(A) The Board of Fire and Police Commissioners shall conduct such examinations for appointment to the Fire and Police Departments as required from time to time to maintain a register of eligibles as hereinafter provided. Subject to applicable provisions of state law governing appointment of members to the Fire Department and options provided by law concerning the procedure for making such appointments, the Board shall have authority, as it determines, to utilize the services of the Illinois Department of Employment Security for purposes of advertising and processing applications for such examinations. Except for applicants who have successfully attended and graduated from an accredited Illinois Police corps program administered through the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board, and except for applicants for firefighter positions who are appointed by means of the procedures provided by ILCS Ch. 65, Act 5, § 10-2.1-6.4, all testing and evaluation of eligible applicants shall be performed by the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners. Graduates of an IPC program shall be subject to such oral interviews or evaluations, including psychological and background evaluation, as the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners determines. Except as otherwise provided by ILCS Ch. 65, Act 5, §§ 10-2.1-1 et seq., all applicants for a position in either the Fire or Police Department of the municipality shall be not less than 20 and 1/2 years of age nor more than 35 years of age, shall be subject to an examination which shall be public, competitive, and free to all applicants, except subject to reasonable and legal limitations as to residence (consistent with any applicable collective bargaining agreement), habits and moral character, which limitations may be adopted by rules of the Board, except that no person shall commence service until he or she is at least 21 years of age. The foregoing age limitation does not apply to any person previously employed as a full-time policeman or fireman in a regularly constituted Police or Fire Department of any municipality for a period of at least one year, nor does it apply to any applicant for a firefighter position to whom the age limitation does not apply under ILCS Ch. 65, Act 5, § 10-2.1-6.3 or to applicants for police and firefighter positions who quality for the exceptions listed at ILCS Ch. 65, Act 5, § 10-2.1-6(d) through (f). Subject to the terms of any applicable collective bargaining agreement, any full time member of a regular Fire Department of a Fire Protection District which was discontinued and whose obligations were assumed by a municipality under Section 21 of “An Act in Relation to Fire Protection Districts" who has served at least one year as a full time member of such Department shall become a member of the classified service of the Fire Department in the municipality in the position held by him at the time of such discontinuance, without examination and age limitation. Subject to the provisions of ILCS Ch. 65, Act 5, § 10-2.1-6.3 and the terms of any applicable collective bargaining agreement, the Council may by ordinance provide that persons residing outside the municipality are eligible to take the examination. The examination shall be practical in character and relate to those matters which will fairly test the capacity of the persons examined to discharge the duties of the positions to which they seek appointment; in the case of examinations for firefighter positions, any such examination shall be supported by appropriate validation evidence.
(B) No person shall be appointed to the Police or Fire Department if he or she does not possess a high school diploma or an equivalent high school education. In the case of applicants for police officer positions, persons who have successfully obtained an associate’s degree, or an academic equivalent or greater degree from an accredited college or university may be preferred by the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners in the establishment of the register of eligible applicants (§ 40.086) or in appointment from the register of eligibles. In the case of applicants for firefighter positions, persons who have the qualifications or credentials, including educational credentials, listed in ILCS Ch. 65, Act 5, § 10-2.1-6(h) may be preferred in the appointment from the initial eligibility register. For police positions, nothing herein shall be construed to limit or restrict the Board’s discretion to appoint from among the three highest ranking applicants as otherwise provided or allowed by applicable statutory provisions, this subchapter, or the rules of the Board. For firefighter positions, the Board shall appoint to the position the person with the highest ranking on the final eligibility list, with an allowance for such exceptions as are provided under ILCS Ch. 65, Act 5, § 10-2.1-6.3.
(C) The examinations shall include tests of physical qualifications and health. No applicant shall be examined concerning his political or religious opinion or affiliations. Except as otherwise provided in ILCS Ch. 65, Act 5, § 10-2.1-6.4, the examination shall be conducted by the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners. No person who is classified by his local selective service draft board as a conscientious objector, or who has ever been so classified, may be appointed to the Police Department.
(D) No person shall be appointed to the Police or Fire Department unless he is a person of good character. "Good character" as used herein shall mean a person whose character is free of traits or habits which would prevent, impede or inhibit the satisfactory performance of the duties, responsibilities, and tasks of the position, including, by way of example, but not limited to, a gambler or a person who has been convicted of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude. Subject to the terms of an applicable collective bargaining agreement, any such person who is in either Department may be removed on charges brought and after a hearing as hereinafter provided. However, anyone arrested for any cause but not convicted thereon shall not be disqualified from taking the examination to qualify for a position on the Police Department or Fire Department on grounds or habits of moral character.
(1980 Code, § 11.606) (Ord. 8893, passed 1-2-2001; Ord. 9309, passed 6-26-2017)