Illinois Statutes Chapter 70. Special Districts § 3615/2.14. Appointment of Officers and Employees

§ 2.14. Appointment of Officers and Employees. The Authority may appoint, retain and employ officers, attorneys, agents, engineers and employees. The officers shall include an Executive Director, who shall be the chief executive officer of the Authority, appointed by the Chairman with the concurrence of 11 of the other then Directors of the Board. The Executive Director shall organize the staff of the Authority, shall allocate their functions and duties, shall transfer such staff to the Suburban Bus Division and the Commuter Rail Division as is sufficient to meet their purposes, shall fix compensation and conditions of employment of the staff of the Authority, and consistent with the policies of and direction from the Board, take all actions necessary to achieve its purposes, fulfill its responsibilities and carry out its powers, and shall have such other powers and responsibilities as the Board shall determine. The Executive Director must be an individual of proven transportation and management skills and may not be a member of the Board. The Authority may employ its own professional management personnel to provide professional and technical expertise concerning its purposes and powers and to assist it in assessing the performance of the Service Boards in the metropolitan region.

No employee, officer, or agent of the Authority may receive a bonus that exceeds 10% of his or her annual salary unless that bonus has been reviewed by the Board for a period of 14 days. After 14 days, the contract shall be considered reviewed. This Section does not apply to usual and customary salary adjustments.

No unlawful discrimination, as defined and prohibited in the Illinois Human Rights Act,  1 shall be made in any term or aspect of employment nor shall there be discrimination based upon political reasons or factors. The Authority shall establish regulations to insure that its discharges shall not be arbitrary and that hiring and promotion are based on merit.

The Authority shall be subject to the “Illinois Human Rights Act”, as now or hereafter amended, and the remedies and procedure established thereunder. The Authority shall file an affirmative action program for employment by it with the Department of Human Rights to ensure that applicants are employed and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to unlawful discrimination. Such affirmative action program shall include provisions relating to hiring, upgrading, demotion, transfer, recruitment, recruitment advertising, selection for training and rates of pay or other forms of compensation.