(A) Disciplinary measures. The Commission, after a hearing upon charges, shall make a finding of guilty or not guilty.
(1) If a finding of guilty is made, it may order any of the following disciplinary measures which, in the opinion of the Commission, the offense merits:
(a) Suspension without salary for a period not to exceed a total of 180 days in any 12- month period;
(b) Reduction in rank;
(c) A combination of divisions (A)(1)(a) and (A)(1)(b) above; or
(d) Discharge and removal from the Sheriff’s Office.
(2) If the Commission makes a finding of not guilty, it shall require the Sheriff to:
(a) Restore the accused to duty forthwith at the rank and position from which he or she was suspended;
(b) Make provision to continue the accused seniority as if it had never been interrupted; and
(c) See that the officer is properly reimbursed for any loss of salary. The difference between any monies earned at other employment while under suspension and salary shall provide the basis for such reimbursement.
(B) Disciplinary procedures.
(1) Complaints. In all cases when the Sheriff seeks to file a written complaint for violations of the Sheriff’s regulations, policies, procedures, or general orders with the Commission, it shall be submitted to the Secretary of the Commission, and shall set forth a plain and concise statement of the facts upon which the complaint.
(2) Notification of hearing. Upon receipt of a complaint from the Sheriff, the Commission will send a letter to the accused subordinate enclosing a copy of the complaint. The letter shall advise of the filing of the complaint and set forth the time and place of hearing on the charges contained in the complaint. Notice of such hearing shall be served on the accused not less than 14 days prior to hearing date. The letter shall be sent by registered or by certified mail, return receipt requested, at the residence address of the subordinate shown on the face of the complaint. Delivery of the letter to his or her residence, as shown by the return receipt shall constitute service of the complaint on the accused. A copy of the letter shall be mailed to the Sheriff and shall constitute notice to him or her of time and place of hearing on the complaint.
(3) Hearing on charges. All hearings shall follow these procedures.
(a) All hearings shall be public.
(b) At the time and place of hearing, the Sheriff and the accused may be represented by counsel if they desire.
(c) All proceedings before the Commission during the hearing shall be recorded by a court reporter to be employed by the Commission.
(d) The record of hearings will not be transcribed by the court reporter unless requested by the Commission or by any party interested in the hearing. The cost of the transcript shall be borne by the person requesting it.
(e) All witnesses shall be sworn by the Chairperson or another member of the Commission prior to testifying.
(f) The Commission will hear the Sheriff’s witnesses first. Thereafter, the accused may present witnesses whom he or she desires the Commission to hear. All parties shall have the right to examine and to recall witnesses.
(g) If the accused is found guilty of the charges, there shall be an opportunity for both sides to present evidence in mitigation or aggravation.
(4) Decisions of charges. After the Commission has made its finding and determined its order, it shall mail to the accused member by registered or by certified mail, return receipt requested, a notice of the finding an order of the Commission. A copy of the notice shall be mailed to the Sheriff.
(5) Subpoena. The Sheriff and the accused subordinate or their respective counsel may, at any time before the hearing, apply to the Commission for subpoena directed to specific persons requiring their appearance at the hearing, and if necessary, requiring them to produce at the hearing books, papers, records and such other things as may be relevant to the hearing. The application shall specify the names and addresses of the persons to be subpoenaed and the document and things which they are to be required to produce. Any request for continuance by reason of inability to serve subpoena shall be filed in the office of the Commission at least five days before the date set for the hearing.
(6) Filing of papers. All papers may be filed with the Commission by mailing them to the Merit Commission in c/o Sheriff, Office of the Sheriff, 11 S. Fourth St., Pekin, Illinois. All papers may also be filed by delivering the same to the Commission’s office personally or by messenger. For the purpose of these rules, regulations, and procedures, the filing date of any paper shall be the date it was received in the Commission’s office, in the event the paper is forwarded by mail, then the filing date shall be the date which is postmarked on the envelope containing such paper.
(7) Form of papers.
(a) All papers filed in any proceeding shall be typewritten or printed and shall be on one side of the paper only.
(b) If typewritten, the lines shall be double spaced, except that long quotations may be single spaced and indented.
(c) All papers shall be eight and one-half inches by 11 inches long and shall have inside margins of not less that one inch.
(d) The original of all papers filed shall be signed in ink by the party filing the paper or by his or her counsel.
(e) If the papers are filed by an attorney, his or her name and address shall appear thereon.
(8) Continuance of hearing. No hearing shall be continued at the request of the parties thereto or their counsel, unless request is made in writing at lease five days before the date for which the hearing is scheduled.
(9) Appeals of suspensions. Any/all suspensions without pay imposed by the Sheriff shall be applicable to the Commission so long as the appeal is filed with the Commission within five days of the appellant having been notified in writing of the suspension. If a hearing is held, the procedures dealing with initial charges shall be followed by the Commission in hearing and said appeal, except that the burden is upon the appellant to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the suspension imposed was quantitatively or qualitatively unjustified.
(Prior Code, 2 TCC 3-5)