Bill Text: IL SB3777 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Human Rights Act. Provides that it is a civil rights violation for any employer, employment agency, or labor organization to use criteria or methods that have the effect of subjecting individuals to discrimination on the basis of unlawful discrimination, citizenship status, family responsibilities, work authorization status, arrest record, or conviction record, if (i) the respondent fails to demonstrate that the criteria or methods are job related for the position in question and consistent with business necessity or (ii) the respondent demonstrates that the criteria or methods are job related for the position in question and consistent with business necessity and the complainant demonstrates that the business necessity could be served by another employment practice that has a less discriminatory effect.. Provides that it is a civil rights violation for any financial institution, person who offers credit cards to the public, or any person in relation to public accommodations to use criteria or methods that have the effect of subjecting individuals to discrimination on the basis of unlawful discrimination, citizenship status, family responsibilities, work authorization status, arrest record, or conviction record, if such criteria or methods are not necessary to achieve a substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory interest or if the substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory interest could be served by another practice that has a less discriminatory effect. Allows the Department of Human Rights to consult with the Secretary of Financial and Professional Regulation or a financial institution's primary prudential regulator for purposes of investigating a charge involving a financial institution. Provides that nothing shall be construed to: prohibit the Department from investigating a charge involving a financial institution; or limit the authority of the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, or National Credit Union Administration to examine any financial institution. Defines "criteria or methods".

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 34)

Status: (Passed) 2026-07-31 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 104-0744 [SB3777 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-SB3777-Enrolled.html

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AN ACT concerning civil law.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. This Act may be referred to as the Civil Rights
Safeguard Act.
Section 5. The Illinois Human Rights Act is amended by
changing Sections 1-103, 4-102, 4-103, and 5-102 and by adding
Sections 2-103.5 and 4-105 as follows:
(775 ILCS 5/1-103) (from Ch. 68, par. 1-103)
Sec. 1-103. General definitions. When used in this Act,
unless the context requires otherwise, the term:
(A) Age. "Age" means the chronological age of a person who
is at least 40 years old, except with regard to any practice
described in Section 2-102, insofar as that practice concerns
training or apprenticeship programs. In the case of training
or apprenticeship programs, for the purposes of Section 2-102,
"age" means the chronological age of a person who is 18 but not
yet 40 years old.
(B) Aggrieved party. "Aggrieved party" means a person who
is alleged or proved to have been injured by a civil rights
violation or believes he or she will be injured by a civil
rights violation under Article 3 that is about to occur.

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(B-5) Arrest record. "Arrest record" means:
(1) an arrest not leading to a conviction;
(2) a juvenile record; or
(3) criminal history record information ordered
expunged, sealed, or impounded under Section 5.2 of the
Criminal Identification Act.
(C) Charge. "Charge" means an allegation filed with the
Department by an aggrieved party or initiated by the
Department under its authority.
(D) Civil rights violation. "Civil rights violation"
includes and shall be limited to only those specific acts set
forth in Sections 2-102, 2-103, 2-105, 3-102, 3-102.1, 3-103,
3-102.10, 3-104.1, 3-105, 3-105.1, 4-102, 4-103, 5-102,
5A-102, 6-101, 6-101.5, and 6-102 of this Act.
(E) Commission. "Commission" means the Human Rights
Commission created by this Act.
(F) Complaint. "Complaint" means the formal pleading filed
by the Department with the Commission following an
investigation and finding of substantial evidence of a civil
rights violation.
(G) Complainant. "Complainant" means a person including
the Department who files a charge of civil rights violation
with the Department or the Commission.
(G-5) Conviction record. "Conviction record" means
information indicating that a person has been convicted of a
felony, misdemeanor or other criminal offense, placed on

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probation, fined, imprisoned, or paroled pursuant to any law
enforcement or military authority.
(G-10) Criteria or methods. "Criteria or methods" include
practices, policies, and groups of practices or policies that
may have the effect of subjecting individuals to
discrimination prohibited under this Act.
(H) Department. "Department" means the Department of Human
Rights created by this Act.
(I) Disability.
(1) "Disability" means a determinable physical or mental
characteristic of a person, including, but not limited to, a
determinable physical characteristic which necessitates the
person's use of a guide, hearing or support dog, the history of
such characteristic, or the perception of such characteristic
by the person complained against, which may result from
disease, injury, congenital condition of birth or functional
disorder and which characteristic:
(a) For purposes of Article 2, is unrelated to the
person's ability to perform the duties of a particular job
or position and, pursuant to Section 2-104 of this Act, a
person's illegal use of drugs or alcohol is not a
disability;
(b) For purposes of Article 3, is unrelated to the
person's ability to acquire, rent, or maintain a housing
accommodation;
(c) For purposes of Article 4, is unrelated to a

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person's ability to repay;
(d) For purposes of Article 5, is unrelated to a
person's ability to utilize and benefit from a place of
public accommodation;
(e) For purposes of Article 5, also includes any
mental, psychological, or developmental disability,
including autism spectrum disorders.
(2) Discrimination based on disability includes unlawful
discrimination against an individual because of the
individual's association with a person with a disability.
(J) Marital status. "Marital status" means the legal
status of being married, single, separated, divorced, or
widowed.
(J-1) Military status. "Military status" means a person's
status on active duty in or status as a veteran of the armed
forces of the United States, status as a current member or
veteran of any reserve component of the armed forces of the
United States, including the United States Army Reserve,
United States Marine Corps Reserve, United States Navy
Reserve, United States Air Force Reserve, and United States
Coast Guard Reserve, or status as a current member or veteran
of the Illinois Army National Guard or Illinois Air National
Guard.
(K) National origin. "National origin" means the place in
which a person or one of his or her ancestors was born.
(K-5) "Order of protection status" means a person's status

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as being a person protected under an order of protection
issued pursuant to the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986,
Article 112A of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963, the
Stalking No Contact Order Act, or the Civil No Contact Order
Act, or an order of protection issued by a court of another
state.
(L) Person. "Person" includes one or more individuals,
partnerships, associations or organizations, labor
organizations, labor unions, joint apprenticeship committees,
or union labor associations, corporations, the State of
Illinois and its instrumentalities, political subdivisions,
units of local government, legal representatives, trustees in
bankruptcy or receivers.
(L-5) Pregnancy. "Pregnancy" means pregnancy, childbirth,
or medical or common conditions related to pregnancy or
childbirth.
(M) Public contract. "Public contract" includes every
contract to which the State, any of its political
subdivisions, or any municipal corporation is a party.
(M-5) Race. "Race" includes traits associated with race,
including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective
hairstyles such as braids, locks, and twists.
(N) Religion. "Religion" includes all aspects of religious
observance and practice, as well as belief, except that with
respect to employers, for the purposes of Article 2,
"religion" has the meaning ascribed to it in paragraph (F) of

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Section 2-101.
(O) Sex. "Sex" means the status of being male or female.
(O-1) Sexual orientation. "Sexual orientation" means
actual or perceived heterosexuality, homosexuality,
bisexuality, or gender-related identity, whether or not
traditionally associated with the person's designated sex at
birth. "Sexual orientation" does not include a physical or
sexual attraction to a minor by an adult.
(O-2) Reproductive Health Decisions. "Reproductive Health
Decisions" means a person's decisions regarding the person's
use of: contraception; fertility or sterilization care;
assisted reproductive technologies; miscarriage management
care; healthcare related to the continuation or termination of
pregnancy; or prenatal, intranatal, or postnatal care.
(O-5) Source of income. "Source of income" means the
lawful manner by which an individual supports himself or
herself and his or her dependents.
(P) Unfavorable military discharge. "Unfavorable military
discharge" includes discharges from the Armed Forces of the
United States, their Reserve components, or any National Guard
or Naval Militia which are classified as RE-3 or the
equivalent thereof, but does not include those characterized
as RE-4 or "Dishonorable".
(Q) Unlawful discrimination. "Unlawful discrimination"
means discrimination against a person, whether by purpose or
effect, because of his or her actual or perceived: race,

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color, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, sex, marital
status, order of protection status, disability, military
status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, reproductive health
decisions, or unfavorable discharge from military service as
those terms are defined in this Section.
(Source: P.A. 102-362, eff. 1-1-22; 102-419, eff. 1-1-22;
102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 102-896, eff.
1-1-23; 102-1102, eff. 1-1-23; 103-154, eff. 6-30-23; 103-785,
eff. 1-1-25.)
(775 ILCS 5/2-103.5 new)
Sec. 2-103.5. Criteria or methods. It is a civil rights
violation for any employer, employment agency, or labor
organization to use criteria or methods in any act as set forth
in Section 2-102 that have the effect of subjecting
individuals to discrimination on the basis of unlawful
discrimination, citizenship status, family responsibilities,
work authorization status, arrest record, or conviction
record. Such criteria or methods are unlawful under this
Section if (i) the respondent fails to demonstrate that the
criteria or methods are job related for the position in
question and consistent with business necessity or (ii) the
respondent demonstrates that the criteria or methods are job
related for the position in question and consistent with
business necessity and the complainant demonstrates that the
business necessity could be served by another employment

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practice that has a less discriminatory effect.
(775 ILCS 5/4-102) (from Ch. 68, par. 4-102)
Sec. 4-102. Civil Rights Violations: Loans. It is shall be
a civil rights violation for any financial institution, on the
basis grounds of unlawful discrimination, to:
(A) Denial of Services. Deny any person any of the
services normally offered by such an institution.
(B) Modification of Services. Provide any person with any
service which is different from, or provided in a different
manner than, that which is provided to other persons similarly
situated.
(C) Loan Terms. Deny or vary the terms of a loan.
(D) Property Location. Deny or vary the terms of a loan on
the basis that a specific parcel of real estate offered as
security is located in a specific geographical area.
(E) Consideration of Income. Deny or vary the terms of a
loan without having considered all of the regular and
dependable income of each person who would be liable for
repayment of the loan.
(F) Lending Standards. Utilize lending standards that have
no economic basis and which constitute unlawful
discrimination.
(G) Criteria or methods. Use criteria or methods that have
the effect of subjecting individuals to unlawful
discrimination under this Section. Such criteria or methods

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are unlawful under this subsection if they are not necessary
to achieve a substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory
interest or if the substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory
interest could be served by another practice that has a less
discriminatory effect.
(Source: P.A. 81-1216.)
(775 ILCS 5/4-103) (from Ch. 68, par. 4-103)
Sec. 4-103. Credit Cards. It is a civil rights violation
for a person who offers credit cards to the public in this
State:
(A) Denial. To refuse to issue a credit card, upon
proper application, on the basis of unlawful
discrimination.
(B) Reasons for Rejection. To fail to inform an
applicant for a credit card, upon request, of the reason
that his or her application for a credit card has been
rejected.
(C) Criteria or methods. Use criteria or methods that
have the effect of subjecting individuals to unlawful
discrimination under this Section. Such criteria or
methods are unlawful under this subsection if they are not
necessary to achieve a substantial, legitimate,
nondiscriminatory interest or if the substantial,
legitimate, nondiscriminatory interest could be served by
another practice that has a less discriminatory effect.

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(Source: P.A. 81-1216.)
(775 ILCS 5/4-105 new)
Sec. 4-105. Consultation.
(A) The Department may consult with the Secretary of
Financial and Professional Regulation or a financial
institution's primary prudential regulator for purposes of
investigating a charge involving a financial institution.
(B) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to prohibit
the Department from investigating a charge involving a
financial institution pursuant to this Act. Nothing in this
Act shall be construed to limit the authority of the
Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Office of
the Comptroller of the Currency, or National Credit Union
Administration to examine any financial institution.
(775 ILCS 5/5-102) (from Ch. 68, par. 5-102)
Sec. 5-102. Civil Rights Violations: Public
Accommodations. It is a civil rights violation for any person
on the basis of unlawful discrimination to:
(A) Enjoyment of Facilities, Goods, and Services. Deny or
refuse to another the full and equal enjoyment of the
facilities, goods, and services of any public place of
accommodation;
(B) Written Communications. Directly or indirectly, as the
operator of a place of public accommodation, publish,

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circulate, display or mail any written communication, except a
private communication sent in response to a specific inquiry,
which the operator knows is to the effect that any of the
facilities of the place of public accommodation will be denied
to any person or that any person is unwelcome, objectionable
or unacceptable because of unlawful discrimination;
(C) Public Officials. Deny or refuse to another, as a
public official, the full and equal enjoyment of the
accommodations, advantage, facilities or privileges of the
official's office or services or of any property under the
official's care because of unlawful discrimination.
(D) Criteria or methods. Use criteria or methods that have
the effect of subjecting individuals to unlawful
discrimination under this Section. Such criteria or methods
are unlawful under this subsection if they are not necessary
to achieve a substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory
interest or if the substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory
interest could be served by another practice that has a less
discriminatory effect.
(Source: P.A. 95-668, eff. 10-10-07.)