Full Text of HB4829 94th General Assembly
HB4829 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2005 and 2006 HB4829
Introduced 1/18/2006, by Rep. William Delgado SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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775 ILCS 5/7B-102 |
from Ch. 68, par. 7B-102 |
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Amends the Illinois Human Rights Act. Provides that the failure of the Department of Human Rights to complete its investigation of a charge alleging a violation of the Real Estate Transactions Article within 100 days after the proper filing of the charge is not jurisdictional.
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A BILL FOR
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HB4829 |
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LRB094 16490 WGH 51750 b |
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| AN ACT concerning human rights.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Illinois Human Rights Act is amended by | 5 |
| changing Section 7B-102 as follows:
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| (775 ILCS 5/7B-102) (from Ch. 68, par. 7B-102)
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| Sec. 7B-102. Procedures.
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| (A) Charge.
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| (1) Within one year after the
date that a civil rights | 10 |
| violation allegedly has been committed or terminated,
a | 11 |
| charge in writing under oath or affirmation may be filed | 12 |
| with the
Department by an aggrieved party or issued by the | 13 |
| Department itself
under the signature of the Director.
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| (2) The charge shall be in such detail as to | 15 |
| substantially apprise
any party properly concerned as to | 16 |
| the time, place, and facts
surrounding the alleged civil | 17 |
| rights violation.
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| (B) Notice and Response to Charge.
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| (1) The Department shall serve
notice upon the | 20 |
| aggrieved party acknowledging such charge and advising the
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| aggrieved party of the time limits and choice of forums | 22 |
| provided under this
Act. The Department shall, within 10 | 23 |
| days of the date on which the charge
was filed or the | 24 |
| identification of an additional respondent under paragraph
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| (2) of this subsection, serve on the respondent a copy of | 26 |
| the charge along with a notice
identifying the alleged | 27 |
| civil rights violation and advising the
respondent of the | 28 |
| procedural rights and obligations of respondents under
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| this Act and shall require the respondent to file a | 30 |
| verified response to
the allegations contained in the | 31 |
| charge within 30 days. The respondent
shall serve a copy of | 32 |
| its response on the complainant or his
representative. All |
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| allegations contained in the charge
not timely denied by | 2 |
| the respondent shall be deemed admitted, unless the
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| respondent states that it is without sufficient | 4 |
| information to
form a belief with respect to such | 5 |
| allegation. The Department may issue
a notice of default | 6 |
| directed to any respondent who fails to file a verified
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| response to a charge within 30 days of the date on which | 8 |
| the charge was
filed, unless the respondent can demonstrate | 9 |
| good cause as
to why such notice should not issue. The term | 10 |
| "good cause" shall be defined by rule promulgated by the | 11 |
| Department. Within 10 days of the date he
receives the | 12 |
| respondent's response, the complainant may file his reply | 13 |
| to
said response. If he chooses to file a reply, the | 14 |
| complainant shall serve
a copy of said reply on the | 15 |
| respondent or his representative. A party
shall have the | 16 |
| right to supplement his response or reply at any time that
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| the investigation of the charge is pending.
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| (2) A person who is not named as a respondent in a | 19 |
| charge, but who is
identified as a respondent in the course | 20 |
| of investigation, may be joined as
an additional or | 21 |
| substitute respondent upon written notice, under | 22 |
| subsection
(B), to such person, from the Department.
Such | 23 |
| notice, in addition to meeting the requirements of | 24 |
| subsections (A)
and (B), shall explain the basis for the | 25 |
| Department's belief that a person
to whom the notice is | 26 |
| addressed is properly joined as a respondent.
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| (C) Investigation.
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| (1) The Department shall conduct a full investigation
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| of the allegations set forth in the charge and complete | 30 |
| such investigation
within 100 days after the filing of the | 31 |
| charge, unless it is impracticable to
do so. Failure to | 32 |
| complete the investigation within 100 days after the proper | 33 |
| filing of the charge is not jurisdictional.
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| (2) If the Department is unable to complete the | 35 |
| investigation within 100
days after the charge is filed, | 36 |
| the Department shall notify the complainant
and respondent |
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| in writing of the reasons for not doing so.
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| (3) The Director or his or her designated | 3 |
| representative shall have
authority to request any member | 4 |
| of the Commission to issue subpoenas to
compel the | 5 |
| attendance of a witness or the production for
examination | 6 |
| of any books, records or documents whatsoever.
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| (4) If any witness whose testimony is required for any | 8 |
| investigation
resides outside the State, or through | 9 |
| illness or any other good cause as
determined by the | 10 |
| Director is unable to be interviewed by the investigator
or | 11 |
| appear at a fact finding conference, his or her testimony | 12 |
| or deposition
may be taken, within or without the State, in | 13 |
| the same manner as
provided for in the taking of | 14 |
| depositions in civil cases in circuit courts.
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| (5) Upon reasonable notice to the complainant and the | 16 |
| respondent,
the Department shall conduct a fact finding | 17 |
| conference, unless prior to
100 days from the date on which | 18 |
| the charge was filed, the Director has
determined whether | 19 |
| there is substantial evidence that the alleged civil
rights | 20 |
| violation has been committed. A party's failure to attend | 21 |
| the
conference
without good cause may result in dismissal | 22 |
| or default. A notice of dismissal
or default shall be | 23 |
| issued by the Director and shall notify the relevant
party | 24 |
| that a request for review may be filed in writing with the | 25 |
| Chief Legal
Counsel of the Department
within 30 days of | 26 |
| receipt of notice of dismissal or default.
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| (D) Report.
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| (1) Each investigated charge shall be the subject of a
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| report to the Director. The report shall be a confidential | 30 |
| document
subject to review by the Director, authorized | 31 |
| Department employees, the
parties, and, where indicated by | 32 |
| this Act, members of the Commission or
their designated | 33 |
| hearing officers.
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| The report shall contain:
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| (a) the names and dates of contacts with witnesses;
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| (b) a summary and the date of correspondence and |
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| other contacts with the
aggrieved party and the | 2 |
| respondent;
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| (c) a summary description of other pertinent | 4 |
| records;
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| (d) a summary of witness statements; and
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| (e) answers to questionnaires.
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| A final report under this paragraph may be amended if | 8 |
| additional evidence
is later discovered.
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| (2) Upon review of the report and within 100 days of | 10 |
| the filing of the
charge, unless it is impracticable
to do | 11 |
| so, the Director shall determine whether there is | 12 |
| substantial
evidence that the alleged civil rights | 13 |
| violation has been committed or is
about to be committed.
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| If the Director is unable to make the determination within | 15 |
| 100 days after
the filing of the charge, the Director shall | 16 |
| notify the complainant and
respondent in writing of the | 17 |
| reasons for not doing so. Failure to complete the | 18 |
| investigation within 100 days after the proper filing of | 19 |
| the charge is not jurisdictional.
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| (a) If the Director determines that there is no | 21 |
| substantial
evidence, the charge shall be dismissed | 22 |
| and the aggrieved party notified
that he or she may | 23 |
| seek review of the dismissal order before the
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| Commission. The aggrieved party shall have 30 days from | 25 |
| receipt of notice
to file a request for review by the | 26 |
| Chief Legal Counsel of the Department. The
Director | 27 |
| shall make
public disclosure of each such dismissal.
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| (b) If the Director determines that there is | 29 |
| substantial evidence, he or
she shall immediately | 30 |
| issue a complaint on behalf of the aggrieved party
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| pursuant to subsection (F).
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| (E) Conciliation.
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| (1) During the period beginning with the filing of
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| charge and ending with the filing of a complaint or a | 35 |
| dismissal by the
Department, the Department shall, to the | 36 |
| extent feasible, engage in
conciliation with respect to |
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| such charge.
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| When the Department determines that a formal
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| conciliation conference is feasible, the aggrieved party | 4 |
| and respondent
shall be notified of the time and place of | 5 |
| the conference by registered
or certified mail at least 7 | 6 |
| days prior thereto and either or both
parties shall appear | 7 |
| at the conference in person or by attorney.
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| (2) The place fixed for the conference shall be within | 9 |
| 35 miles of
the place where the civil rights violation is | 10 |
| alleged to have been
committed.
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| (3) Nothing occurring at the conference shall be made | 12 |
| public or used as
evidence in a subsequent proceeding for | 13 |
| the purpose of proving a violation
under this Act unless | 14 |
| the complainant and respondent agree in writing that
such | 15 |
| disclosure be made.
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| (4) A conciliation agreement arising out of such | 17 |
| conciliation shall be
an agreement between the respondent | 18 |
| and the complainant, and shall be
subject to approval by | 19 |
| the Department and Commission.
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| (5) A conciliation agreement may provide for binding | 21 |
| arbitration of the
dispute arising from the charge. Any | 22 |
| such arbitration that results from a
conciliation | 23 |
| agreement may award appropriate relief, including monetary | 24 |
| relief.
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| (6) Each conciliation agreement shall be made public | 26 |
| unless the
complainant and respondent otherwise agree and | 27 |
| the Department determines
that disclosure is not required | 28 |
| to further the purpose of this Act.
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| (F) Complaint.
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| (1) When there is a failure to settle or adjust any
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| charge through a conciliation conference and the charge is | 32 |
| not dismissed,
the Department shall prepare a
written | 33 |
| complaint, under oath or affirmation, stating the nature of | 34 |
| the
civil rights violation and the relief sought on behalf | 35 |
| of the aggrieved
party. Such complaint shall be based on | 36 |
| the final investigation report and
need not be limited to |
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| the facts or grounds alleged in the charge filed
under | 2 |
| subsection (A).
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| (2) The complaint shall be filed with the Commission.
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| (3) The Department may not issue a complaint under this | 5 |
| Section
regarding an alleged civil rights violation after | 6 |
| the beginning of
the trial of a civil action commenced by | 7 |
| the aggrieved party under any
State or federal law, seeking | 8 |
| relief with respect to that alleged civil rights
violation.
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| (G) Time Limit.
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| (1) When a charge of a civil rights violation has been
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| properly filed, the Department, within 100 days thereof, | 12 |
| unless it is
impracticable to do so,
shall either issue and | 13 |
| file a complaint in the manner and form set forth in
this | 14 |
| Section or shall order that no complaint be issued. Any | 15 |
| such order
shall be duly served upon both the aggrieved | 16 |
| party and the respondent. Failure to complete the | 17 |
| investigation within 100 days after the proper filing of | 18 |
| the charge is not jurisdictional.
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| (2) The Director shall make available to the aggrieved | 20 |
| party
and the respondent, at any time, upon request | 21 |
| following completion of the
Department's investigation, | 22 |
| information derived from an investigation and
any final | 23 |
| investigative report relating to that investigation.
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| (H) This amendatory Act of 1995 applies to causes of action | 25 |
| filed on or
after
January 1, 1996.
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| (Source: P.A. 94-326, eff. 7-26-05.)
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 28 |
| becoming law.
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