Public Act 093-1078
 
SB3186 Enrolled LRB093 20455 WGH 46241 b

    AN ACT concerning human rights.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Human Rights Act is amended by
changing Sections 1-102, 1-103, 3-103, and 3-106 and the
heading of Article 1 and adding Section 1-101.1 as follows:
 
    (775 ILCS 5/Art. 1 heading)
ARTICLE 1.
GENERAL PROVISIONS TITLE, POLICY AND DEFINITIONS
 
    (775 ILCS 5/1-101.1 new)
    Sec. 1-101.1. Construction. Nothing in this Act shall be
construed as requiring any employer, employment agency, or
labor organization to give preferential treatment or special
rights based on sexual orientation or to implement affirmative
action policies or programs based on sexual orientation.
 
    (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, marital status,
physical or mental handicap, 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 Higher
Education. To prevent sexual harassment in employment and
sexual harassment in 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 higher
education, and discrimination based on citizenship status in
employment.
(Source: P.A. 87-579; 88-178.)
 
    (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, 3-103, 3-104,
3-104.1, 3-105, 4-102, 4-103, 5-102, 5A-102 and 6-101 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) Handicap. "Handicap" 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 handicap;
        (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.
    (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 the armed forces of the United States,
status as a current member 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 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.
    (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, handicap, military status, sexual orientation,
or unfavorable discharge from military service as those terms
are defined in this Section.
(Source: P.A. 93-941, eff. 8-16-04.)
 
    (775 ILCS 5/3-103)  (from Ch. 68, par. 3-103)
    Sec. 3-103. Blockbusting.) It is a civil rights violation
for any person to:
    (A) Solicitation. Solicit for sale, lease, listing or
purchase any residential real estate within this State, on the
grounds of loss of value due to the present or prospective
entry into the vicinity of the property involved of any person
or persons of any particular race, color, religion, national
origin, ancestry, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital
status, familial status or handicap.
    (B) Statements. Distribute or cause to be distributed,
written material or statements designed to induce any owner of
residential real estate in this State to sell or lease his or
her property because of any present or prospective changes in
the race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, sex,
sexual orientation, marital status, familial status or
handicap of residents in the vicinity of the property involved.
    (C) Creating Alarm. Intentionally create alarm, among
residents of any community, by transmitting communications in
any manner, including a telephone call whether or not
conversation thereby ensues, with a design to induce any owner
of residential real estate in this state to sell or lease his
or her property because of any present or prospective entry
into the vicinity of the property involved of any person or
persons of any particular race, color, religion, national
origin, ancestry, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital
status, familial status or handicap.
(Source: P.A. 86-910.)
 
    (775 ILCS 5/3-106)  (from Ch. 68, par. 3-106)
    Sec. 3-106. Exemptions.) Nothing contained in Section
3-102 shall prohibit:
    (A) Private Sales of Single Family Homes. Any sale of a
single family home by its owner so long as the following
criteria are met:
        (1) The owner does not own or have a beneficial
    interest in more than three single family homes at the time
    of the sale;
        (2) The owner or a member of his or her family was the
    last current resident of the home;
        (3) The home is sold without the use in any manner of
    the sales or rental facilities or services of any real
    estate broker or salesman, or of any employee or agent of
    any real estate broker or salesman;
        (4) The home is sold without the publication, posting
    or mailing, after notice, of any advertisement or written
    notice in violation of paragraph (F) of Section 3-102.
    (B) Apartments. Rental of a housing accommodation in a
building which contains housing accommodations for not more
than five families living independently of each other, if the
lessor or a member of his or her family resides in one of the
housing accommodations;
    (C) Private Rooms. Rental of a room or rooms in a private
home by an owner if he or she or a member of his or her family
resides therein or, while absent for a period of not more than
twelve months, if he or she or a member of his or her family
intends to return to reside therein;
    (D) Reasonable local, State, or Federal restrictions
regarding the maximum number of occupants permitted to occupy a
dwelling.
    (E) Religious Organizations. A religious organization,
association, or society, or any nonprofit institution or
organization operated, supervised or controlled by or in
conjunction with a religious organization, association, or
society, from limiting the sale, rental or occupancy of a
dwelling which it owns or operates for other than a commercial
purpose to persons of the same religion, or from giving
preference to such persons, unless membership in such religion
is restricted on account of race, color, or national origin.
    (F) Sex. Restricting the rental of rooms in a housing
accommodation to persons of one sex.
    (G) Persons Convicted of Drug-Related Offenses. Conduct
against a person because such person has been convicted by any
court of competent jurisdiction of the illegal manufacture or
distribution of a controlled substance as defined in Section
102 of the federal Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802).
    (H) Persons engaged in the business of furnishing
appraisals of real property from taking into consideration
factors other than those based on unlawful discrimination or
familial status in furnishing appraisals.
    (H-1) The owner of an owner-occupied residential building
with 5 or fewer units (including the unit in which the owner
resides) from making decisions regarding whether to rent to a
person based upon that person's sexual orientation.
    (I) Housing for Older Persons. No provision in this Article
regarding familial status shall apply with respect to housing
for older persons.
        (1) As used in this Section, "housing for older
    persons" means housing:
            (a) provided under any State or Federal program
        that the Department determines is specifically
        designed and operated to assist elderly persons (as
        defined in the State or Federal program); or
            (b) intended for, and solely occupied by, persons
        62 years of age or older; or
            (c) intended and operated for occupancy by persons
        55 years of age or older and:
                (i) at least 80% of the occupied units are
            occupied by at least one person who is 55 years of
            age or older;
                (ii) the housing facility or community
            publishes and adheres to policies and procedures
            that demonstrate the intent required under this
            subdivision (c); and
                (iii) the housing facility or community
            complies with rules adopted by the Department for
            verification of occupancy, which shall:
                    (aa) provide for verification by reliable
                surveys and affidavits; and
                    (bb) include examples of the types of
                policies and procedures relevant to a
                determination of compliance with the
                requirement of clause (ii).
    These surveys and affidavits shall be admissible in
administrative and judicial proceedings for the purposes of
such verification.
        (2) Housing shall not fail to meet the requirements for
    housing for older persons by reason of:
            (a) persons residing in such housing as of the
        effective date of this amendatory Act of 1989 who do
        not meet the age requirements of subsections (1)(b) or
        (c); provided, that new occupants of such housing meet
        the age requirements of subsections (1)(b) or (c) of
        this subsection; or
            (b) unoccupied units; provided, that such units
        are reserved for occupancy by persons who meet the age
        requirements of subsections (1)(b) or (c) of this
        subsection.
        (3) (a) A person shall not be held personally liable
        for monetary damages for a violation of this Article if
        the person reasonably relied, in good faith, on the
        application of the exemption under this subsection (I)
        relating to housing for older persons.
            (b) For the purposes of this item (3), a person may
        show good faith reliance on the application of the
        exemption only by showing that:
                (i) the person has no actual knowledge that the
            facility or community is not, or will not be,
            eligible for the exemption; and
                (ii) the facility or community has stated
            formally, in writing, that the facility or
            community complies with the requirements for the
            exemption.
(Source: P.A. 89-520, eff. 7-18-96.)

Effective Date: 1/1/2006