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1 | AN ACT in relation to homeless persons.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Bill | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
5 | of
Rights for the Homeless Act .
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6 | Section 5. Legislative intent. It is the long-standing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
7 | policy of
this
State that no person should suffer unnecessarily | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
8 | from cold or
hunger, or be
deprived of shelter or the basic | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
9 | rights incident to shelter.
At the present time, many persons | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
10 | have been rendered homeless as
a result
of economic adversity, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
11 | a severe shortage of affordable housing,
and
increased stress | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
12 | due to the complexity of daily living that has
created an
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13 | inability on the part of those persons to interact in society. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
14 | It is
the intent of this
Act to lessen the adverse affects and | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
15 | conditions caused by the lack of
residence or a home.
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16 | Section 10. Bill of
Rights.
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17 | (a) No person's rights, privileges, or access to
public | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
18 | services may be denied or abridged solely because he or she is
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19 | homeless. Such a person shall be granted the same rights and | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
20 | privileges as
any
other citizen of this State. These rights | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
21 | include but are not limited
to the following:
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22 | (1) The right to live in any community in this State in
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23 | which he or she can afford to live.
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24 | (2) The right to choose a type of living arrangements | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
25 | in
accordance with
local regulations without harassment or | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
26 | interference from
any other
citizen or from any public or | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
27 | private entity.
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28 | (3) The right to employment and training opportunities | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
29 | in
accordance with his or her interests and abilities.
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30 | (4) The right to access to emergency medical health
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31 | services
in any health care facility doing business in this |
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1 | State.
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2 | (5) The right to manage his or her own personal
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3 | finances notwithstanding his or her living arrangements,
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4 | unless (i) the person voluntarily signs a
written | ||||||
5 | agreement, sworn to and witnessed before a notary
public, | ||||||
6 | authorizing
an individual or agency to manage his or her | ||||||
7 | finances,
(ii) the person resides in a shelter for homeless | ||||||
8 | persons and has enrolled
in a savings
program designed to | ||||||
9 | provide rent money upon the person's departure from the
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10 | shelter, or
(iii) the person has been ruled or adjudicated | ||||||
11 | by a court of competent
jurisdiction to be incompetent to | ||||||
12 | manage his or her financial affairs.
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13 | (6) The right to not be coerced or penalized in any way
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14 | for not taking any medication
or for not undergoing any | ||||||
15 | medical treatment that has not
been authorized by a
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16 | qualified physician.
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17 | (7) In the case of a group living arrangement or | ||||||
18 | long-term
care facility, the right to receive and sign any | ||||||
19 | check, voucher,
or other warrant or legal tender issued in | ||||||
20 | his or her name
before
the moneys may be expended by the | ||||||
21 | person's landlord or a
public or private agency, unless the | ||||||
22 | person
waives the right in a writing sworn to before a | ||||||
23 | notary
public. If the person is unable to sign his or her | ||||||
24 | name, the
person may make his or her signature with an "X" | ||||||
25 | that is
witnessed by 2 other
persons not employed or | ||||||
26 | directly associated with the
landlord or agency,
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27 | preferably a relative or guardian of the person or someone
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28 | designated by the person beforehand.
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29 | (8) The right to vote, which may not be denied solely
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30 | because the person does not have a permanent residence.
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31 | (9) The right of visitation with
family members, | ||||||
32 | friends, clergy, and professional or public
consultants
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33 | notwithstanding the person's living arrangements, as long
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34 | as the visitation does not
interfere with the smooth | ||||||
35 | operation of the person's place
of residence.
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36 | (10) The right to receive public services or
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1 | accommodations offered to any other citizen of this State
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2 | in accordance, with
established eligibility guidelines for | ||||||
3 | those services.
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4 | (11) The right to confidentiality of records. Homeless | ||||||
5 | shelters
shall obtain a voluntary written release from a | ||||||
6 | homeless person prior
to disclosing any personal | ||||||
7 | information regarding the homeless person,
including, but | ||||||
8 | not limited to, name, social security number, and birth
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9 | date, except in aggregate form. The right to | ||||||
10 | confidentiality of records
includes the dissemination of | ||||||
11 | materials to other agencies, either
private or public. The | ||||||
12 | homeless person shall be given the option of
whether to | ||||||
13 | release records via informed consent, based on guidelines
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14 | from the Office of Human Research Protections, United | ||||||
15 | States Department
of Health and Human Services, including:
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16 | (A) the expected duration of the subject's | ||||||
17 | participation;
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18 | (B) an explanation of whom to contact for answers | ||||||
19 | to
pertinent questions about the research and research | ||||||
20 | subjects'
rights, and whom to contact in the event of a | ||||||
21 | research-related
injury to the subject;
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22 | (C) a statement that participation in releasing | ||||||
23 | records is
voluntary, refusal to participate will | ||||||
24 | involve no penalty or loss
of benefits to which the | ||||||
25 | subject is otherwise entitled, and the
subject may | ||||||
26 | discontinue participation in the record release at any
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27 | time without penalty or loss of benefits to which the | ||||||
28 | subject is
otherwise entitled;
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29 | (D) a description of any reasonably foreseeable | ||||||
30 | risks or
discomforts to the subject; and
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31 | (E) a statement describing the extent, if any, to | ||||||
32 | which
confidentiality of records identifying the | ||||||
33 | subject will be
maintained.
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34 | (b) The Department of Human Rights shall monitor and | ||||||
35 | enforce the
rights of homeless persons set forth in subsection | ||||||
36 | (a). The Department
may designate one or more local
health |
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1 | departments or local health officers to monitor and enforce
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2 | those rights.
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3 | Section 15. DCEO; housing assistance. The Department of | ||||||
4 | Commerce
and Economic Opportunity may
establish priorities of | ||||||
5 | eligibility for temporary rental or other
housing
assistance | ||||||
6 | among the various categories of persons needing assistance
in
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7 | obtaining or retaining housing, including, without limitation, | ||||||
8 | persons
subject to immediate eviction for nonpayment of rent or | ||||||
9 | subject to foreclosure
for
nonpayment of mortgage installments | ||||||
10 | or property taxes, when nonpayment
is
attributable to illness, | ||||||
11 | unemployment, underemployment, or any other
failure
of lack of | ||||||
12 | resources beyond the person's control.
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