2-112-020 Succession.

   The Commissioner and the Department shall assume all rights, powers, duties, obligations and responsibilities of the Board of Health as of the effective date of this amendatory ordinance of 2021 except for those Board of Health powers and duties expressly retained. All personnel, books, records, property, and funds relating to the Board of Health shall be made available to the Department. The Department shall succeed to the rights and duties of the Board of Health under existing contracts, grants, loan agreements or programs, or other agreements or ordinances. All rules issued by the Board of Health or the Commissioner in effect as of the effective date of this amendatory ordinance of 2021 shall remain in effect until amended or repealed by the Commissioner.

(Prior code § 9-1(b); Amend Coun. J. 2-24-21, p. 27657, Art. I, § 1)

2-112-030 Commissioner – Administrative authority.

   All matters pertaining to the administration of the staff of the Department and the proper protection and promotion of public health shall be in charge of the Commissioner of Public Health.

(Prior code § 9-1(c); Amend Coun. J. 3-21-90, p. 13545; Amend Coun. J. 6-28-00, p. 36752, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 2-24-21, p. 27657, Art. I, § 1)

2-112-040 Power to arrest violators.

   The Commissioner shall have the right to arrest or cause to be arrested any person who violates any of the health provisions of this Code.

(Prior code § 9-5; Amend Coun. J. 2-24-21, p. 27657, Art. I, § 1)

Editor's note – Formerly § 2-112-070. Coun. J. 2-24-21, p. 27657, Art. I, § 1, repealed former § 2-112-040, which pertained to compensation.

2-112-050 Police powers.

   The Commissioner shall have the power to exercise the general police power of the City of Chicago to correct, by whatever means are necessary, any health hazard that presents an immediate risk to the life or health of one or more citizens of the City of Chicago.

(Prior code § 9-6(a); Amend Coun. J. 2-24-21, p. 27657, Art. I, § 1)

Editor's note – Formerly § 2-112-080. Coun. J. 2-24-21, p. 27657, Art. I, § 1, repealed former § 2-112-050, which pertained to meetings – quorum.

2-112-060 Employees held harmless for official acts.

   The Commissioner and any employee acting under the Commissioner's direction, shall be held harmless for any official act performed in accordance with and under the authority of this chapter.

   The City of Chicago shall represent and pay all costs, fees, settlements or verdicts associated with any claim or lawsuit filed against a volunteer health professional acting under the Commissioner's direction, or against a physician or dentist acting under the Commissioner's direction pursuant to a contract, if the claim or lawsuit arises out of duties associated with the Department and within the scope of those duties. However, the City of Chicago shall not pay any costs, fees, settlements, or verdicts associated with a claim or lawsuit filed against a physician or dentist acting under the direction of the Commissioner pursuant to a contract if the incident upon which the claim or lawsuit is based occurred more than 90 days following the date upon which the aforementioned contract was entered into.

(Prior code § 9-6(b); Amend Coun. J. 9-11-91, p. 4641; Amend Coun. J. 8-4-93, p. 36046; Amend Coun. J. 2-24-21, p. 27657, Art. I, § 1)

Editor's note – Formerly § 2-112-090. Coun. J. 2-24-21, p. 27657, Art. I, § 1, repealed former § 2-112-060, which pertained to delegation of president's authority.

2-112-070 Adoption of health and environmental rules.

   (a)   The Commissioner is authorized to issue rules necessary or proper for the administration or enforcement of health ordinances, including but not limited to the provisions of this Code pertaining to the regulation of food establishments, including Chapters 4-8, 7-38, 7-40, and 7-42 of this Code, and for the administration or enforcement of environmental ordinances. The Commissioner shall not enact any rule, except those emergency rules described in subsection (b), until the Commissioner holds a public hearing on such rule or until the Commissioner provides an opportunity for the public to submit comments in written or electronic form. If the Commissioner holds a public hearing, the Commissioner shall give not less than ten (10) calendar days' notice of the time and place of such hearing by publication in a prominent location on the Department's website. The Commissioner shall also e-mail notices of all public hearings to persons who file a request with the Department for notice of the Commissioner's intention to issue such rules. If the Commissioner solicits written or electronically submitted comments, the Commissioner shall give public notice by e-mailing a notice of the solicitation of comments to all persons who file such a request with the Department and by publishing such notice in a prominent location on the Department's website with the text of the proposed rule. The Commissioner shall accept written or electronically submitted comments for a period of not less than thirty (30) calendar days from the date of the notice. However, the Commissioner shall have the power to make reasonable administrative and procedural rules interpreting or clarifying the requirements that are specifically prescribed in this chapter and Chapters 4-8, 7-38, 7-40, 7-42, and 11-4 of this Code, without notice, hearing or solicitation of written or electronically submitted comments.

   (b)   The requirements for notice, hearing, and solicitation of comments shall not apply when immediate effectiveness is required to address an imminent or actual emergency. As soon as practicable after promulgation, such emergency rules shall be published on the Department's public website with notice that they are in force in the City.

(Prior code § 9-7; Amend Coun. J. 3-10-99, p. 91043; Amend Coun. J. 12-13-17, p. 63286, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 1-27-21, p. 26741, Art. II, § 5; Amend Coun. J. 2-24-21, p. 27657, Art. I, § 1)

Editor's note – Formerly § 2-112-100. Coun. J. 2-24-21, p. 27657, Art. I, § 1, renumbered former § 2-112-070 as current § 2-112-040.

2-112-080 Report of disease occurrence.

   The Commissioner shall determine from time to time what disease occurrence shall be reported to the Department. All physicians shall report these diseases upon their occurrence, when the Commissioner so directs. Where a disease occurrence shall be identified, whether in a hospital or institution, the responsibility for reporting shall be placed on the head of that institution or upon the attending physician depending upon the bylaws of said institution. In the event that there is no provision by bylaw, both parties shall be responsible.

(Prior code § 9-9; Amend Coun. J. 2-24-21, p. 27657, Art. I, § 1)

Editor's note – Formerly § 2-112-130. Coun. J. 2-24-21, p. 27657, Art. I, § 1, renumbered former § 2-112-080 as current § 2-112-050.