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: | ||||||
| 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. | ||||||
| 11 | Section 10. The Illinois Human Rights Act is amended by | ||||||
| 12 | adding Section 3-105.2 as follows. | ||||||
| 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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