It has been just over a year since the Illinois Human Rights Act amendment
that bans sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination went into effect and 88 complaints have been filed throughout the state since it?s been enacted ( 72 in Chicago and 16 in Springfield as of the press date ) . Windy City Times talked with Illinois Department of Human Rights ( IDHR ) Director Rocco Claps about the complaints as well as domestic-partner benefits. Windy City Times: What have you noticed since the amendment' s been enacted?
Rocco Claps: The trend [ regarding complaints ] is that most of the charges involve employment discrimination, which is very similar to how it is in other groups. The amount of charges, however, is indicative of people who are not used to coming to the state; we expected a higher amount than we' ve had.
WCT: So what does it say that the majority of the complaints are employment discrimination cases?
RC: It says that people feel the most discrimination in that area; people are passed over for raises, or they' re denied employment or promotions, and they deal with that a lot more often than a bigger transaction like renting an apartment. Also, frankly, I think that housing discrimination is a lot more subjective and people need to be a lot more aware of what their rights are. I think that people tend to not see housing discrimination as much.
WCT: How many of these complaints have been substantiated or settled?
RC: That' s a good question. We' ll have to follow up on that. We probably don' t have a lot that have been completed. [ Windy City Times received a call shortly after the interview from IDHR Communication Manager Anjali Nayyar-Julka, who said that all files are ' currently active? because, among other things, the majority of the complaints were filed late last year. ]
WCT: How long does it typically take for a case to be processed?
RC: We have 365 days to process a charge. If you file a charge, it' ll take a few days to put the charge together. Once you' ve signed the finished charge, it takes 10 days for the person you' re filing against to receive the charge; then, they have 60 days to respond. Typically, we have them done in a year but sometimes get extensions; sometimes, they may run shorter if people decide they want to go into mediation. Sometimes things get really complicated so it' s hard to put a meter on it.
In settlements, things can get complicated. Sometimes they want back pay or they could just want an apology.
WCT: There probably could or should have been more people who filed. How is the IDHR reaching out to the public to make sure they know about the statute?
RC: Honestly, I see what we' re doing right now as [ a step in the right direction ] . We talk to key media outlets in each community and we' ve also done some stuff with Lambda Legal and Equality Illinois. We pretty much go where anyone invites us.
WCT: And the outreach has been pretty extensive downstate as well?
RC: We probably could do more downstate. That' s one of the goals for this year to do some different kinds of outreach in the Carbondale and Springfield areas; they tend to be the hubs for their regions of the state.
WCT: Also, [ according to a press release from Gov. Blagojevich' s office ] 225 same-sex couples have enrolled for domestic-partner benefits since the administrative order went into place in 2006.
RC: Yes. The governor extended domestic-partner benefits to the workers of the state of Illinois. What' s important is that this is a way to see where we' ve been as far as the Human Rights Act goes, but it also lets us see how good this governor has been in matters that concern the [ LGBT ] community. This is something the people should know about, and it should encourage companies across the state to do what the governor has done.
WCT: Do you feel that any other advances need to be made regarding human-rights statutes in Illinois?
RC: Certainly, there' s always the debate over [ same-sex ] marriage and civil unions, so that will probably be the next big thing regarding the LGBT community.
However, we' ve also been working with the issue of bullying kids in schools. It has very little with our day-to-day work because we don' t [ deal ] with those charges; they' re out of our jurisdiction. But I think it' s part of our responsibility in the civic sense. We need to look at how people are treated [ and treat others ] while they' re young. We need to make sure that administrators, educators, guardians and parents know what bullying is and how it' s happening. We' ve worked with CESO [ Coalition on Education and Sexual Orientation ] on a number of matters over the last couple of years; bullying seems to be skewed toward gay and lesbian kids. That' s our biggest challenge: to create a space where kids can be accepted and appreciated for their differences no matter what those differences are.
For more info, see www.state.il.us/dhr or call 312-814-6200.