Sec. 3-7012. Removal, demotion or suspension.
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Sec. 3-7012. Removal, demotion or suspension. Except as is otherwise provided in this Division, no deputy sheriff in the County Police Department, no full-time deputy sheriff not employed as a county police officer or county corrections officer and no employee in the County Department of Corrections shall be removed, demoted or suspended except for cause, upon written charges filed with the Board by the Sheriff and a hearing before the Board thereon upon not less than 10 days' notice at a place to be designated by the chairman thereof.
At such hearing, the accused deputy sheriff shall be afforded full opportunity to be heard in his or her own defense and to produce proof in his or her defense. The Board shall have the power to secure by its subpoena both the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of books and papers in support of the charges and for the defense. The fees of witnesses for attendance and travel shall be the same as the fees of witnesses before the circuit courts of this State, and shall be paid in the same manner as other expenses of the Board.
Each member of the Board shall have the power to administer oaths or affirmations. If the charges against an accused deputy sheriff are established by a preponderance of evidence, the Board shall make a finding of guilty and order either removal, demotion, suspension for a period of not more than 180 days, or such other disciplinary punishment as may be prescribed by the rules and regulations of the Board which, in the opinion of the members thereof, the offense merits. The Board shall render its decision no later than 120 days following the conclusion of any hearings conducted under this Section.
Thereupon the sheriff shall direct such removal or other punishment as ordered by the Board and if the accused deputy sheriff refuses to abide by any such disciplinary order, the sheriff shall remove him or her forthwith. On and after June 1, 2018, for an appointed officer rank subject to hearing under this Section that is covered by a collective bargaining agreement, disciplinary measures and the method of review of those measures are subject to mandatory bargaining, including, but not limited to, the use of impartial arbitration as an alternative or supplemental form of due process and any of the procedures laid out in this Section.
Within 21 days after the conclusion of a hearing overseen by a hearing officer appointed under Section 3-7004, the hearing officer shall issue a recommended order in writing, which shall include findings of fact and a determination of whether cause for discipline has been established by the Sheriff. The hearing officer shall also recommend whether discipline should be imposed and the level of the discipline. Any hearing officer may issue the recommended order. Within 21 days after receipt of service of the recommended order, the Sheriff and the respondent may file with the board written exceptions to any part of the order.
Exceptions shall be supported by argument and served on all parties at the time they are filed. If no exceptions are filed, the recommended order shall become the order of the board without further review. The board may set any further rules in accordance with this Section.
In case of the neglect or refusal of any person to obey a subpoena issued by the Board, any circuit court or a judge thereof, upon application of any member of the Board, may order such person to appear before the Board and give testimony or produce evidence, and any failure to obey such order is punishable by the court as a contempt thereof.
The provisions of the Administrative Review Law, and all amendments and modifications thereof, and the rules adopted pursuant thereto, shall apply to and govern all proceedings for the judicial review of any order of the Board rendered pursuant to the provisions of this Section.