Governor Signs Bill Improving Citizen Safety by Strengthening Security Guard Licensing Requirements

SPRINGFIELD - Governor George H. Ryan signed legislation today that will tighten Illinois security guard licensing requirements and improve citizen safety.

House Bill 4879 amends the Private Detective, Private Alarm, Private Security and Locksmith Act to ensure employees of those firms, mostly security guards, cannot work until the Department of Professional Regulation (DPR)determines if they have ever been convicted of a crime in Illinois. Before this amendment, security guards could begin working while the state awaited the results of their fingerprint checks.

"The security of our state and our nation must continue to be a priority," Gov. Ryan said. "This change in Illinois law is necessary to ensure the people who guard our buildings and possessions are not security risks themselves."

According to Aurelia Pucinski, Director of DPR, "Our agency has worked closely with the Illinois State Police to strengthen the requirements for security guards. We've also minimized the administrative impact this law will have on the security industry with the implementation of our new Internet-based information system. Security firms can now use our website to determine the fingerprint based criminal history status of a guard they hope to employ." The website address is www.dpr.state.il.us.

"As we increase vigilance and security over vital infrastructure, this new legislation will help to insure that we have licensed, experienced and qualified professionals performing these important functions," added Illinois Homeland Security Director Matt Bettenhausen.

"This legislation was a product of the cooperation between the Department of Professional Regulation, the Illinois State Police and the security industry," said Representative Angelo "Skip" Saviano (R-Elmwood Park) who serves as the Chair of the Registration and Regulation Committee in the House.

HB 4879 was sponsored in the House by Kurt Granberg (D-Carlyle), Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago), and John Fritchey (D-Chicago), and in the Senate by Brad Burzynski (R-Sycamore).