410 ILCS 25/ Environmental Barriers Act.

(410 ILCS 25/1) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 3711)

Sec. 1. Short Title. This Act shall be known and may be cited as the Environmental Barriers Act.

(Source: P.A. 84-948.)

(410 ILCS 25/2) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 3712)

Sec. 2. Statement of findings and purpose. The General Assembly finds that:

(a) Public facilities and multi-story housing which contain environmental barriers create a serious threat to the safety and welfare of all members of society.

(b) Individuals with disabilities are often denied access to and use of public facilities and multi-story housing due to environmental barriers which prevent them from exercising many of their rights and privileges as citizens.

(c) The integration of individuals with disabilities into the mainstream of society furthers the goals and policies of this State to assure the right of all persons to live and work as independently as possible and to participate in the life of the community as fully as possible.

Therefore, eliminating environmental barriers is an object of serious public concern. This Act shall be liberally construed toward that end.

(Source: P.A. 99-582, eff. 1-1-17.)

(410 ILCS 25/3) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 3713)

Sec. 3. Definitions. As used in this Act and the Illinois Accessibility Code (71 Ill. Adm. Code 400):

"2010 Standards for Accessible Design" means the regulations promulgated by the Department of Justice, 28 CFR Parts 35 and 36, pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).

"Accessibility Code" or "Code" means those standards, known as the Illinois Accessibility Code, 71 Ill. Adm. Code 400, adopted by the Capital Development Board pursuant to Section 4 of this Act.

"Accessible" means that a site, building, facility, or portion thereof is compliant with the Code.

"Accessible means of egress" means a continuous and unobstructed way of egress travel from any point in a building or facility that provides an accessible route to an area of refuge, a horizontal exit, or a public way.

"Accessible route" means a continuous unobstructed path connecting all accessible elements and spaces of a building or facility. Interior accessible routes may include corridors, floors, ramps, elevators, lifts, skywalks, tunnels, and clear floor space at fixtures. Exterior accessible routes may include parking access aisles, curb ramps, crosswalks at vehicular ways, walks, ramps, and lifts.

"Adaptability" or "adaptable" means the ability of certain building spaces and elements, such as kitchen counters, sinks and grab bars, to be added or altered so as to accommodate the needs of individuals with different types or degrees of disability.

"Adaptable dwelling unit" means a dwelling unit constructed and equipped so it can be converted with minimal structural change for use by persons with different types and degrees of disability.

"Alteration" means any modification or renovation that affects or could affect the usability of the building or facility or part of the building or facility. "Alteration" includes, but is not limited to, remodeling, renovation, rehabilitation, reconstruction, historic preservation, historic reconstruction, historic rehabilitation, historic restoration, changes to or rearrangement of the structural parts or elements, changes to or replacement of plumbing fixtures or controls, changes to or rearrangement in the plan configuration of walls and full-height partitions, resurfacing of circulation paths or vehicular ways, and changes or improvements to parking lots. The following work is not considered to be an alteration unless it affects the usability of the building or facility: normal maintenance, reroofing, painting or wallpapering, or changes to mechanical and electrical systems.

"Built environment" means those parts of the physical environment which are designed, constructed or altered by people, including all public facilities and multi-story housing units.

"Circulation path" means an exterior or interior way of passage provided for pedestrian travel, including, but not limited to, walks, hallways, courtyards, elevators, platform lifts, ramps, stairways, and landings.

"Common use areas" or "common areas" means areas, including interior and exterior rooms, spaces, or elements, which are held out for use by all tenants and owners in public facilities and multi-story housing, including, but not limited to, residents of an apartment building or condominium complex, occupants of an office building, or the guests of such residents or occupants. "Common use areas" or "common areas" includes, but is not limited to, lobbies, elevators, hallways, laundry rooms, swimming pools, storage rooms, recreation areas, parking garages, building offices, conference rooms, patios, restrooms, telephones, drinking fountains, restaurants, cafeterias, delicatessens and stores.

"Disability" means a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; a record or history of such an impairment; or regarded as having such an impairment.

"Dwelling unit" means a single unit of residence which provides a kitchen or food preparation area, in addition to rooms and spaces for living, bathing, sleeping, and the like. Dwelling units are found in housing types such as townhouses and apartment buildings.

"Element" means an architectural, mechanical (including plumbing), or electrical component of a building, facility, space, site, or public right-of-way.

"Entrance" means any access point to a building or portion of a building or facility or multi-story housing used for the purpose of entering. An entrance includes the approach walk, the vertical access leading to the entrance platform, the entrance platform itself, vestibules if provided, and the entry door or doors or gate or gates.

"Environmental barrier" means an element or space of the built environment which limits accessibility to or use of the built environment by individuals with disabilities.

"Facility" means all or any portion of buildings, structures, site improvements, elements, and pedestrian routes or vehicular ways located on a site.

"Governmental unit" means State agencies as defined in the State Auditing Act, circuit courts, units of local government and their officers, boards of election commissioners, public colleges and universities, and school districts.

"Multi-story housing" means any building of 4 or more stories containing 10 or more dwelling units constructed to be held out for sale or lease by any person to the public. "Multi-story housing" includes, but is not limited to, the following building types: apartment buildings, condominium buildings, convents, housing for the elderly, and monasteries.

"Owner" means the owner of the real property or existing facility or the tenant of the real property or existing facility.

"Primary function area" means an area of a building or facility containing a major activity for which the building or facility is intended. There can be multiple areas containing a primary function in a single building. Primary function areas are not limited to public use areas. Mixed use facilities may include numerous primary function areas for each use. Areas containing a primary function do not include: mechanical rooms, boiler rooms, supply storage rooms, employee lounges or employee locker rooms, janitorial closets, entrances, corridors, or restrooms. Restrooms are not areas containing a primary function unless the provision of restrooms is a primary purpose of the area, such as in highway rest stops.

"Public" means any group of people who are users of the building or employees of the building. The term "public" is not intended to include those people who are employed by the owner of a building for the sole purpose of construction or alteration of a building during the time in which the building is being constructed or altered.

"Public facility" means:

(1) any building, structure, or site improvement which is:

(i) owned by or on behalf of a governmental unit,

(ii) leased, rented or used, in whole or in part, by a governmental unit, or

(iii) financed, in whole or in part, by a grant or a loan made or guaranteed by a governmental unit;

(2) any building, structure, or site improvement used or held out for use or intended for use by the public or by employees for one or more of, but not limited to, the following:

(i) the purpose of gathering, recreation, transient lodging, education, employment, institutional care, or the purchase, rental, sale or acquisition of any goods, personal property or services;

(ii) places of public display or collection;

(iii) social service establishments; and

(iv) stations used for specified public transportation; or

(3) a public right-of-way.

"Public right-of-way" means public land or property, usually in interconnected corridors, that is acquired for or dedicated to transportation purposes.

"Public way" means any street, alley, or other parcel of land open to the outside air leading to a public street, which has been deeded, dedicated, or otherwise permanently appropriated to the public for public use, and which has a clear width and height of not less than 10 feet (3048 mm).

"State" means the State of Illinois and any instrumentality or agency thereof.

"Technically infeasible" means, with respect to an alteration of a building or a facility, that a requirement of this Act or the Code has little likelihood of being accomplished because existing structural conditions would require removing or altering a load-bearing member that is an essential part of the structural frame; or because other existing physical or site constraints prohibit modification or addition of elements, spaces, or features that are in full and strict compliance with the minimum requirements.

(Source: P.A. 99-582, eff. 1-1-17.)

(410 ILCS 25/4) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 3714)

Sec. 4. Illinois Accessibility Code. The Capital Development Board shall adopt and publish accessibility standards known as the Illinois Accessibility Code. With respect to public facilities, the Code shall dictate minimum design, construction, and alteration requirements to facilitate access to and use of the public facility by individuals with disabilities. With respect to multi-story housing, the Code shall dictate minimum design and construction requirements to facilitate access to and use of the common areas by individuals with disabilities and create a number of adaptable dwelling units in accordance with Section 5.

The Code shall be adopted and revised in accordance with the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. Beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly, the Capital Development Board shall begin the process of updating the 1997 Illinois Accessibility Code and shall model the updates on the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design. By no later than January 1, 2017, the Capital Development Board shall adopt and publish the updated Illinois Accessibility Code. The updated Illinois Accessibility Code may be more stringent than the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design and may identify specific standards. Beginning on January 1, 2017, if the ADA Standards for Accessible Design are updated, then the Capital Development Board shall update its accessibility standards, in keeping with the ADA Standards for Accessible Design, within 3 years after the ADA Standards for Accessible Design updates and shall adopt and publish an updated Illinois Accessibility Code.

The Capital Development Board may issue written interpretation of the Code within 30 calendar days of receipt of a written request unless a longer period is agreed to by the parties. Interpretations issued under this Section are project specific and do not constitute precedent for future or different circumstances.

(Source: P.A. 98-224, eff. 1-1-14; 99-61, eff. 7-16-15; 99-582, eff. 1-1-17.)

(410 ILCS 25/5) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 3715)

Sec. 5. Scope.

(a) New construction. Any new public facility or multi-story housing, or portion thereof, the construction of which began after May 1, 1988, is subject to the current provisions of this Act. The Code adopted by the Capital Development Board shall apply as follows:

(1) Public facilities; new construction. Any new public facility or portion thereof, the construction of which is begun after May 1, 1988 is subject to the provisions of the Code applicable to new construction as the Code existed at the time the construction commenced.

(2) Multi-story housing; new construction. Any new multi-story housing, or portion thereof, the construction of which is begun after May 1, 1988, is subject to the provisions of the Code applicable to new construction as the Code existed at the time the construction commenced. Twenty percent of the dwelling units in the multi-story housing shall be adaptable and the adaptable units shall be distributed throughout the multi-story housing to provide a variety of sizes and locations. In addition, all common and public use spaces shall be in compliance with the Code.

(3) Any new public facility or multi-story housing (i) for which a specific contract for the planning has been awarded prior to the effective date of a new version of the Code and (ii) construction of which is begun within 12 months of the effective date of the new version of the Code shall be exempt from compliance with the new version of the Code and may instead comply with the version of the Code as it existed at the time the contract was awarded.

(4) Accessibility of structures; new construction. New housing subject to this Act shall comply with all applicable laws and regulations. In the case where the new housing is not defined as multi-story for the purposes of this Act, but instead is a building in which 4 or more dwelling units or sleeping units intended to be occupied as a residence are contained within a single structure, the housing shall comply with the technical guidance of the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Fair Housing Accessibility Guidelines published March 6, 1991 and all subsequent versions, amendments, or supplements.

This subsection (4) does not apply within any unit of local government that by ordinance, rule, or regulation prescribes requirements to increase and facilitate access to the built environment by individuals with disabilities that are more stringent than those contained in this Act prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly.

(5) This Act, together with the Illinois Accessibility Code, 71 Ill. Adm. Code 400, has the force of a building code and as such is law in the State of Illinois. Any violation of the Code is deemed a violation of this Act and subject to enforcement pursuant to this Act.

(b) Alterations. Any alteration to a public facility shall provide accessibility as follows:

(1) Alterations generally. No alteration shall be undertaken that decreases or has the effect of decreasing accessibility or usability of a building or facility below the requirements for new construction at the time of alteration.

(2) Applicability. Any alteration of a public facility or multi-story housing shall comply with the Code provisions regarding alterations as such provisions exist at the time such alteration commences.

(3) Path of travel to primary function area. An alteration that affects or could affect the usability of or access to an area containing a primary function shall be made so as to ensure that, to the maximum extent feasible, the path of travel to the altered area, including the entrance route to the altered area and the rest rooms, telephones, and drinking fountains serving the altered area, are readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, unless the cost of the alterations to provide an accessible path of travel to the primary function area exceeds 20% of the cost of the overall alteration, or such alterations are otherwise disproportionate to the overall alterations in terms of cost and scope as set forth in the Code.

(c) No governmental unit may enter into a new or renewal agreement to lease, rent or use, in whole or in part, any building, structure or improved area which does not comply with the Code. Any governmental unit which is leasing, renting or using, in whole or in part, any building, structure or improved area which does not comply with the Code shall make all reasonable efforts to terminate such lease, rental or use.

(d) No public facility may be constructed or altered and no multi-story housing may be constructed without the statement of an architect registered in the State of Illinois that the plans for the work to be performed comply with the provisions of this Act and the Code promulgated hereunder unless the cost of such construction or alteration is less than $50,000. In the case of construction or alteration of an engineering nature, where the plans are prepared by an engineer, the statement may be made by a professional engineer registered in the State of Illinois or a structural engineer registered in the State of Illinois that the engineering plans comply with the provisions of this Act and the Code promulgated hereunder. The architect's and/or engineer's statement shall be filed by the architect or engineer and maintained in the office of the governmental unit responsible for the issuance of the building permit. In those governmental units which do not issue building permits, the statement shall be filed and maintained in the office of the county clerk.

(e) The requirements found in the Code cannot be waived by any party.

(Source: P.A. 99-582, eff. 1-1-17.)

(410 ILCS 25/6) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 3716)

Sec. 6. Enforcement.

(a) The Attorney General shall have authority to enforce the Code. The Attorney General may investigate any complaint or reported violation of this Act and, where necessary to ensure compliance, may do any or all of the following:

(1) Conduct an investigation to determine if a violation of this Act and the Code exists. This includes the power to:

(A) require an individual or entity to file a statement or report in writing under oath or otherwise, as to all information the Attorney General may consider;

(B) examine under oath any person alleged to have participated in or with knowledge of the violations; and

(C) issue subpoenas or conduct hearings in aid of any investigation.

(2) Bring an action for injunction to halt construction or alteration of any public facility or multi-story housing or to require compliance with the Code by any public facility or multi-story housing which has been or is being constructed or altered in violation of this Act and the Code.

(3) Bring an action for mandamus.

(4) Bring an action for penalties as follows:

(A) any owner of a public facility or multi-story housing in violation of this Act shall be subject to civil penalties in a sum not to exceed $250 per day, and each day the owner is in violation of this Act constitutes a separate offense;

(B) any architect or engineer negligently or intentionally stating pursuant to Section 5 of this Act that a plan is in compliance with this Act when such plan is not in compliance shall be subject to a suspension, revocation, or refusal of restoration of his or her certificate of registration or license pursuant to the Illinois Architecture Practice Act of 1989, the Professional Engineering Practice Act of 1989, and the Structural Engineering Practice Act of 1989; and

(C) any person who knowingly issues a building permit or other official authorization for the construction or alteration of a public facility or the construction of multi-story housing in violation of this Act shall be subject to civil penalties in a sum not to exceed $1,000.

(5) Bring an action for any other appropriate relief, including, but not limited to, in lieu of a civil action, the entry of an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance with the individual or entity deemed to have violated this Act.

(b) A public facility or multi-story housing continues to be in violation of this Act and the Code following construction or alteration so long as the public facility or multi-story housing is not compliant with this Act and the Code.

(c) Beginning July 31, 2020 and by July 31 of every year thereafter, the Attorney General shall provide data on the Attorney General's website about annual enforcement efforts performed under this Act. The data shall include, but is not limited to, the following:

(1) The total number of open compliance investigations each year.

(2) The 10 most frequent complaints received under this Act that are under investigation each year.

(3) The total number of complaints received under this Act annually.

(4) Assistance provided to constituents throughout the State on the Attorney General's disability rights technical assistance line.

(Source: P.A. 101-537, eff. 8-23-19.)

(410 ILCS 25/7) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 3717)

Sec. 7. (Repealed).

(Source: P.A. 91-91, eff. 1-1-00. Repealed by P.A. 99-582, eff. 1-1-17.)

(410 ILCS 25/8) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 3718)

Sec. 8. Local standards. The provisions of this Act and the Code adopted under this Act constitute minimum requirements for all governmental units, including home rule units. Any governmental unit may enact more stringent requirements to increase and facilitate access to the built environment by individuals with disabilities.

(Source: P.A. 99-582, eff. 1-1-17.)