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Article 5 - Funeral Directors

      (225 ILCS 41/Art. 5 heading)ARTICLE 5. FUNERAL DIRECTORS

(225 ILCS 41/5‑5)     (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2013)     Sec. 5‑5. License requirement. It is unlawful for any person to practice, or to attempt to practice, funeral directing without a license as a funeral director issued by the Department.     No person shall practice funeral directing who does not have a fixed place of practice or establishment devoted to the care and preparation for burial or for transportation of deceased human bodies, or who is not regularly employed in a fixed place of practice or establishment.     No person shall practice funeral directing independently at the fixed place of practice or establishment of another licensee unless that person's name is published and displayed at all times in connection therewith. (Source: P.A. 87‑966.)

(225 ILCS 41/5‑10)     (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2013)     Sec. 5‑10. Funeral director license; display. Every holder of a license as a funeral director shall display it in a conspicuous place in the licensee's place of practice or in the place of practice in which the licensee is employed or, in case the licensee is engaged in funeral directing at more than one place of practice, then in the licensee's principal place of practice or the principal place of practice of the licensee's employer. (Source: P.A. 93‑268, eff. 1‑1‑04.)

(225 ILCS 41/5‑15)     (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2013)     Sec. 5‑15. Expiration and renewal; inactive status; continuing education. The expiration date and renewal period for each license issued under this Article shall be set by rule. The holder of a license as a licensed funeral director may renew the license during the month preceding the expiration date of the license by paying the required fee. A licensed funeral director whose license has expired may have the license reinstated within 5 years from the date of expiration upon payment of the required reinstatement fee. The reinstatement shall be effective as of the date of reissuance of the license.     Any licensed funeral director whose license has been expired for more than 5 years may have the license restored only by fulfilling the requirements of the Department's rules and by paying the required restoration fee. However, any licensed funeral director whose license has expired while he or she has been engaged (1) in federal service on active duty with the Army of the United States, the United States Navy, the Marine Corps, the Air Force, the Coast Guard, or the State Militia called into the service or training of the United States of America or (2) in training or education under the supervision of the United States preliminary to induction into the military service may have his or her license restored without paying any lapsed renewal fees or restoration fee or without passing any examination if, within 2 years after termination of the service, training or education other than by dishonorable discharge, he or she furnishes the Department with an affidavit to the effect that he or she has been so engaged and that his or her service, training or education has been so terminated.     In addition to any other requirement for renewal of a license or reinstatement of an expired license, as a condition for the renewal or reinstatement of a license as a licensed funeral director, each licensee shall provide evidence to the Department of completion of at least 12 hours of continuing education during the 24 months preceding the expiration date of the license, or in the case of reinstatement, during the 24 months preceding application for reinstatement. The continuing education sponsors shall be approved by the Board. In addition, any qualified continuing education course for funeral directors offered by a college, university, the Illinois Funeral Directors Association, Funeral Directors Services Association of Greater Chicago, Cook County Association of Funeral Home Owners, Inc., Illinois Selected Morticians Association, Inc., Illinois Cemetery and Funeral Home Association, National Funeral Directors Association, Selected Independent Funeral Homes, National Funeral Directors and Morticians Association, Inc., International Order of the Golden Rule, or an Illinois school of mortuary science shall be accepted toward satisfaction of the continuing education requirements.     The Department shall establish by rule a means for verification of completion of the continuing education required by this Section. This verification may be accomplished through audits of records maintained by licensees, by requiring the filing of continued education certificates with the Department or a qualified organization selected by the Department to maintain these records, or by other means established by the Department.     A person who is licensed as a funeral director under this Act and who has engaged in the practice of funeral directing for at least 40 years shall be exempt from the continuing education requirements of this Section. In addition, the Department shall establish by rule an exemption or exception for funeral directors who, by reason of advanced age, health or other extreme condition should reasonably be excused from the continuing education requirement upon explanation to the Board, the approval of the Director, or both. Those persons, identified above, who cannot attend on‑site classes, shall have the opportunity to comply by completing home study courses designed for them by sponsors.     Any funeral director who notifies the Department in writing on forms prescribed by the Department may elect to place his or her license on an inactive status and shall be excused from completion of continuing education requirements until he or she notifies the Department in writing of an intent to restore the license to active status. Any licensee requesting restoration from inactive status shall notify the Department as provided by rule of the Department and pay the fee required by the Department for restoration of the license. Any licensee whose license is on inactive status shall not practice in the State of Illinois.     Practice on a license that has lapsed or been placed in inactive status is practicing without a license and a violation of this Code. (Source: P.A. 92‑641, eff. 7‑11‑02; 93‑268, eff. 1‑1‑04.)

(225 ILCS 41/5‑20)     (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2013)     Sec. 5‑20. Disposition of residual ashes. The holder of a license is authorized at his or her discretion to effect a final disposition of the residual ashes of any cremated human body if no person lawfully entitled to the custody of the ashes makes or has made a proper request for them within one year of the date of death of the person whose body was cremated. (Source: P.A. 87‑966.)

(225 ILCS 41/5‑25)     (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2013)     Sec. 5‑25. Prohibition of new licenses. The Department shall not issue any new licenses as funeral directors or funeral director trainees. Any person issued a license as a funeral director before June 1, 1991 may renew the license after that date under the provisions of this Article and that person may continue to renew or restore the license during his or her lifetime, subject only to the renewal or restoration requirements for the license under this Code. (Source: P.A. 93‑268, eff. 1‑1‑04.)