94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2005 and 2006
HB4822

 

Introduced 01/18/06, by Rep. Ron Stephens

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
775 ILCS 5/1-102   from Ch. 68, par. 1-102
775 ILCS 5/1-103   from Ch. 68, par. 1-103

    Amends the Illinois Human Rights Act. Provides that discrimination against a person because of the person's veteran status (status as a person who served on active duty as a member of the armed forces of the United States, a reserve component of the armed forces of the United States, or the Illinois Army National Guard or Illinois Air National Guard and who was discharged with other than a dishonorable discharge) constitutes unlawful discrimination under the Act. Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1     AN ACT concerning human rights.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 5. The Illinois Human Rights Act is amended by
5 changing Sections 1-102, 1-103, and 3-103 as follows:
 
6     (775 ILCS 5/1-102)  (from Ch. 68, par. 1-102)
7     Sec. 1-102. Declaration of Policy. It is the public policy
8 of this State:
9     (A) Freedom from Unlawful Discrimination. To secure for all
10 individuals within Illinois the freedom from discrimination
11 against any individual because of his or her race, color,
12 religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status,
13 physical or mental handicap, military status, veteran status,
14 sexual orientation, or unfavorable discharge from military
15 service in connection with employment, real estate
16 transactions, access to financial credit, and the availability
17 of public accommodations.
18     (B) Freedom from Sexual Harassment-Employment and Higher
19 Education. To prevent sexual harassment in employment and
20 sexual harassment in higher education.
21     (C) Freedom from Discrimination Based on Citizenship
22 Status-Employment. To prevent discrimination based on
23 citizenship status in employment.
24     (D) Freedom from Discrimination Based on Familial
25 Status-Real Estate Transactions. To prevent discrimination
26 based on familial status in real estate transactions.
27     (E) Public Health, Welfare and Safety. To promote the
28 public health, welfare and safety by protecting the interest of
29 all people in Illinois in maintaining personal dignity, in
30 realizing their full productive capacities, and in furthering
31 their interests, rights and privileges as citizens of this
32 State.

 

 

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1     (F) Implementation of Constitutional Guarantees. To secure
2 and guarantee the rights established by Sections 17, 18 and 19
3 of Article I of the Illinois Constitution of 1970.
4     (G) Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action. To establish
5 Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action as the policies of
6 this State in all of its decisions, programs and activities,
7 and to assure that all State departments, boards, commissions
8 and instrumentalities rigorously take affirmative action to
9 provide equality of opportunity and eliminate the effects of
10 past discrimination in the internal affairs of State government
11 and in their relations with the public.
12     (H) Unfounded Charges. To protect citizens of this State
13 against unfounded charges of unlawful discrimination, sexual
14 harassment in employment and sexual harassment in higher
15 education, and discrimination based on citizenship status in
16 employment.
17 (Source: P.A. 93-1078, eff. 1-1-06.)
 
18     (775 ILCS 5/1-103)  (from Ch. 68, par. 1-103)
19     Sec. 1-103. General Definitions. When used in this Act,
20 unless the context requires otherwise, the term:
21     (A) Age. "Age" means the chronological age of a person who
22 is at least 40 years old, except with regard to any practice
23 described in Section 2-102, insofar as that practice concerns
24 training or apprenticeship programs. In the case of training or
25 apprenticeship programs, for the purposes of Section 2-102,
26 "age" means the chronological age of a person who is 18 but not
27 yet 40 years old.
28     (B) Aggrieved Party. "Aggrieved party" means a person who
29 is alleged or proved to have been injured by a civil rights
30 violation or believes he or she will be injured by a civil
31 rights violation under Article 3 that is about to occur.
32     (C) Charge. "Charge" means an allegation filed with the
33 Department by an aggrieved party or initiated by the Department
34 under its authority.
35     (D) Civil Rights Violation. "Civil rights violation"

 

 

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1 includes and shall be limited to only those specific acts set
2 forth in Sections 2-102, 2-103, 2-105, 3-102, 3-103, 3-104,
3 3-104.1, 3-105, 4-102, 4-103, 5-102, 5A-102 and 6-101 of this
4 Act.
5     (E) Commission. "Commission" means the Human Rights
6 Commission created by this Act.
7     (F) Complaint. "Complaint" means the formal pleading filed
8 by the Department with the Commission following an
9 investigation and finding of substantial evidence of a civil
10 rights violation.
11     (G) Complainant. "Complainant" means a person including
12 the Department who files a charge of civil rights violation
13 with the Department or the Commission.
14     (H) Department. "Department" means the Department of Human
15 Rights created by this Act.
16     (I) Handicap. "Handicap" means a determinable physical or
17 mental characteristic of a person, including, but not limited
18 to, a determinable physical characteristic which necessitates
19 the person's use of a guide, hearing or support dog, the
20 history of such characteristic, or the perception of such
21 characteristic by the person complained against, which may
22 result from disease, injury, congenital condition of birth or
23 functional disorder and which characteristic:
24         (1) For purposes of Article 2 is unrelated to the
25     person's ability to perform the duties of a particular job
26     or position and, pursuant to Section 2-104 of this Act, a
27     person's illegal use of drugs or alcohol is not a handicap;
28         (2) For purposes of Article 3, is unrelated to the
29     person's ability to acquire, rent or maintain a housing
30     accommodation;
31         (3) For purposes of Article 4, is unrelated to a
32     person's ability to repay;
33         (4) For purposes of Article 5, is unrelated to a
34     person's ability to utilize and benefit from a place of
35     public accommodation.
36     (J) Marital Status. "Marital status" means the legal status

 

 

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1 of being married, single, separated, divorced or widowed.
2     (J-1) Military Status. "Military status" means a person's
3 status on active duty in the armed forces of the United States,
4 status as a current member of any reserve component of the
5 armed forces of the United States, including the United States
6 Army Reserve, United States Marine Corps Reserve, United States
7 Navy Reserve, United States Air Force Reserve, and United
8 States Coast Guard Reserve, or status as a current member of
9 the Illinois Army National Guard or Illinois Air National
10 Guard.
11     (K) National Origin. "National origin" means the place in
12 which a person or one of his or her ancestors was born.
13     (L) Person. "Person" includes one or more individuals,
14 partnerships, associations or organizations, labor
15 organizations, labor unions, joint apprenticeship committees,
16 or union labor associations, corporations, the State of
17 Illinois and its instrumentalities, political subdivisions,
18 units of local government, legal representatives, trustees in
19 bankruptcy or receivers.
20     (M) Public Contract. "Public contract" includes every
21 contract to which the State, any of its political subdivisions
22 or any municipal corporation is a party.
23     (N) Religion. "Religion" includes all aspects of religious
24 observance and practice, as well as belief, except that with
25 respect to employers, for the purposes of Article 2, "religion"
26 has the meaning ascribed to it in paragraph (F) of Section
27 2-101.
28     (O) Sex. "Sex" means the status of being male or female.
29     (O-1) Sexual orientation. "Sexual orientation" means
30 actual or perceived heterosexuality, homosexuality,
31 bisexuality, or gender-related identity, whether or not
32 traditionally associated with the person's designated sex at
33 birth. "Sexual orientation" does not include a physical or
34 sexual attraction to a minor by an adult.
35     (P) Unfavorable Military Discharge. "Unfavorable military
36 discharge" includes discharges from the Armed Forces of the

 

 

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1 United States, their Reserve components or any National Guard
2 or Naval Militia which are classified as RE-3 or the equivalent
3 thereof, but does not include those characterized as RE-4 or
4 "Dishonorable".
5     (Q) Unlawful Discrimination. "Unlawful discrimination"
6 means discrimination against a person because of his or her
7 race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, sex,
8 marital status, handicap, military status, veteran status,
9 sexual orientation, or unfavorable discharge from military
10 service as those terms are defined in this Section.
11     (R) Veteran Status. "Veteran status" means status as a
12 person who:
13         (1) served on active duty as a member of: (a) the armed
14     forces of the United States; (b) any reserve component of
15     the armed forces of the United States, including the United
16     States Army Reserve, United States Marine Corps Reserve,
17     United States Navy Reserve, United States Air Force
18     Reserve, and United States Coast Guard Reserve; or (c) the
19     Illinois Army National Guard or Illinois Air National
20     Guard; and
21         (2) was discharged with other than a dishonorable
22     discharge.
23 (Source: P.A. 93-941, eff. 8-16-04; 93-1078, eff. 1-1-06.)
 
24     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
25 becoming law.