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Rep. Cynthia Soto
Filed: 3/26/2012
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| 1 | | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 4333
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| 2 | | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 4333 by replacing |
| 3 | | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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| 4 | | "Section 5. The Housing Authorities Act is amended by |
| 5 | | adding Section 8.24 as follows:
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| 6 | | (310 ILCS 10/8.24 new) |
| 7 | | Sec. 8.24. Housing Ombudsman. |
| 8 | | (a) A Housing Authority located within a municipality |
| 9 | | having a population of 1,000,000 or more shall establish a |
| 10 | | Housing Ombudsman to mediate disputes between housing |
| 11 | | authority residents and housing developments under the |
| 12 | | jurisdiction of the Housing Authority. The Housing Ombudsman |
| 13 | | shall have specific oversight over all housing complaints from |
| 14 | | housing authority residents, including housing complaints from |
| 15 | | residents residing in family developments, senior |
| 16 | | developments, and scattered site developments and residents |
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| 1 | | enrolled in a voucher program under Section 8 of the United |
| 2 | | States Housing Act of 1937. |
| 3 | | (b) The Housing Ombudsman shall be hired by and report to |
| 4 | | the Housing Authority's Board of Commissioners, not the Chief |
| 5 | | Executive Officer. The Board of Commissioners may hire |
| 6 | | additional staff necessary to carry out the duties of the |
| 7 | | Housing Ombudsman. The Housing Ombudsman, or his or her staff, |
| 8 | | shall be fluent in Spanish in order to communicate with |
| 9 | | Spanish-speaking residents. The Housing Ombudsman must also |
| 10 | | have a process in place to communicate with and address the |
| 11 | | housing complaints of residents who speak languages other than |
| 12 | | English or Spanish. |
| 13 | | (c) The Housing Ombudsman shall publish a quarterly report |
| 14 | | and present it to the Housing Authority's Board of |
| 15 | | Commissioners at a public meeting. The report shall include and |
| 16 | | detail the following: |
| 17 | | (1) The number of housing complaints made during the |
| 18 | | reporting period. |
| 19 | | (2) The types of housing complaints. |
| 20 | | (3) The locations of the housing complaints. |
| 21 | | (4) Any increase or decrease in the number of housing |
| 22 | | complaints made in comparison to those made during the |
| 23 | | previous reporting period. |
| 24 | | (5) The manner in which the reported housing complaints |
| 25 | | were addressed. |
| 26 | | (6) The Housing Ombudsman's recommendations for |
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| 1 | | improvements in operations to address housing complaints. |
| 2 | | (d) The Housing Authority's Asset Management Services |
| 3 | | Department and all property managers, including contractual |
| 4 | | property managers, shall comply with the recommendations set |
| 5 | | forth in the Housing Ombudsman's report. |
| 6 | | (e) The Housing Authority shall operate a hotline for the |
| 7 | | purpose of receiving phone calls from residents with housing |
| 8 | | complaints. |
| 9 | | (f) Failure to comply with this Section constitutes a civil |
| 10 | | rights violation under the Illinois Human Rights Act.
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| 11 | | Section 10. The Illinois Human Rights Act is amended by |
| 12 | | adding Section 3-105.2 as follows.
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| 13 | | (775 ILCS 5/3-105.2 new) |
| 14 | | Sec. 3-105.2. Housing Authorities; Housing Ombudsman. A |
| 15 | | violation of Section 8.24 of the Housing Authorities Act |
| 16 | | constitutes a civil rights violation under this Act.
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| 17 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
| 18 | | becoming law.".
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