-462, eff. 5-29-96; 8 89-610, eff. 8-6-96; 90-566, eff. 1-2-98.) 9 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 10 becoming law.