|
| Public Act 103-0326
|
| HB2829 Enrolled | LRB103 27781 LNS 54159 b |
|
|
AN ACT concerning human rights.
|
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
|
represented in the General Assembly:
|
Section 5. The Illinois Human Rights Act is amended by |
changing Sections 8-101 and 8-102 as follows:
|
(775 ILCS 5/8-101) (from Ch. 68, par. 8-101)
|
Sec. 8-101. Illinois Human Rights Commission.
|
(A) Creation; appointments. The Human Rights Commission is |
created to consist
of 7 members appointed by the Governor with |
the advice and consent of the
Senate. No more than 4 members |
shall be of the same political party. The
Governor shall |
designate one member as chairperson. All appointments shall
be |
in writing and filed with the Secretary of State as a public |
record.
|
(B) Terms. Of the members first appointed, 4 shall be |
appointed for a
term to expire on the third Monday of January, |
2021, and 3 (including the
Chairperson) shall be appointed for |
a term to expire on the third Monday
of January, 2023.
|
Notwithstanding any provision of this Section to the |
contrary, the term
of office of each member of the Illinois |
Human Rights Commission is
abolished on January 19, 2019. |
Incumbent members holding a position on the Commission that |
was created by Public Act 84-115 and whose terms, if not for |
|
this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly, would have |
expired January 18, 2021 shall continue to exercise all of the |
powers and be
subject to all of the duties of members of the |
Commission until June 30, 2019 or until
their respective |
successors are appointed and qualified, whichever is earlier.
|
Thereafter, each member shall serve for a term of 4 years
|
and until the member's his or her successor is appointed and |
qualified; except that any
member chosen to fill a vacancy |
occurring otherwise than by expiration of
a term shall be |
appointed only for the unexpired term of the member whom the |
member
he or she shall succeed and until the member's his or |
her successor is appointed and
qualified.
|
(C) Vacancies. |
(1) In the case of vacancies on the Commission during
|
a recess of the Senate, the Governor shall make a |
temporary appointment
until the next meeting of the Senate |
when the Governor he or she shall appoint a person
to fill |
the vacancy. Any person so nominated and confirmed by the |
Senate
shall hold office for the remainder of the term and |
until the person's his or her successor
is appointed and |
qualified.
|
(2) If the Senate is not in session at the time this |
Act takes effect,
the Governor shall make temporary |
appointments to the Commission as in the
case of |
vacancies.
|
(3) Vacancies in the Commission shall not impair the |
|
right of the remaining
members to exercise all the powers |
of the Commission. Except when authorized
by this Act to |
proceed through a 3 member panel, a majority of the |
members
of the Commission then in office shall constitute |
a quorum.
|
(D) Compensation. On and after January 19, 2019, the |
Chairperson of the Commission shall be compensated
at the rate |
of $125,000 per year, or as set by the Compensation Review
|
Board, whichever is greater, during the Chairperson's his or |
her service as Chairperson,
and each other member shall be |
compensated at the rate of $119,000 per
year, or as set by the |
Compensation Review Board, whichever is greater.
In addition, |
all members of the Commission shall be reimbursed for expenses
|
actually and necessarily incurred by them
in the performance |
of their duties.
|
(E) Notwithstanding the general supervisory authority of |
the Chairperson, each commissioner, unless appointed to the |
special temporary panel created under subsection (H), has the |
authority to hire and supervise a staff attorney. The staff |
attorney shall report directly to the individual commissioner. |
(F) A formal training program for newly appointed |
commissioners shall be implemented. The training program shall |
include the following: |
(1) substantive and procedural aspects of the office |
of commissioner; |
(2) current issues in employment and housing |
|
discrimination and public accommodation law and practice; |
(3) orientation to each operational unit of the
Human |
Rights Commission; |
(4) observation of experienced hearing officers and |
commissioners conducting hearings of cases, combined with |
the opportunity to discuss evidence presented and rulings |
made; |
(5) the use of hypothetical cases requiring the
newly |
appointed commissioner to issue judgments as a means of |
evaluating knowledge and writing ability; |
(6) writing skills; and |
(7) professional and ethical standards. |
A formal and ongoing professional development program |
including, but not limited to, the above-noted areas shall be |
implemented to keep commissioners informed of recent |
developments and issues and to assist them in maintaining and |
enhancing their professional competence. Each commissioner |
shall complete 20 hours of training in the above-noted areas |
during every 2 years the commissioner remains in office. |
(G) Commissioners must meet one of the following |
qualifications: |
(1) licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois; |
(2) at least 3 years of experience as a hearing |
officer at the Human Rights Commission; or |
(3) at least 4 years of professional experience |
working for or dealing with individuals or corporations |
|
affected by this Act or similar laws in other |
jurisdictions, including, but not limited to, experience |
with a civil rights advocacy group, a fair housing group, |
a trade association, a union, a law firm, a legal aid |
organization, an employer's human resources department, an |
employment discrimination consulting firm, or a municipal |
human relations agency. |
The Governor's appointment message, filed with the |
Secretary of State and transmitted to the Senate, shall state |
specifically how the experience of a nominee for commissioner |
meets the requirement set forth in this subsection. The |
Chairperson must have public or private sector management and |
budget experience, as determined by the Governor. |
Each commissioner shall devote full time to the |
commissioner's his or her duties and any commissioner who is |
an attorney shall not engage in the practice of law, nor shall |
any commissioner hold any other office or position of profit |
under the United States or this State or any municipal |
corporation or political subdivision of this State, nor engage |
in any other business, employment, or vocation. |
(H) (Blank). Notwithstanding any other provision of this |
Act, the Governor shall appoint, by and with the consent of the |
Senate, a special temporary panel of commissioners comprised |
of 3 members. The members shall hold office until the |
Commission, in consultation with the Governor, determines that |
the caseload of requests for review has been reduced |
|
sufficiently to allow cases to proceed in a timely manner, or |
for a term of 18 months from the date of appointment by the |
Governor, whichever is earlier. Each of the 3 members shall |
have only such rights and powers of a commissioner necessary |
to dispose of the cases assigned to the special panel. Each of |
the 3 members appointed to the special panel shall receive the |
same salary as other commissioners for the duration of the |
panel. The panel shall have the authority to hire and |
supervise a staff attorney who shall report to the panel of |
commissioners. |
(Source: P.A. 100-1066, eff. 8-24-18; 101-530, eff. 1-1-20.)
|
(775 ILCS 5/8-102) (from Ch. 68, par. 8-102)
|
Sec. 8-102. Powers and duties. In addition to the other |
powers
and duties prescribed in this Act, the Commission shall |
have the following
powers and duties:
|
(A) Meetings. To meet and function at any place within |
the State.
|
(B) Offices. To establish and maintain offices in |
Springfield and Chicago.
|
(C) Employees. To select and fix the compensation of |
such technical
advisors and employees as it may deem |
necessary pursuant to the provisions
of the Personnel |
Code.
|
(D) Hearing Officers. To select and fix the |
compensation of hearing
officers who shall be attorneys |
|
duly licensed to practice law in this State
and full-time |
employees of the Commission.
|
A formal and unbiased training program for hearing |
officers shall be
implemented. The training program shall |
include the following:
|
(1) substantive and procedural aspects of the |
hearing officer position;
|
(2) current issues in human rights law and |
practice;
|
(3) lectures by specialists in substantive areas |
related to human rights matters;
|
(4) orientation to each operational unit of the |
Department and Commission;
|
(5) observation of experienced hearing officers |
conducting hearings of
cases, combined with the |
opportunity to discuss evidence presented and rulings
|
made;
|
(6) the use of hypothetical cases requiring the |
hearing officer to
issue judgments as a means to |
evaluating knowledge and writing ability;
|
(7) writing skills;
|
(8) computer skills, including, but not limited |
to, word processing and
document management.
|
A formal, unbiased and ongoing professional |
development program
including, but not limited to, the |
above-noted areas shall be implemented
to keep hearing |
|
officers informed of recent developments and issues and to
|
assist them in maintaining and enhancing their |
professional competence.
|
(E) Rules and Regulations. To adopt, promulgate, |
amend, and rescind rules
and regulations not inconsistent |
with the provisions of this Act pursuant
to the Illinois |
Administrative Procedure Act.
|
(F) Compulsory Process. To issue and authorize |
requests for enforcement
of subpoenas and other compulsory |
process established by this Act.
|
(G) Decisions. Through a panel of 3 members designated |
by the
Chairperson on a random basis, to hear and decide by |
majority vote complaints filed in conformity with this Act |
and to approve
proposed settlements. Decisions by |
commissioners must be based strictly on neutral |
interpretations of the law and the facts.
|
(H) Rehearings. To order, by a vote of 3 members, |
rehearing of its
decisions by the entire Commission in |
conformity with this Act.
|
(I) Judicial Enforcement. To authorize requests for |
judicial enforcement
of its orders in conformity with this |
Act.
|
(J) Opinions. To publish each decision within 180 days |
of the decision to assure a
consistent source of |
precedent. Published decisions shall be subject to the |
Personal Information Protection Act.
|
|
(K) Public Grants; Private Gifts. To accept public |
grants and private
gifts as may be authorized.
|
(L) Interpreters. To appoint at the expense of the |
Commission a qualified
sign language interpreter whenever |
a hearing impaired individual or an individual who lacks |
proficiency in the English language person is a party or
|
witness in proceedings before the Commission at a public |
hearing.
|
(M) Automated Processing Plan. To prepare an |
electronic data processing
and telecommunications plan |
jointly with the Department in accordance with
Section |
7-112.
|
The provisions of Public Act 89-370 amending subsection |
(G)
of this Section apply to causes of action filed on or after |
January 1, 1996.
|
(Source: P.A. 100-1066, eff. 8-24-18; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19.)
|
