LEGISLATION INITIATED BY ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL AND ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS TO ENHANCE CIVIL RIGHTS PROTECTIONS SIGNED INTO LAW

LEGISLATION INITIATED BY ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL AND ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS TO ENHANCE CIVIL RIGHTS PROTECTIONS SIGNED INTO LAW

August 12, 2024

Chicago - Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced that legislation amending the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) to clarify and strengthen its protections was signed into law.

"The Illinois Human Rights Act is an important tool for combating discrimination," Raoul said. "I want to thank Gov. JB Pritzker for signing this legislation, which will help my office enhance our efforts protecting the people of Illinois by strengthening enforcement against bad actors and improving processes for taking action. I remain committed to defending the civil rights of all Illinois residents."

House Bill (HB) 5371 is the result of the collaborative efforts of the Attorney General's office and the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR), which enforce the state's Human Rights Act.

"The Illinois Human Rights Act provides one of the strongest sets of protections against discrimination in the country, in part because our state continues to clarify and expand the Act," said (IDHR) Director Jim Bennett. "We applaud Governor Pritzker's support of HB 5371. The bill improves the Human Rights Act by enhancing enforcement of civil rights protections in employment and housing."

The new law will enhance civil rights protections for people in Illinois and provide important clarifications to the law. Specifically, it will:

• Continue to bring the IHRA into substantial compliance with federal fair housing law.
• Strengthen relief in discriminatory pattern-and-practice determinations by clarifying the term "per violation." For example, a business that repeatedly discriminates against multiple employees could be held accountable for each instance of a violation. Repeated harassment and discrimination should not constitute a single violation of the act, and relief should be proportionate to the amount of harassment and discrimination victims had to endure. The law also increases the maximum penalty amounts that a court may award in the Attorney General's pattern-and-practice determinations and fair housing lawsuits.
• Clarify that aggrieved parties have the right to take action to collect judgments, even if they do not intervene in the state's enforcement action.
• Codifies criteria language from the Illinois Civil Rights Act of 2003 to expressly prohibit unjustified disparate impacts in real estate transactions.
• Ensure confidential reporting of discrimination and hate incidents to helplines administered by IDHR and the Illinois Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes.
• Reduce redundancies and improve enforcement processes.

State Sen. Laura Fine sponsored the bill in the Senate, and State Rep. Ann Williams sponsored it in the House.

"This measure makes important clarifications to the law to enhance protections against discrimination in housing and employment and will help make the implementation of IDHR's new hate crimes hotline a success," Fine said.

"HB 5371 cuts red tape and will help victims of harassment and discrimination collect judgments to which they are entitled but have historically had a difficult or impossible time collecting. This will make a real difference in the lives of victims," Williams said.

The Illinois Attorney General's office is committed to protecting the civil rights of all Illinois residents. The IHRA grants the Attorney General the authority to investigate broad, systemic problems or incidents of discrimination, referred to as "patterns or practices," and file suits to remedy such violations. To file a complaint regarding a pattern or practice of discrimination, visit the Attorney General's website or contact the office's Civil Rights Bureau by calling 877-581-3692 or emailing [email protected].

IDHR is committed to securing freedom from unlawful discrimination for all Illinois residents. Any Illinoisan who believes they have been a victim of discrimination can file a charge with IDHR within 300 days of the date of the incident or within one year of a housing violation. To file a charge with IDHR, call (312) 814-6200 or visit dhr.illinois.gov/filing-a-charge. Illinoisans can also report hate incidents by calling (877) 458-4283 or by visiting cdhc.illinois.gov/report-hate.