410 ILCS 25/3

(410 ILCS 25/3) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 3713)

Sec. 3. Definitions. As used in this Act and the Illinois Accessibility Code (71 Ill. Adm. Code 400):

"2010 Standards for Accessible Design" means the regulations promulgated by the Department of Justice, 28 CFR Parts 35 and 36, pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).

"Accessibility Code" or "Code" means those standards, known as the Illinois Accessibility Code, 71 Ill. Adm. Code 400, adopted by the Capital Development Board pursuant to Section 4 of this Act.

"Accessible" means that a site, building, facility, or portion thereof is compliant with the Code.

"Accessible means of egress" means a continuous and unobstructed way of egress travel from any point in a building or facility that provides an accessible route to an area of refuge, a horizontal exit, or a public way.

"Accessible route" means a continuous unobstructed path connecting all accessible elements and spaces of a building or facility. Interior accessible routes may include corridors, floors, ramps, elevators, lifts, skywalks, tunnels, and clear floor space at fixtures. Exterior accessible routes may include parking access aisles, curb ramps, crosswalks at vehicular ways, walks, ramps, and lifts.

"Adaptability" or "adaptable" means the ability of certain building spaces and elements, such as kitchen counters, sinks and grab bars, to be added or altered so as to accommodate the needs of individuals with different types or degrees of disability.

"Adaptable dwelling unit" means a dwelling unit constructed and equipped so it can be converted with minimal structural change for use by persons with different types and degrees of disability.

"Alteration" means any modification or renovation that affects or could affect the usability of the building or facility or part of the building or facility. "Alteration" includes, but is not limited to, remodeling, renovation, rehabilitation, reconstruction, historic preservation, historic reconstruction, historic rehabilitation, historic restoration, changes to or rearrangement of the structural parts or elements, changes to or replacement of plumbing fixtures or controls, changes to or rearrangement in the plan configuration of walls and full-height partitions, resurfacing of circulation paths or vehicular ways, and changes or improvements to parking lots. The following work is not considered to be an alteration unless it affects the usability of the building or facility: normal maintenance, reroofing, painting or wallpapering, or changes to mechanical and electrical systems.

"Built environment" means those parts of the physical environment which are designed, constructed or altered by people, including all public facilities and multi-story housing units.

"Circulation path" means an exterior or interior way of passage provided for pedestrian travel, including, but not limited to, walks, hallways, courtyards, elevators, platform lifts, ramps, stairways, and landings.

"Common use areas" or "common areas" means areas, including interior and exterior rooms, spaces, or elements, which are held out for use by all tenants and owners in public facilities and multi-story housing, including, but not limited to, residents of an apartment building or condominium complex, occupants of an office building, or the guests of such residents or occupants. "Common use areas" or "common areas" includes, but is not limited to, lobbies, elevators, hallways, laundry rooms, swimming pools, storage rooms, recreation areas, parking garages, building offices, conference rooms, patios, restrooms, telephones, drinking fountains, restaurants, cafeterias, delicatessens and stores.

"Disability" means a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; a record or history of such an impairment; or regarded as having such an impairment.

"Dwelling unit" means a single unit of residence which provides a kitchen or food preparation area, in addition to rooms and spaces for living, bathing, sleeping, and the like. Dwelling units are found in housing types such as townhouses and apartment buildings.

"Element" means an architectural, mechanical (including plumbing), or electrical component of a building, facility, space, site, or public right-of-way.

"Entrance" means any access point to a building or portion of a building or facility or multi-story housing used for the purpose of entering. An entrance includes the approach walk, the vertical access leading to the entrance platform, the entrance platform itself, vestibules if provided, and the entry door or doors or gate or gates.

"Environmental barrier" means an element or space of the built environment which limits accessibility to or use of the built environment by individuals with disabilities.

"Facility" means all or any portion of buildings, structures, site improvements, elements, and pedestrian routes or vehicular ways located on a site.

"Governmental unit" means State agencies as defined in the State Auditing Act, circuit courts, units of local government and their officers, boards of election commissioners, public colleges and universities, and school districts.

"Multi-story housing" means any building of 4 or more stories containing 10 or more dwelling units constructed to be held out for sale or lease by any person to the public. "Multi-story housing" includes, but is not limited to, the following building types: apartment buildings, condominium buildings, convents, housing for the elderly, and monasteries.

"Owner" means the owner of the real property or existing facility or the tenant of the real property or existing facility.

"Primary function area" means an area of a building or facility containing a major activity for which the building or facility is intended. There can be multiple areas containing a primary function in a single building. Primary function areas are not limited to public use areas. Mixed use facilities may include numerous primary function areas for each use. Areas containing a primary function do not include: mechanical rooms, boiler rooms, supply storage rooms, employee lounges or employee locker rooms, janitorial closets, entrances, corridors, or restrooms. Restrooms are not areas containing a primary function unless the provision of restrooms is a primary purpose of the area, such as in highway rest stops.

"Public" means any group of people who are users of the building or employees of the building. The term "public" is not intended to include those people who are employed by the owner of a building for the sole purpose of construction or alteration of a building during the time in which the building is being constructed or altered.

"Public facility" means:

(1) any building, structure, or site improvement which is:

(i) owned by or on behalf of a governmental unit,

(ii) leased, rented or used, in whole or in part, by a governmental unit, or

(iii) financed, in whole or in part, by a grant or a loan made or guaranteed by a governmental unit;

(2) any building, structure, or site improvement used or held out for use or intended for use by the public or by employees for one or more of, but not limited to, the following:

(i) the purpose of gathering, recreation, transient lodging, education, employment, institutional care, or the purchase, rental, sale or acquisition of any goods, personal property or services;

(ii) places of public display or collection;

(iii) social service establishments; and

(iv) stations used for specified public transportation; or

(3) a public right-of-way.

"Public right-of-way" means public land or property, usually in interconnected corridors, that is acquired for or dedicated to transportation purposes.

"Public way" means any street, alley, or other parcel of land open to the outside air leading to a public street, which has been deeded, dedicated, or otherwise permanently appropriated to the public for public use, and which has a clear width and height of not less than 10 feet (3048 mm).

"State" means the State of Illinois and any instrumentality or agency thereof.

"Technically infeasible" means, with respect to an alteration of a building or a facility, that a requirement of this Act or the Code has little likelihood of being accomplished because existing structural conditions would require removing or altering a load-bearing member that is an essential part of the structural frame; or because other existing physical or site constraints prohibit modification or addition of elements, spaces, or features that are in full and strict compliance with the minimum requirements.

(Source: P.A. 99-582, eff. 1-1-17.)