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92_SB1683gms
State of Illinois
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Springfield, Illinois 62706
George H. Ryan
GOVERNOR
July 19, 2002
To the Honorable Members of
The Illinois Senate
92nd General Assembly
Pursuant to Article IV, Section 9(b) of the Illinois
Constitution of 1970, I hereby veto Senate Bill 1683 entitled
"AN ACT in relation to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation
District."
Senate Bill 1683 amends the Metropolitan Water
Reclamation District Act and provides uniform promotional
preferences to expend the eligibility requirements for
veterans. Senate Bill 1683 provides that the District shall
grant five points to any veteran being considered for a new
position or promotion who has served in the Air Force, Navy,
Army, Marine Corps or Coast Guard for more that 180
consecutive days and was honorably discharged. Senate Bill
1683 also deletes the current law regarding how veteran's
preference points shall be awarded to employees of the
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District.
Although I agree with the intent of Senate Bill 1683 to
simplify the veteran's preference law for employees of the
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, I also believe that
changes in the way veterans earn preference points should not
be done on a piecemeal basis for each separate public entity.
Illinois' veteran's preference law was recently reinterpreted
by the courts in the Denton v. Civil Service Commission of
the State of Illinois, and as a result there is public
confusion over what the veteran's preference law currently
requires. The current system is difficult both for potential
employees (including veterans) to understand and for State
entities to implement. Changing the veteran's preference law
that governs the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District into
a different system than that used by other governmental
entities will add to that confusion. Instead, I urge the
General Assembly to study the veteran's preference law and to
a pass clear, understandable veteran's preference law that
applies uniformly to all governmental entities.
For this reason, I hereby veto and return Senate Bill
1683.
Sincerely,
George H. Ryan
GOVERNOR