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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 effects 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 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 | ||||||
30 | because the person does not have a permanent residence, | ||||||
31 | notwithstanding any provision of the Election Code.
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32 | (9) The right of visitation with
family members, | ||||||
33 | friends, clergy, and professional or public
consultants
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34 | notwithstanding the person's living arrangements, as long
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35 | as the visitation does not
interfere with the smooth | ||||||
36 | operation of the person's place
of residence.
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1 | (10) The right to receive public services or
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2 | accommodations offered to any other citizen of this State
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3 | in accordance, with
established eligibility guidelines for | ||||||
4 | those services.
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5 | (11) The right to confidentiality of records. Homeless | ||||||
6 | shelters
shall obtain a voluntary written release from a | ||||||
7 | homeless person prior
to disclosing any personal | ||||||
8 | information regarding the homeless person,
including, but | ||||||
9 | not limited to, name, social security number, and birth
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10 | date, except in aggregate form. The right to | ||||||
11 | confidentiality of records
includes the dissemination of | ||||||
12 | materials to other agencies, either
private or public. The | ||||||
13 | homeless person shall be given the option of
whether to | ||||||
14 | release records via informed consent, based on guidelines
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15 | from the Office of Human Research Protections, United | ||||||
16 | States Department
of Health and Human Services, including:
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17 | (A) the expected duration of the subject's | ||||||
18 | participation;
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19 | (B) an explanation of whom to contact for answers | ||||||
20 | to
pertinent questions about the research and research | ||||||
21 | subjects'
rights, and whom to contact in the event of a | ||||||
22 | research-related
injury to the subject;
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23 | (C) a statement that participation in releasing | ||||||
24 | records is
voluntary, refusal to participate will | ||||||
25 | involve no penalty or loss
of benefits to which the | ||||||
26 | subject is otherwise entitled, and the
subject may | ||||||
27 | discontinue participation in the record release at any
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28 | time without penalty or loss of benefits to which the | ||||||
29 | subject is
otherwise entitled;
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30 | (D) a description of any reasonably foreseeable | ||||||
31 | risks or
discomforts to the subject; and
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32 | (E) a statement describing the extent, if any, to | ||||||
33 | which
confidentiality of records identifying the | ||||||
34 | subject will be
maintained.
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35 | (b) The Department of Human Rights shall enforce the rights | ||||||
36 | of homeless persons set forth in subsection (a) in accordance |
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1 | with the Illinois Human Rights Act.
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2 | Section 15. DCEO; housing assistance. The Department of | ||||||
3 | Commerce
and Economic Opportunity may
establish priorities of | ||||||
4 | eligibility for temporary rental or other
housing
assistance | ||||||
5 | among the various categories of persons needing assistance
in
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6 | obtaining or retaining housing, including, without limitation, | ||||||
7 | persons
subject to immediate eviction for nonpayment of rent or | ||||||
8 | subject to foreclosure
for
nonpayment of mortgage installments | ||||||
9 | or property taxes, when nonpayment
is
attributable to illness, | ||||||
10 | unemployment, underemployment, or any other
failure
of lack of | ||||||
11 | resources beyond the person's control.
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12 | Section 90. The Illinois Human Rights Act is amended by | ||||||
13 | changing Sections 1-102 and 1-103 as follows:
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14 | (775 ILCS 5/1-102) (from Ch. 68, par. 1-102)
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15 | Sec. 1-102. Declaration of Policy. It is the public policy | ||||||
16 | of this State:
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17 | (A) Freedom from Unlawful Discrimination. To secure for all | ||||||
18 | individuals
within Illinois the freedom from discrimination | ||||||
19 | against any individual because
of his or her race, color, | ||||||
20 | religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age,
marital status, | ||||||
21 | physical or mental handicap, housing status, military status, | ||||||
22 | or unfavorable
discharge from military service in connection | ||||||
23 | with employment, real estate
transactions, access to financial | ||||||
24 | credit, and the availability of public
accommodations.
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25 | (B) Freedom from Sexual Harassment-Employment and Higher | ||||||
26 | Education.
To prevent sexual harassment in employment and | ||||||
27 | sexual harassment in
higher education.
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28 | (C) Freedom from Discrimination Based on Citizenship | ||||||
29 | Status-Employment.
To prevent discrimination based on | ||||||
30 | citizenship status in employment.
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31 | (D) Freedom from Discrimination Based on Familial | ||||||
32 | Status-Real Estate
Transactions. To prevent discrimination | ||||||
33 | based on familial status in real
estate transactions.
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1 | (E) Public Health, Welfare and Safety. To promote the | ||||||
2 | public health,
welfare and safety by protecting the interest of | ||||||
3 | all people in Illinois
in maintaining personal dignity, in | ||||||
4 | realizing their full productive
capacities, and in furthering | ||||||
5 | their interests, rights and privileges as
citizens of this | ||||||
6 | State.
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7 | (F) Implementation of Constitutional Guarantees. To secure | ||||||
8 | and
guarantee the rights established by Sections 17, 18 and 19 | ||||||
9 | of Article I
of the Illinois Constitution of 1970.
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10 | (G) Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action. To establish | ||||||
11 | Equal
Opportunity and Affirmative Action as the policies of | ||||||
12 | this State in all
of its decisions, programs and activities, | ||||||
13 | and to assure that all State
departments, boards, commissions | ||||||
14 | and instrumentalities rigorously take
affirmative action to | ||||||
15 | provide equality of opportunity and eliminate the
effects of | ||||||
16 | past discrimination in the internal affairs of State
government | ||||||
17 | and in their relations with the public.
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18 | (H) Unfounded Charges. To protect citizens of this State | ||||||
19 | against
unfounded charges of unlawful discrimination, sexual | ||||||
20 | harassment in
employment and sexual harassment in higher | ||||||
21 | education, and discrimination
based on citizenship status in | ||||||
22 | employment.
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23 | (Source: P.A. 87-579; 88-178.)
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24 | (775 ILCS 5/1-103) (from Ch. 68, par. 1-103)
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25 | Sec. 1-103. General Definitions. When used in this Act, | ||||||
26 | unless the
context requires otherwise, the term:
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27 | (A) Age. "Age" means the chronological age of a person who | ||||||
28 | is at least
40 years old, except with regard to any practice | ||||||
29 | described in Section
2-102, insofar as that practice concerns | ||||||
30 | training or apprenticeship
programs. In the case of training or | ||||||
31 | apprenticeship programs, for the
purposes of Section 2-102, | ||||||
32 | "age" means the chronological age of a person
who is 18 but not | ||||||
33 | yet 40 years old.
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34 | (B) Aggrieved Party. "Aggrieved party" means a person who | ||||||
35 | is alleged
or proved to have been injured by a civil rights |
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1 | violation or believes he
or she will be injured by a civil | ||||||
2 | rights violation under Article 3 that is
about to occur.
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3 | (C) Charge. "Charge" means an allegation filed with the | ||||||
4 | Department
by an aggrieved party or initiated by the Department | ||||||
5 | under its
authority.
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6 | (D) Civil Rights Violation. "Civil rights violation" | ||||||
7 | includes and
shall be limited to only those specific acts set | ||||||
8 | forth in Sections
2-102, 2-103, 2-105, 3-102, 3-103, 3-104, | ||||||
9 | 3-104.1, 3-105, 4-102, 4-103,
5-102, 5A-102 and 6-101 of this | ||||||
10 | Act.
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11 | (E) Commission. "Commission" means the Human Rights | ||||||
12 | Commission
created by this Act.
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13 | (F) Complaint. "Complaint" means the formal pleading filed | ||||||
14 | by
the Department with the Commission following an | ||||||
15 | investigation and
finding of substantial evidence of a civil | ||||||
16 | rights violation.
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17 | (G) Complainant. "Complainant" means a person including | ||||||
18 | the
Department who files a charge of civil rights violation | ||||||
19 | with the Department or
the Commission.
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20 | (H) Department. "Department" means the Department of Human | ||||||
21 | Rights
created by this Act.
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22 | (I) Handicap. "Handicap" means a determinable physical or | ||||||
23 | mental
characteristic of a person, including, but not limited | ||||||
24 | to, a determinable
physical characteristic which necessitates | ||||||
25 | the person's use of a guide,
hearing or support dog, the | ||||||
26 | history of such characteristic, or the
perception of such | ||||||
27 | characteristic by the person complained against, which
may | ||||||
28 | result from disease, injury, congenital condition of birth or
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29 | functional disorder and which characteristic:
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30 | (1) For purposes of Article 2 is unrelated to the | ||||||
31 | person's ability
to perform the duties of a particular job | ||||||
32 | or position and, pursuant to
Section 2-104 of this Act, a | ||||||
33 | person's illegal use of drugs or alcohol is not a
handicap;
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34 | (2) For purposes of Article 3, is unrelated to the | ||||||
35 | person's ability
to acquire, rent or maintain a housing | ||||||
36 | accommodation;
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1 | (3) For purposes of Article 4, is unrelated to a | ||||||
2 | person's ability to
repay;
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3 | (4) For purposes of Article 5, is unrelated to a | ||||||
4 | person's ability to
utilize and benefit from a place of | ||||||
5 | public accommodation.
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6 | (I-5) Housing status. "Housing status" means (i) the type | ||||||
7 | of housing in which an individual resides or (ii) the status of | ||||||
8 | having or not having a fixed or regular residence, including | ||||||
9 | the status of living on the streets, in a shelter, or in a | ||||||
10 | temporary residence.
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11 | (J) Marital Status. "Marital status" means the legal status | ||||||
12 | of being
married, single, separated, divorced or widowed.
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13 | (J-1) Military Status. "Military status" means a person's | ||||||
14 | status on
active duty in the armed forces of the United States.
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15 | (K) National Origin. "National origin" means the place in | ||||||
16 | which a
person or one of his or her ancestors was born.
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17 | (L) Person. "Person" includes one or more individuals, | ||||||
18 | partnerships,
associations or organizations, labor | ||||||
19 | organizations, labor unions, joint
apprenticeship committees, | ||||||
20 | or union labor associations, corporations, the
State of | ||||||
21 | Illinois and its instrumentalities, political subdivisions, | ||||||
22 | units
of local government, legal representatives, trustees in | ||||||
23 | bankruptcy
or receivers.
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24 | (M) Public Contract. "Public contract" includes every | ||||||
25 | contract to which the
State, any of its political subdivisions | ||||||
26 | or any municipal corporation is a
party.
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27 | (N) Religion. "Religion" includes all aspects of religious | ||||||
28 | observance
and practice, as well as belief, except that with | ||||||
29 | respect to employers, for
the purposes of Article 2, "religion" | ||||||
30 | has the meaning ascribed to it in
paragraph (F) of Section | ||||||
31 | 2-101.
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32 | (O) Sex. "Sex" means the status of being male or female.
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33 | (P) Unfavorable Military Discharge. "Unfavorable military | ||||||
34 | discharge"
includes discharges from the Armed Forces of the | ||||||
35 | United States, their
Reserve components or any National Guard | ||||||
36 | or Naval Militia which are
classified as RE-3 or the equivalent |
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1 | thereof, but does not include those
characterized as RE-4 or | ||||||
2 | "Dishonorable".
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3 | (Q) Unlawful Discrimination. "Unlawful discrimination" | ||||||
4 | means discrimination
against a person because of his or her | ||||||
5 | race, color, religion, national origin,
ancestry, age, sex, | ||||||
6 | marital status, handicap, housing status, military status, or | ||||||
7 | unfavorable
discharge from military service as those terms are | ||||||
8 | defined in this Section.
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9 | (Source: P.A. 88-178; 88-180; 88-670, eff. 12-2-94.)
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