Rep. Dave Vella

Amends the Department of Natural Resources (Conservation) Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Provides that any person hired by the Department of Natural Resources for a sworn law enforcement position or position that has arrest authority must at the time of hire, be not less than 20 years of age and have successfully completed an associate's degree or 60 credit hours at an accredited college or university. Provides that any person so hired shall not have power of arrest, nor shall he or she be permitted to carry firearms, until he or she reaches 21 years of age (rather than at the time of hire, the person must be not less than 21 years of age, or 20 years of age and have successfully completed an associate's degree or 60 credit hours at an accredited college or university, and any person hired after successful completion of an associate's degree or 60 credit hours at an accredited college or university shall not have power of arrest, nor shall he or she be permitted to carry firearms, until he or she reaches 21 years of age). Effective immediately.

Amends the Children and Family Services Act. Requires every driver who applies for employment with a transportation provider under contract with the Department of Children and Family Services to have his or her fingerprints submitted to the Illinois State Police in an electronic format that complies with the form and manner for requesting and furnishing criminal history record information as prescribed by the Illinois State Police. Provides that such fingerprints shall be transmitted through a live scan fingerprint vendor licensed by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and shall be checked against the fingerprint records filed in the Illinois State Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history records databases, including, but not limited to, civil, criminal, and latent fingerprint databases. Requires the Illinois State Police to charge a fee for conducting the criminal history records check that does not exceed the actual cost of the records check. Provides that the Illinois State Police shall furnish, pursuant to positive identification, records of Illinois convictions and shall forward the national criminal history record information to the Department of Children and Family Services. Requires every driver to submit, as a condition of employment, a signed written statement certifying that he or she has consented to and completed a fingerprint-based criminal history records check in accordance with the amendatory Act. Effective immediately.

Amends the Labor Dispute Act. Provides that a person who, with the intent of interfering with, obstructing, or impeding a picket or other demonstration or protest, places any object in the public way commits a Class A misdemeanor with a minimum fine of $500.

Amends the General Not For Profit Corporation Act of 1986. Provides that a not-for-profit corporation may be organized to do engineering for conservation purposes. Effective immediately.

Amends the Prevailing Wage Act. Provides that any laborer, worker, or mechanic who is employed by the contractor or by any lower tier sub-contractor and is paid for services in a sum less than the prevailing wage rates for work performed on a project shall have a right of action for whatever difference there may be between the amount so paid and the prevailing rates required to be paid for work performed on the project. Makes other changes.

Amends the Property Tax Code. Provides that the chief county assessment officer in a county with fewer than 3,000,000 inhabitants may require an application to be made to establish or reestablish that a parcel is entitled to common area assessment of $1. Effective immediately.

Amends the Vital Records Act. In provisions concerning the search of death certificates for service members, replaces references to active duty or retired service members with references to active duty service members or veterans. Effective immediately.

Amends the Property Tax Code. Provides that townships with less than 3,000 inhabitants (instead of 1,000 inhabitants) shall elect multi-township assessors.

Amends the Public Interest Attorney Assistance Act. Provides that if a participant in the Public Interest Attorney Loan Repayment Assistance Program has been an assistant Public Defender for at least 6 years in an office of an Illinois Public Defender, other than the Office of the Cook County Public Defender, and the participant graduated from a law school in this State, then the maximum amount of loan repayment assistance during the participant's career shall be equal to the full tuition cost charged the participant while attending that law school or $30,000, whichever is greater (rather than a maximum of $30,000 for any program participant).

Amends the Court of Claims Act. Provides that, for the purpose of making up any deficiency in the appropriation for the payment of claims directed pursuant to the Line of Duty Compensation Act, there is appropriated, on a continuing annual basis in each fiscal year, from the General Revenue Fund to the Court of Claims, the amount, if any, by which the total appropriation for the payment of claims directed pursuant to the Line of Duty Compensation Act for the fiscal year is less than the amount required for the payment of claims pursuant to the Line of Duty Compensation Act for that fiscal year. Provides that the amount of any continuing appropriation used by the Court of Claims under the amendatory Act for a given fiscal year shall be charged against the unexpended amount of any appropriation for line of duty awards to the Court of Claims for that fiscal year that subsequently becomes available. Requires the Court of Claims to report to the President and Minority Leader of the Senate, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, and the Governor's Office of Management and Budget on any continuing appropriation that is used at the conclusion of a fiscal year. Amends the Line of Duty Compensation Act. Provides that if a claim is made within 2 years (rather than one year) of the date of death of a law enforcement officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, or State employee killed in the line of duty, compensation shall be paid to the person designated by the law enforcement officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, or State employee. Effective immediately.