Precinct committeemen and ethics law
S-1158 to Rep. William J. Laurino, chairman, House Election Committee, 9/27/76
ELECTED PRECINCT committeemen
serving as precinct registrars are not
required to file statements of economic
interest pursuant to the Governmental
Ethics Act. "The position of precinct
committeeman is not a public office. Rather,
as the Supreme Court has consistently held,
such individuals are merely representatives
of voluntary private organizations. The fact
that the General Assembly has chosen to call
upon these individuals to aid in the registration of voters does not change this fact."
Prevailing wage law
S-1151 to Donald A.Johnson, director,
state Department of Labor, 9/27/76
The Illinois prevailing wage law requires that "a wage of no less than the general prevailing hourly rate as paid for work of a similar character in the locality in which the work is performed, shall be paid to all laborers, workmen and mechanics employed by or on behalf of ... public bodies engaged in public works, exclusive of maintenance work." In practice, this law requires payment of the union scale.
In this opinion, the attorney general dealt with whether a hospital which in 1974 and 1975 received public funds for its support is a public body and required to comply with this law. The attorney general said it depended on whether the hospital retained and still has any of the funds it received in the past; if it still has such funds, it must comply with the law, since the law defines as a "public body" any institution "supported in whole or in part by public funds."
Racing Board is authorized to license race track security guards, ticket sellers, pari-mutuel clerks, parking lot attendants, and employees of concessionaires.
School vacancy, S-1162: A vacancy in the office of regional school superintendent for a single county is to be filled for the unexpired term by an appointment made by the presiding officer of the county board with the consent of the board.
Special education agreements, S-1156: The law now requires school districts that wish to withdraw from special education cooperative agreements to petition the county board of school trustees. This requirement also applies to school districts which, under former law, could withdraw according to the terms of their agreements. "A school district derives its existence and powers wholly from the General Assembly .... The powers granted to a school district by the legislature are subject to amendment."
Delegation of powers, NP-1152: The Illinois Commission on Delinquency Prevention may not delegate discretionary powers to its committees, i.e., "powers which require the exercise of judgment." This being the case. the Commission may allow staff members, who are not members of the Commission, to take part in committee investigations and reports as committee members.
County powers, S-1155: Because Lake County is within the area served by the Northeast Illinois Metropolitan Planning Commission, the county board has the power to regulate plats of land located anywhere in the county and to require that all plats be submitted to the county for approval, and the county board may require the county recorder not to record unapproved plats. This differs from the general rule, which limits county board plat approval to unincorporated territory.
Charging for services, S-1150: Will County may authorize the county health department to charge fees for testing services. Extension of such services to county residents on a fee basis may also be authorized.
Buying police protection,S-1161: DuPage County can contract with a home owners' association in an unincorporated area to provide police protection for that area pursuant to the intergovernmental cooperation provision of the Constitution, Article 7, section 10.
Pension rights, S-1153: I he Constitution has a provision protecting pension rights of public employees. Article 13, section 5, but this does not extend to cases where an employee failed to take advantage of purchase-credit provisions prior to a legislative deadline. 'I he "employees did not have an earned right to this service credit when the amendments were enacted; the amendments thus did not diminish their earned pension rights."
Rape treatment, S-1149: The Department of Public Health has been reimbursing hospitals in appropriate cases for the cost of providing medical treatment to rape victims since the Rape Victims Emergency Treatment Act became effective January 1, 1976. The department has properly done so, even though it had not (as of September 1976) yet adopted in their final form regulations to implement the act.
Patent policy, S-1147: A requirement that employees of the state scientific surveys in the Department of Registration and Education assign patent rights to the state is a valid rule, provided the rule is made by the director rather than the Board of Natural Resources and Conservation. Assignment of the patent should be made to the state, not the department or survey. But a problem arises with respect to payment of royalties to employees; any procedure by which the department or survey pays proceeds from the patent directly to the employee is invalid, because the department is required to pay all moneys received into the state treasury.
28/ December 1976/ Illinois Issues