Bill Text: IL HB5558 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Human Rights Act. Provides that the Department of Human Rights has the power to intervene in complaints pending before the Human Rights Commission regarding employment, financial credit, public accommodations, elementary, secondary, and higher education, or additional civil rights violations. Provides that the Department may petition and shall be permitted as a matter of right to intervene as a party in the proceeding if the Commission determines that: (i) the case involves matters of public interest or importance beyond the issues in the case; (ii) the Department has an interest different from one or more of the parties; (iii) the expertise of the Department makes it better suited to articulate a particular point of view; or (iv) the representation of the Department's interest by existing parties is or may be inadequate and the Department will or may be bound by an order or judgment in the action. Allows the Attorney General to seek to intervene on behalf of the Department in a civil action filed by a complainant in State or federal court if the Department certifies that the case is of general public importance. Makes conforming changes.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-02-18 - Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB5558 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2021-HB5558-Introduced.html

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102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2021 and 2022 HB5558 Introduced , by Rep. Ann M. Williams SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
775 ILCS 5/7-101 from Ch. 68, par. 7-101
775 ILCS 5/8A-102 from Ch. 68, par. 8A-102
775 ILCS 5/10-101 from Ch. 68, par. 10-101
775 ILCS 5/10-102 from Ch. 68, par. 10-102
775 ILCS 5/10-105 new
Amends the Illinois Human Rights Act. Provides that the Department of Human Rights has the power to intervene in complaints pending before the Human Rights Commission regarding employment, financial credit, public accommodations, elementary, secondary, and higher education, or additional civil rights violations. Provides that the Department may petition and shall be permitted as a matter of right to intervene as a party in the proceeding if the Commission determines that: (i) the case involves matters of public interest or importance beyond the issues in the case; (ii) the Department has an interest different from one or more of the parties; (iii) the expertise of the Department makes it better suited to articulate a particular point of view; or (iv) the representation of the Department's interest by existing parties is or may be inadequate and the Department will or may be bound by an order or judgment in the action. Allows the Attorney General to seek to intervene on behalf of the Department in a civil action filed by a complainant in State or federal court if the Department certifies that the case is of general public importance. Makes conforming changes.
LRB102 25991 LNS 35394 b
A BILL FOR
HB5558 LRB102 25991 LNS 35394 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 7-101, 8A-102, 10-101, and 10-102 and by
adding Section 10-105 as follows:
(775 ILCS 5/7-101) (from Ch. 68, par. 7-101)
Sec. 7-101. Powers and Duties. In addition to other powers
and duties prescribed in this Act, the Department shall have
the following powers:
(A) 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.
(B) Charges. To issue, receive, investigate, conciliate,
settle, and dismiss charges filed in conformity with this Act.
(C) Compulsory Process. To request subpoenas as it deems
necessary for its investigations.
(D) Complaints. To file complaints with the Commission in
conformity with this Act and to intervene in complaints
pending before the Commission filed under Article 2, 4, 5, 5A,
or 6.
(E) Judicial Enforcement. To seek temporary relief and to

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enforce orders of the Commission in conformity with this Act.
(F) Equal Employment Opportunities. To take such action as
may be authorized to provide for equal employment
opportunities and affirmative action.
(G) Recruitment; Research; Public Communication; Advisory
Councils. To engage in such recruitment, research and public
communication and create such advisory councils as may be
authorized to effectuate the purposes of this Act.
(H) Coordination with other Agencies. To coordinate its
activities with federal, state, and local agencies in
conformity with this Act.
(I) Public Grants; Private Gifts. To accept public grants
and private gifts as may be authorized.
(J) Education and Training. To implement a formal and
unbiased program of education and training for all employees
assigned to investigate and conciliate charges under Articles
7A and 7B. The training program shall include the following:
(1) substantive and procedural aspects of the
investigation and conciliation positions;
(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 Department
investigators and attorneys conducting conciliation

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conferences, combined with the opportunity to discuss
evidence presented and rulings made;
(6) the use of hypothetical cases requiring the
Department investigator and conciliation conference
attorney 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 Department investigators and
attorneys informed of recent developments and issues and to
assist them in maintaining and enhancing their professional
competence.
(Source: P.A. 99-74, eff. 7-20-15.)
(775 ILCS 5/8A-102) (from Ch. 68, par. 8A-102)
Sec. 8A-102. Hearing on Complaint.
(A) Services. Within five days after a complaint is filed
by the Department, or the aggrieved party, as the case may be,
the Commission shall cause it to be served on the respondent
together with a notice of hearing before a hearing officer of
the Commission at a place therein fixed.
(B) Time and Location of Hearing. An initial hearing date
shall be scheduled for not less than thirty nor more than

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ninety days after service of the complaint at a place that is
within one hundred miles of the place at which the civil rights
violation is alleged to have occurred. The hearing officer
may, for good cause shown, extend the date of the hearing.
(B-5) Intervention by the Department.
(1) After the filing of a complaint under Article 2,
4, 5, 5A, or 6, the Department may petition and shall be
permitted as a matter of right to intervene as a party in
the proceeding if the Commission determines that:
(i) the case involves matters of public interest
or importance beyond the issues in the case;
(ii) the Department has an interest different from
one or more of the parties;
(iii) the expertise of the Department makes it
better suited to articulate a particular point of
view; or
(iv) the representation of the Department's
interest by existing parties is or may be inadequate
and the Department will or may be bound by an order or
judgment in the action.
(2) The Department, as an intervenor, shall have all
of the rights of an original party subject to the order of
the administrative law judge.
(3) Upon such intervention, the Commission may award
such relief as is authorized to be granted to a
complainant under Section 8A-104.

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(C) Amendment.
(1) A complaint may be amended under oath by leave of
the presiding hearing officer, for good cause shown, upon
timely written motion and reasonable notice to all
interested parties at any time prior to the issuance of a
recommended order pursuant to Section 8A-102(I) or
8B-102(J). The amended complaint shall be served upon all
parties of record and the Department of Human Rights by
the complainant, or by the Department if it prepared and
filed the amended complaint, within 7 days of the date of
the order permitting its filing or such additional time as
the hearing officer may order. Amendments to the complaint
may encompass any unlawful discrimination which is like or
reasonably related to the charge and growing out of the
allegations in such charge, including, but not limited to,
allegations of retaliation.
(2) A motion that the complaint be amended to conform
to the evidence, made prior to the close of the public
hearing, may be addressed orally on the record to the
hearing officer, and shall be granted for good and
sufficient cause.
(D) Answer.
(1) The respondent shall file an answer under oath or
affirmation to the original or amended complaint within 30
days of the date of service thereof, but the hearing
officer may, for good cause shown, grant further time for

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the filing of an answer.
(2) When the respondent files a motion to dismiss the
complaint within 30 days and the motion is denied by the
hearing officer, the time for filing the answer shall be
within 15 days of the date of denial of the motion.
(3) Any allegation in the complaint which is not
denied or admitted in the answer is deemed admitted unless
the respondent states in the answer that he is without
sufficient knowledge or information to form a belief with
respect to such allegation.
(4) The failure to file an answer is deemed to
constitute an admission of the allegations contained in
the complaint.
(5) The respondent has the right to amend his answer,
upon leave of the hearing officer, for good cause shown.
(E) Proceedings In Forma Pauperis.
(1) If the hearing officer is satisfied that the
complainant or respondent is a poor person, and unable to
prosecute or defend the complaint and pay the costs and
expenses thereof, the hearing officer may permit the party
to commence and prosecute or defend the action as a poor
person. Such party shall have all the necessary subpoenas,
appearances, and proceedings without prepayment of witness
fees or charges. Witnesses shall attend as in other cases
under this Act and the same remedies shall be available
for failure or refusal to obey the subpoena as are

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provided for in Section 8-104 of this Act.
(2) A person desiring to proceed without payment of
fees or charges shall file with the hearing officer an
affidavit stating that he is a poor person and unable to
pay costs, and that the action is meritorious.
(F) Discovery. The procedure for obtaining discovery of
information from parties and witnesses shall be specified by
the Commission in rules. If no rule has been promulgated by the
Commission on a particular type of discovery, the Code of
Civil Procedure may be considered persuasive authority. The
types of discovery shall be the same as in civil cases in the
circuit courts of this State, provided, however, that a party
may take discovery depositions only upon leave of the hearing
officer and for good cause shown.
(G) Hearing.
(1) Both the complainant and the respondent may appear
at the hearing and examine and cross-examine witnesses.
(2) The testimony taken at the hearing shall be under
oath or affirmation and a transcript shall be made and
filed in the office of the Commission.
(3) The testimony taken at the hearing is subject to
the same rules of evidence that apply in courts of this
State in civil cases.
(H) Compelling Appearance of Parties at Hearing. The
appearance at the hearing of a party or a person who at the
time of the hearing is an officer, director, or employee of a

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party may be required by serving the party with a notice
designating the person who is required to appear. The notice
also may require the production at the hearing of documents or
tangible things. If the party or person is a nonresident of the
county, the hearing officer may order any terms and conditions
in connection with his appearance at the hearing that are
just, including payment of his reasonable expenses. Upon a
failure to comply with the notice, the hearing officer may
enter any order that is just.
(I) Decision.
(1) When all the testimony has been taken, the hearing
officer shall determine whether the respondent has engaged
in or is engaging in the civil rights violation with
respect to the person aggrieved as charged in the
complaint. A determination sustaining a complaint shall be
based upon a preponderance of the evidence.
(2) The hearing officer shall make findings of fact in
writing and, if the finding is against the respondent,
shall issue and cause to be served on the parties and the
Department a recommended order for appropriate relief as
provided by this Act.
(3) If, upon all the evidence, the hearing officer
finds that a respondent has not engaged in the
discriminatory practice charged in the complaint or that a
preponderance of the evidence does not sustain the
complaint, he shall state his findings of fact and shall

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issue and cause to be served on the parties and the
Department a recommended order dismissing the complaint.
(4) The findings and recommended order of the hearing
officer shall be filed with the Commission. The findings
and recommended order may be authored by a hearing officer
other than the hearing officer who presides at the public
hearing if:
(a) the hearing officer who presides at the public
hearing is unable to author the findings and
recommended order by reason of death, disability, or
separation from employment; and
(b) all parties to a complaint file a joint motion
agreeing to have the findings and recommended order
written by a hearing officer who did not preside at the
public hearing.
(5) A recommended order dismissing a complaint may
include an award of reasonable attorneys fees in favor of
the respondent against the complainant or the
complainant's attorney, or both, if the hearing officer
concludes that the complaint was frivolous, unreasonable
or groundless or that the complainant continued to
litigate after it became clearly so.
(6) The hearing officer may issue a recommended order
of dismissal with prejudice or a recommended order of
default as a sanction for the failure of a party to
prosecute his or her case, file a required pleading,

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appear at a hearing, or otherwise comply with this Act,
the rules of the Commission, or a previous order of the
hearing officer.
(Source: P.A. 92-472, eff. 1-1-02.)
(775 ILCS 5/10-101) (from Ch. 68, par. 10-101)
Sec. 10-101. Applicability. With the exception of Sections
Section 10-104 and 10-105, this Article shall apply solely to
civil actions arising under Article 3 of this Act.
(Source: P.A. 93-1017, eff. 8-24-04.)
(775 ILCS 5/10-102) (from Ch. 68, par. 10-102)
Sec. 10-102. Court Actions.
(A) Circuit Court Actions.
(1) An aggrieved party may commence a civil action in
an appropriate Circuit Court not later than 2 years after
the occurrence or the termination of an alleged civil
rights violation or the breach of a conciliation or
settlement agreement entered into under this Act,
whichever occurs last, to obtain appropriate relief with
respect to the alleged civil rights violation or breach.
Venue for such civil action shall be determined under
Section 8-111(A)(1).
(2) The computation of such 2-year period shall not
include any time during which an administrative proceeding
under this Act was pending with respect to a complaint or

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charge under this Act based upon the alleged civil rights
violation. This paragraph does not apply to actions
arising from a breach of a conciliation or settlement
agreement.
(3) An aggrieved party may commence a civil action
under this subsection whether or not a charge has been
filed under Section 7B-102 and without regard to the
status of any such charge, however, if the Department or
local agency has obtained a conciliation or settlement
agreement with the consent of an aggrieved party, no
action may be filed under this subsection by such
aggrieved party with respect to the alleged civil rights
violation practice which forms the basis for such
complaint except for the purpose of enforcing the terms of
such conciliation or settlement agreement.
(4) An aggrieved party shall not commence a civil
action under this subsection with respect to an alleged
civil rights violation which forms the basis of a
complaint issued by the Department if a hearing officer
has commenced a hearing on the record under Article 3 of
this Act with respect to such complaint.
(B) Appointment of Attorney by Court. Upon application by
a person alleging a civil rights violation or a person against
whom the civil rights violation is alleged, if in the opinion
of the court such person is financially unable to bear the
costs of such action, the court may:

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(1) appoint an attorney for such person, any attorney
so appointed may petition for an award of attorneys fees
pursuant to subsection (C)(2) of this Section; or
(2) authorize the commencement or continuation of a
civil action under subsection (A) without the payment of
fees, costs, or security.
(C) Relief which may be granted.
(1) In a civil action under subsection (A) if the
court finds that a civil rights violation has occurred or
is about to occur, the court may award to the plaintiff
actual and punitive damages, and may grant as relief, as
the court deems appropriate, any permanent or preliminary
injunction, temporary restraining order, or other order,
including an order enjoining the defendant from engaging
in such civil rights violation or ordering such
affirmative action as may be appropriate.
(2) In a civil action under subsection (A), the court,
in its discretion, may allow the prevailing party, other
than the State of Illinois, reasonable attorneys fees and
costs. The State of Illinois shall be liable for such fees
and costs to the same extent as a private person.
(D) Intervention by the Attorney General. If the
Department certifies that the case is of general public
importance, the By The Department. The Attorney General of
Illinois may seek to intervene on behalf of the Department in a
civil action filed by a complainant in State or federal court

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under this Section if the Department certifies that the case
is of general public importance. Upon such intervention, the
court may award any of the remedies set forth in Section 8B-104
and subsection (B) of Section 10-104 such relief as is
authorized to be granted to a plaintiff in a civil action under
Section 10-102(C).
(Source: P.A. 101-661, eff. 4-2-21.)
(775 ILCS 5/10-105 new)
Sec. 10-105. Intervention by the Attorney General. If the
Department certifies that the case is of general public
importance, the Attorney General may seek to intervene on
behalf of the Department in a civil action filed by a
complainant in State or federal court. Upon such intervention,
the court or jury may award any of the remedies set forth in
Section 8A-104 and subsection (B) of Section 10-104.