Full Text of SB1210 098th General Assembly
SB1210enr 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | AN ACT in relation to homeless persons.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Bill | 5 | | of
Rights for the Homeless Act.
| 6 | | Section 5. Legislative intent. It is the long-standing | 7 | | policy of
this
State that no person should suffer unnecessarily | 8 | | from cold or
hunger, be
deprived of shelter or the basic rights | 9 | | incident to shelter, or be subject to unfair discrimination | 10 | | based on his or her homeless status.
At the present time, many | 11 | | persons have been rendered homeless as
a result
of economic | 12 | | hardship, a severe shortage of safe and affordable housing,
and
| 13 | | a shrinking social safety net. It is
the intent of this
Act to | 14 | | lessen the adverse effects and conditions caused by the lack of
| 15 | | residence or a home.
| 16 | | Section 10. Bill of
Rights. | 17 | | (a) No person's rights, privileges, or access to
public | 18 | | services may be denied or abridged solely because he or she is
| 19 | | homeless. Such a person shall be granted the same rights and | 20 | | privileges as
any
other citizen of this State. A person | 21 | | experiencing homelessness has the following rights:
| 22 | | (1) the right to use and move freely in public spaces, |
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| 1 | | including but not limited to
public sidewalks, public | 2 | | parks, public transportation, and public buildings, in the | 3 | | same manner as
any other person and without discrimination | 4 | | on the basis of his or her housing status;
| 5 | | (2) the right to equal treatment by all State and | 6 | | municipal agencies, without
discrimination on the basis of | 7 | | housing status;
| 8 | | (3) the right not to face discrimination while | 9 | | maintaining employment due
to his or her lack of permanent | 10 | | mailing address, or his or her mailing address being that | 11 | | of a
shelter or social service provider;
| 12 | | (4) the right to emergency medical care free from | 13 | | discrimination based on his or her
housing status;
| 14 | | (5) the right to vote, register to vote, and receive | 15 | | documentation necessary to prove
identity for voting | 16 | | without discrimination due to his or her housing status;
| 17 | | (6) the right to protection from disclosure of his or | 18 | | her records and information
provided to homeless shelters | 19 | | and service providers to State, municipal, and private | 20 | | entities
without appropriate legal authority; and the | 21 | | right to confidentiality of personal records and
| 22 | | information in accordance with all limitations on | 23 | | disclosure established by the federal Homeless
Management | 24 | | Information Systems, the federal Health Insurance | 25 | | Portability and Accountability
Act, and the federal | 26 | | Violence Against Women Act; and
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| 1 | | (7) the right to a reasonable expectation of privacy in | 2 | | his or her personal property to
the same extent as personal | 3 | | property in a permanent residence.
| 4 | | (b)
As used in this Act, "housing status" means the status | 5 | | of
having or not having a fixed or regular residence, including
| 6 | | the status of living on the streets, in a shelter, or in a
| 7 | | temporary residence.
| 8 | | Section 15. Damages and attorney's fees. In any civil | 9 | | action alleging a violation of this
Act, the court may award | 10 | | appropriate injunctive and declaratory relief, actual damages, | 11 | | and
reasonable attorney's fees and costs to a prevailing | 12 | | plaintiff.
| 13 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 14 | | becoming law. |
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