93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2003 and 2004
SB2741

 

Introduced 2/5/2004, by Mattie Hunter

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
775 ILCS 5/1-102   from Ch. 68, par. 1-102
775 ILCS 5/1-103   from Ch. 68, par. 1-103

    Amend the Human Rights Act. Provides that discrimination against a person because of his or her parental status constitutes unlawful discrimination. Defines "parental status" as the status of having or not having a child. Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1     AN ACT concerning human rights.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 1. The Illinois Human Rights Act is amended by
5 changing Sections 1-102 and 1-103 as follows:
 
6     (775 ILCS 5/1-102)  (from Ch. 68, par. 1-102)
7     Sec. 1-102. Declaration of Policy. It is the public policy
8 of this State:
9     (A) Freedom from Unlawful Discrimination. To secure for all
10 individuals within Illinois the freedom from discrimination
11 against any individual because of his or her race, color,
12 religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status,
13 parental status, physical or mental handicap, military status,
14 or unfavorable discharge from military service in connection
15 with employment, real estate transactions, access to financial
16 credit, and the availability of public accommodations.
17     (B) Freedom from Sexual Harassment-Employment and Higher
18 Education. To prevent sexual harassment in employment and
19 sexual harassment in higher education.
20     (C) Freedom from Discrimination Based on Citizenship
21 Status-Employment. To prevent discrimination based on
22 citizenship status in employment.
23     (D) Freedom from Discrimination Based on Familial
24 Status-Real Estate Transactions. To prevent discrimination
25 based on familial status in real estate transactions.
26     (E) Public Health, Welfare and Safety. To promote the
27 public health, welfare and safety by protecting the interest of
28 all people in Illinois in maintaining personal dignity, in
29 realizing their full productive capacities, and in furthering
30 their interests, rights and privileges as citizens of this
31 State.
32     (F) Implementation of Constitutional Guarantees. To secure

 

 

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1 and guarantee the rights established by Sections 17, 18 and 19
2 of Article I of the Illinois Constitution of 1970.
3     (G) Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action. To establish
4 Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action as the policies of
5 this State in all of its decisions, programs and activities,
6 and to assure that all State departments, boards, commissions
7 and instrumentalities rigorously take affirmative action to
8 provide equality of opportunity and eliminate the effects of
9 past discrimination in the internal affairs of State government
10 and in their relations with the public.
11     (H) Unfounded Charges. To protect citizens of this State
12 against unfounded charges of unlawful discrimination, sexual
13 harassment in employment and sexual harassment in higher
14 education, and discrimination based on citizenship status in
15 employment.
16 (Source: P.A. 87-579; 88-178.)
 
17     (775 ILCS 5/1-103)  (from Ch. 68, par. 1-103)
18     Sec. 1-103. General Definitions. When used in this Act,
19 unless the context requires otherwise, the term:
20     (A) Age. "Age" means the chronological age of a person who
21 is at least 40 years old, except with regard to any practice
22 described in Section 2-102, insofar as that practice concerns
23 training or apprenticeship programs. In the case of training or
24 apprenticeship programs, for the purposes of Section 2-102,
25 "age" means the chronological age of a person who is 18 but not
26 yet 40 years old.
27     (B) Aggrieved Party. "Aggrieved party" means a person who
28 is alleged or proved to have been injured by a civil rights
29 violation or believes he or she will be injured by a civil
30 rights violation under Article 3 that is about to occur.
31     (C) Charge. "Charge" means an allegation filed with the
32 Department by an aggrieved party or initiated by the Department
33 under its authority.
34     (D) Civil Rights Violation. "Civil rights violation"
35 includes and shall be limited to only those specific acts set

 

 

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1 forth in Sections 2-102, 2-103, 2-105, 3-102, 3-103, 3-104,
2 3-104.1, 3-105, 4-102, 4-103, 5-102, 5A-102 and 6-101 of this
3 Act.
4     (E) Commission. "Commission" means the Human Rights
5 Commission created by this Act.
6     (F) Complaint. "Complaint" means the formal pleading filed
7 by the Department with the Commission following an
8 investigation and finding of substantial evidence of a civil
9 rights violation.
10     (G) Complainant. "Complainant" means a person including
11 the Department who files a charge of civil rights violation
12 with the Department or the Commission.
13     (H) Department. "Department" means the Department of Human
14 Rights created by this Act.
15     (I) Handicap. "Handicap" means a determinable physical or
16 mental characteristic of a person, including, but not limited
17 to, a determinable physical characteristic which necessitates
18 the person's use of a guide, hearing or support dog, the
19 history of such characteristic, or the perception of such
20 characteristic by the person complained against, which may
21 result from disease, injury, congenital condition of birth or
22 functional disorder and which characteristic:
23         (1) For purposes of Article 2 is unrelated to the
24     person's ability to perform the duties of a particular job
25     or position and, pursuant to Section 2-104 of this Act, a
26     person's illegal use of drugs or alcohol is not a handicap;
27         (2) For purposes of Article 3, is unrelated to the
28     person's ability to acquire, rent or maintain a housing
29     accommodation;
30         (3) For purposes of Article 4, is unrelated to a
31     person's ability to repay;
32         (4) For purposes of Article 5, is unrelated to a
33     person's ability to utilize and benefit from a place of
34     public accommodation.
35     (J) Marital Status. "Marital status" means the legal status
36 of being married, single, separated, divorced or widowed.

 

 

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1     (J-1) Military Status. "Military status" means a person's
2 status on active duty in the armed forces of the United States.
3     (K) National Origin. "National origin" means the place in
4 which a person or one of his or her ancestors was born.
5     (L) Person. "Person" includes one or more individuals,
6 partnerships, associations or organizations, labor
7 organizations, labor unions, joint apprenticeship committees,
8 or union labor associations, corporations, the State of
9 Illinois and its instrumentalities, political subdivisions,
10 units of local government, legal representatives, trustees in
11 bankruptcy or receivers.
12     (L-1) Parental Status. "Parental status" means the status
13 of having or not having a child.
14     (M) Public Contract. "Public contract" includes every
15 contract to which the State, any of its political subdivisions
16 or any municipal corporation is a party.
17     (N) Religion. "Religion" includes all aspects of religious
18 observance and practice, as well as belief, except that with
19 respect to employers, for the purposes of Article 2, "religion"
20 has the meaning ascribed to it in paragraph (F) of Section
21 2-101.
22     (O) Sex. "Sex" means the status of being male or female.
23     (P) Unfavorable Military Discharge. "Unfavorable military
24 discharge" includes discharges from the Armed Forces of the
25 United States, their Reserve components or any National Guard
26 or Naval Militia which are classified as RE-3 or the equivalent
27 thereof, but does not include those characterized as RE-4 or
28 "Dishonorable".
29     (Q) Unlawful Discrimination. "Unlawful discrimination"
30 means discrimination against a person because of his or her
31 race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, sex,
32 marital status, handicap, military status, or unfavorable
33 discharge from military service as those terms are defined in
34 this Section.
35 (Source: P.A. 88-178; 88-180; 88-670, eff. 12-2-94.)
 

 

 

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1     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
2 becoming law.