SB1210 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB098 07470 HEP 37540 b

98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014
SB1210

Introduced 1/30/2013, by Sen. Ira I. Silverstein

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act
775 ILCS 5/1-102	from Ch. 68, par. 1-102
775 ILCS 5/1-103	from Ch. 68, par. 1-103

Creates the Bill of Rights for the Homeless Act. Sets forth certain rights of homeless persons. Provides that in any civil action alleging a violation of the Act, the court may award appropriate injunctive and declaratory relief, actual damages, and reasonable attorney's fees and costs to a prevailing plaintiff. Amends the Illinois Human Rights Act to make corresponding changes. Defines "housing status" as the status of having or not having a fixed or regular residence, including the status of living on the streets, in a shelter, or in a temporary residence.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT in relation to homeless persons.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Bill of Rights for the Homeless Act.

Section 5. Legislative intent. It is the long-standing policy of this State that no person should suffer unnecessarily from cold or hunger, be deprived of shelter or the basic rights incident to shelter, or be subject to unfair discrimination based on his or her homeless status. At the present time, many persons have been rendered homeless as a result of economic hardship, a severe shortage of safe and affordable housing, and a shrinking social safety net. It is the intent of this Act to lessen the adverse effects and conditions caused by the lack of residence or a home.

Section 10. Bill of Rights.

(a) No person's rights, privileges, or access to public services may be denied or abridged solely because he or she is homeless. Such a person shall be granted the same rights and privileges as any other citizen of this State. A person experiencing homelessness has the following rights:

(1) the right to use and move freely in public spaces, including but not limited to public sidewalks, public parks, public transportation, and public buildings, in the same manner as any other person and without discrimination on the basis of his or her housing status;

(2) the right to equal treatment by all State and municipal agencies, without discrimination on the basis of housing status;

(3) the right not to face discrimination while seeking or maintaining employment due to his or her lack of permanent mailing address, or his or her mailing address being that of a shelter or social service provider;

(4) the right to emergency medical care free from discrimination based on his or her housing status;

(5) the right to vote, register to vote, and receive documentation necessary to prove identity for voting without discrimination due to his or her housing status;

(6) the right to protection from disclosure of his or her records and information provided to homeless shelters and service providers to State, municipal, and private entities without appropriate legal authority; and the right to confidentiality of personal records and information in accordance with all limitations on disclosure established by the federal Homeless Management Information Systems, the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, and the federal Violence Against Women Act; and

(7) the right to a reasonable expectation of privacy in his or her personal property to the same extent as personal property in a permanent residence.

(b) As used in this Act, "housing status" has the same meaning as that contained in Section 1-103 of the Illinois Human Rights Act.

Section 15. Damages and attorney's fees. In any civil action alleging a violation of this Act, the court may award appropriate injunctive and declaratory relief, actual damages, and reasonable attorney's fees and costs to a prevailing plaintiff.

Section 90. 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, housing status, 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 Elementary, Secondary, and Higher Education. To prevent sexual harassment in employment and sexual harassment in elementary, secondary, and 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 elementary, secondary, and higher education, and discrimination based on citizenship status in employment.

(Source: P.A. 95-668, eff. 10-10-07; 96-447, eff. 1-1-10; 96-1319, eff. 7-27-10.)

(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;

(5) For purposes of Article 5, also includes any mental, psychological, or developmental disability, including autism spectrum disorders.

(I-5) Housing status. "Housing status" means the status of having or not having a fixed or regular residence, including the status of living on the streets, in a shelter, or in a temporary residence.

(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, housing status, military status, sexual orientation, or unfavorable discharge from military service as those terms are defined in this Section.

(Source: P.A. 96-328, eff. 8-11-09; 96-447, eff. 1-1-10; 97-410, eff. 1-1-12; 97-813, eff. 7-13-12.)