Public Act 096-0447
 
HB0721 Enrolled LRB096 08293 KTG 18401 b

    AN ACT concerning civil law.
 
    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 1-102 and 1-103 as follows:
 
    (775 ILCS 5/1-102)  (from Ch. 68, par. 1-102)
    Sec. 1-102. Declaration of Policy. It is the public policy
of this State:
    (A) Freedom from Unlawful Discrimination. To secure for all
individuals within Illinois the freedom from discrimination
against any individual because of his or her race, color,
religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, order of
protection status, marital status, physical or mental
disability, military status, sexual orientation, or
unfavorable discharge from military service in connection with
employment, real estate transactions, access to financial
credit, and the availability of public accommodations.
    (B) Freedom from Sexual Harassment-Employment and Higher
Education. To prevent sexual harassment in employment and
sexual harassment in higher education.
    (C) Freedom from Discrimination Based on Citizenship
Status-Employment. To prevent discrimination based on
citizenship status in employment.
    (D) Freedom from Discrimination Based on Familial
Status-Real Estate Transactions. To prevent discrimination
based on familial status in real estate transactions.
    (E) Public Health, Welfare and Safety. To promote the
public health, welfare and safety by protecting the interest of
all people in Illinois in maintaining personal dignity, in
realizing their full productive capacities, and in furthering
their interests, rights and privileges as citizens of this
State.
    (F) Implementation of Constitutional Guarantees. To secure
and guarantee the rights established by Sections 17, 18 and 19
of Article I of the Illinois Constitution of 1970.
    (G) Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action. To establish
Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action as the policies of
this State in all of its decisions, programs and activities,
and to assure that all State departments, boards, commissions
and instrumentalities rigorously take affirmative action to
provide equality of opportunity and eliminate the effects of
past discrimination in the internal affairs of State government
and in their relations with the public.
    (H) Unfounded Charges. To protect citizens of this State
against unfounded charges of unlawful discrimination, sexual
harassment in employment and sexual harassment in higher
education, and discrimination based on citizenship status in
employment.
(Source: P.A. 95-668, eff. 10-10-07.)
 
    (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.
    (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,
3-104, 3-104.1, 3-105, 3-105.1, 4-102, 4-103, 5-102, 5A-102,
6-101, 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.
    (H) Department. "Department" means the Department of Human
Rights created by this Act.
    (I) Disability. "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:
        (1) 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;
        (2) For purposes of Article 3, is unrelated to the
    person's ability to acquire, rent or maintain a housing
    accommodation;
        (3) For purposes of Article 4, is unrelated to a
    person's ability to repay;
        (4) For purposes of Article 5, is unrelated to a
    person's ability to utilize and benefit from a place of
    public accommodation.
    (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
as being a person protected under an order of protection issued
pursuant to the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986 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.
    (M) Public Contract. "Public contract" includes every
contract to which the State, any of its political subdivisions
or any municipal corporation is a party.
    (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 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.
    (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 because of his or her
race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, sex,
marital status, order of protection status, disability,
military status, sexual orientation, or unfavorable discharge
from military service as those terms are defined in this
Section.
(Source: P.A. 94-803, eff. 5-26-06; 95-392, eff. 8-23-07;
95-668, eff. 10-10-07; 95-876, eff. 8-21-08; revised
10-28-08.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
1, 2010.