The Illinois Labor Relations Board is the State agency which administers the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act, the primary law governing relations between unions and public employers. The statute guarantees the right of employees to organize and to bargain collectively with their employers or to refrain from all such activity. The Illinois Labor Relations Board is organized into two Panels, described below.
The State Panel of the Illinois Labor Relations Board has jurisdiction over collective bargaining matters between employee organizations and public employers such as the State of Illinois (excluding the General Assembly of the State of Illinois); units of local government (such as Illinois counties, municipalities and special districts) with a population not in excess of 2 million persons; and the Regional Transportation Authority. The State Panel does not have jurisdiction over educational employers or educational employees, except for firefighters and peace officers employed by a State university.
The Local Panel of the Illinois Labor Relations Board has jurisdiction over collective bargaining matters between employee organizations and units of local government with a population in excess of 2 million persons, but excluding the Regional Transportation Authority. This includes Cook County, the City of Chicago and such entities as the Chicago Transit Authority, the Chicago Housing Authority and the Chicago Park District. The Local Panel does not have jurisdiction over educational employers or educational employees.