(A) Hearing of charges.
(1) Hearings before the Board are not common law proceedings. The provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure do not apply to hearings before the Board.
(2) COUNSEL as used herein means one who has been admitted to the bar as an attorney-at-law in this state.
(3) No rehearing, reconsideration, modification, vacation, or alteration of a decision of the Board shall be allowed.
(4) CAUSE is some substantial shortcoming which renders continuance in employment in some way detrimental to the discipline and efficiency of the public service and something which the law and sound public opinion recognize as cause for the officer no longer occupying his or her position. The right to determine what constitutes CAUSE is in the Board.
(5) The complainant or appellant initiating any proceedings which call for a hearing before the Board shall have the burden of proof to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that cause for discipline exists or that a suspension, previously imposed by the Chief of a Department, is unwarranted. Should the question of a crime be involved, the rule of reasonable doubt shall not control.
(6) PREPONDERANCE OF EVIDENCE is defined as the greater weight of the evidence, that is to say, it rests with that evidence which, when fairly considered produces the stronger impression, and has a greater weight, and is more convincing as to its truth when weighed against the evidence in opposition thereto.
(7) Probationary police officers and firefighters may be summarily dismissed by the Board and are not entitled to the protection afforded to other full-time officers by statute or these rules.
(8) All hearings shall be public, in accordance with the Open Meetings Act.
(9) At the time and place of hearing, both parties may be represented by counsel, if they so desire.
(10) All proceedings before the Board during the conduct of the hearing shall be recorded by a court reporter to be employed by the Board.
(11) The records of all hearings will not be transcribed by the court reporter unless requested to do so by the Board or any party of interest.
(12) All witnesses shall be sworn prior to testifying and the matter will be decided by the Board solely on evidence presented at the hearings.
(13) The Board will first hear the witnesses either substantiating the charges which have been made against the respondent or in support of an appeal brought by a suspended police officer or firefighter. Thereafter the other party may present and examine those witnesses whom he desires the Board to hear. All parties shall have the right to cross-examine witnesses presented by the opposite party.
(B) Hearing procedure.
(1) Complaints. In all cases, written complaints shall be filed in quintuple, setting forth a plain and concise statement of the facts upon which the complaint is based.
(2) Probable cause. The Board shall have the right to determine whether there is or is not probable cause for hearing a complaint and may conduct such informal hearings as may be necessary for such purpose.
(3) Notification of hearing. Upon the filing of a complaint in quintuple with the Secretary of the Board, and the determination by the Board of probable cause for entertaining said complaint, the Secretary of the Board shall notify both the complainant and the respondent, either by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, or personally, of the time and place of the hearing of the charges contained in the complaint. The respondent shall also be served with a copy of the complaint, and if an order of suspension pending a hearing is entered by the Board, the respondent, the complainant, the Chief of the Department, the treasurer, comptroller, manager, or other finance officer of the municipality shall be notified of the entry of such order of suspension pending a hearing, and be served either personally or by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, with a copy of such order.
(5) Continuances. The matter of granting or refusing to grant a continuance of a hearing is within the discretion of the Board.
(6) Stipulations.
(a) Parties may, on their own behalf, or by counsel, stipulate and agree in writing, or on the record, as to evidenced guilt. The facts so stipulated shall be considered as evidence in the proceeding.
(b) In the event a respondent has been suspended pending a hearing and desires a contmuance, it shall also be stipulated and agreed that in the event said respondent is to be retained in his or her position as a result of a decision of the Board following a hearing of the cause, then no compensation shall be paid to said respondent during the period of said continuance.
(7) Sufficiency of charges–objections thereto. Motions or objections to the sufficiency of written charges must be filed or made prior to or at the hearing before the Board.
(C) Subpoenas.
(1) Any party to an administrative hearing may, at any time before the hearing, make application to the Board by filing with it a written request for subpoenas for any individual to appear for a hearing or have them produce books, papers, records, accounts and other documents as may be deemed by the Board to be relevant to the hearing. On the filing of such application, subpoenas will be issued for the named persons. Subpoenas may be served by any person 21 years of age or older designated by the party requesting the subpoenas. Application for subpoenas should contain the names and addresses of the individuals to be subpoenaed, and the identity of any documents which they are to produce. Subpoenas will not be issued for anyone residing outside of the State of Illinois.
(2) Any request for continuance by reason of inability to serve subpoenas shall be filed in the office of the Board at least three days before the date set for such hearing, provided, however, that the Board in its discretion may waive this rule.
(D) Service. All papers required by these rules and regulations to be served shall be delivered personally to the party designated or mailed, by United States mail in an envelope properly addressed with postage prepaid, to the designated party at his or her last known residence as reflected by the complaint filed with the Board, except as herein otherwise provided. Proof of service of any paper may be made by the certification of any person so mailing the paper or delivering the same to the designated party personally, or by filing a return receipt showing that a paper was mailed, by either registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, to a party’s address where it was received by a named party.
(E) Filing. All papers may be filed with the Board by mailing them or delivering them personally to the Secretary of the Board at the Village of Bellwood, Illinois. For the purpose of these rules and regulations, the filing date of any paper shall be the date it was received in the Board’s office, in the event the paper is delivered personally or by messenger. In the event a paper is forwarded by mail, then the filing date shall be the date which is postmarked on the envelope of such paper.
(F) Forms of paper.
(1) All papers filed in any proceeding shall be typewritten or printed and shall be on one side of the paper only.
(2) If typewritten, the lines shall be double spaced, except that long quotations may be single spaced and indented.
(3) All papers shall be not larger than eight and one-half inches by 11 inches with inside margins of not less than one inch.
(4) The original of all papers filed shall be signed in ink by the party filing the paper or by an officer, agent, or attorney thereof and copies thereof provided the opposing party or his or her counsel.
(5) If papers are filed by an attorney, his or her name and address shall appear thereon.
(G) Computation of time. The time within which any act under these rules is to be done shall be computed by excluding the first day and including the last, unless the last day is Sunday or is a holiday as defined or fixed in any statute now or hereafter in force in the state, and then it shall also be excluded. If the day succeeding such Sunday or holiday is also a holiday or a Sunday then such succeeding day shall also be excluded.
(H) Suspension.
(1) The Board may suspend any member of the Fire or Police Department against whom charges have been filed, pending a hearing of the charges by the Board, but not to exceed 30 days, without pay, at any one time.
(2) The Chief of the Fire and Police Department shall have the right to suspend any officer under his or her command for a period not to exceed five days, providing no charges on the same offense have been filed and are pending before the Board, and he or she shall notify the Board in writing within 24 hours of the time of such suspension. Any policeman or fireman so suspended may appeal to the Board for a review of the suspension within five days after receiving notice of such suspension by filing notice of such appeal in writing with the Secretary of the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners. A hearing shall be had upon such appeal, and due notice given to the Chief of the Department who suspended such officer, and to the officer so suspended. The burden of establishing that a suspension is unwarranted shall be upon the individual bringing the appeal.
(3) Upon such appeal, the Board may sustain the action of the Chief of the Department, may reverse it with instructions that the officer so suspended receive his or her pay for the period involved, may suspend the officer for a period of not more than 30 days, or discharge him or her, depending on the evidence presented.
(I) Discharge or suspension after hearing.
(1) Discharge from office, or suspension from service in the Fire or Police Department shall be in compliance with the Fire and Police Commissioners Act of the State of Illinois, being ILCS Ch. 65, Act 5, §§ 10-2.1-1 through 10-2.1-30, inclusive.
(2) The Board shall, within a reasonable time after the hearing is completed, enter its findings on the records of the Board.
(J) Date of hearing. The time for the hearing of charges shall be set by the Board, within 30 days of the time of the filing of such charges. Continuances may be granted from time to time upon motion of any party to the proceeding by order of the Board. This time limitation is not applicable to hearings conducted to review suspensions of five days or less imposed by a Chief of a Department on one of its members.
(K) Findings and decision.
(1) In case any member of the Fire or Police Department shall be found guilty of the charges filed against him or her after a hearing by the Board, he or she may be removed, discharged, or suspended for a period not exceeding 30 days, without pay. Upon an appeal, the Board may sustain the action of the Chief, may reverse it, in whole or in part, or may suspend the officer or firefighter for an additional period of not more than 30 days or discharge him or her depending on the facts presented.
(2) The findings and decision of the Board, following a hearing of charges, shall be preserved by the Secretary, and notice of said finding and decision sent to the officer involved and the Department head for enforcement. If the finding or decision is that an officer or employee is guilty of charges investigated, and removal or discharge is ordered, such order of removal or discharge shall become effective forthwith. (See division (I) above.)
(L) Rules–conflict. The personnel of the Fire and Police Department shall be governed by the rules as adopted by the Board and the Regulations of the Fire and Police Departments as adopted by ordinance. In case of conflict, the rules of the Board shall govern.
(M) Violation of rules. All members of the Fire and Police Departments shall be subject to the regulations of such Departments, and the rules of the Board, and a violation of such rules or regulations may be cause for filing of charges before the Board, a subsequent hearing and action by the Board on such charges.
(N) Violation of law. Any violation of the laws of the municipality or state or federal law, by any member of the Fire and Police Department of such municipality may be cause for the filing of charges against said officer, except as herein otherwise provided.
(Ord. 12-38, passed 10-17-12)