§ 20-63

Rights of persons subjected to discrimination, harassment, or sexual harassment. (a) As used in this Section, "complainant" means a known person identified in a complaint filed with an Executive Inspector General as a person subjected to alleged discrimination, harassment, or sexual harassment in violation of Section 5-65 of this Act, subsection (a) of Section 4.7 of the Lobbyist Registration Act, or Article 2 of the Illinois Human Rights Act, regardless of whether the complaint is filed by the person. (b) A complainant shall have the following rights: (1) within 5 business days of the Executive Inspector General receiving a complaint in which the complainant is identified, to be notified by the Executive Inspector General of the receipt of the complaint, the complainant's rights, and an explanation of the process, rules, and procedures related to the investigation of an allegation, and the duties of the Executive Inspector General and the Executive Ethics Commission; (2) within 5 business days after the Executive Inspector General's decision to open or close an investigation into the complaint or refer the complaint to another appropriate agency, to be notified of the Executive Inspector General's decision; however, if the Executive Inspector General reasonably determines that publicly acknowledging the existence of an investigation would interfere with the conduct or completion of that investigation, the notification may be withheld until public acknowledgment of the investigation would no longer interfere with that investigation; (3) after an investigation has been opened, to have any interviews of the complainant audio recorded by the Executive Inspector General and to review, in person and in the presence of the Executive Inspector General or his or her designee, any transcript or interview report created from that audio recorded interview. The complainant may provide any supplemental statements or evidence throughout the investigation; (4) to have a union representative, attorney, co-worker, or other support person who is not involved in the investigation, at the complainant's expense, present at any interview or meeting, whether in person or by telephone or audio-visual communication, between the complainant and the Executive Inspector General or Executive Ethics Commission; (5) to submit an impact statement that shall be included with the Executive Inspector General's summary report to the Executive Ethics Commission for its consideration; (6) to testify at a hearing held under subsection (g) of Section 20-50, to the extent the hearing is based on an allegation of a violation of Section 5-65 of this Act or subsection (a) of Section 4.7 of the Lobbyist Registration Act involving the complainant, and have a single union representative, attorney, co-worker, or other support person who is not involved in the investigation, at the complainant's expense, accompany him or her while testifying; (7) to review, within 5 business days prior to its release, any portion of a summary report of the investigation subject to public release under this Article related to the allegations concerning the complainant, after redactions made by the Executive Ethics Commission, and offer suggestions for redaction or provide a response that shall be made public with the summary report; and (8) to file a complaint with the Executive Ethics Commission for any violation of the complainant's rights under this Section by the Executive Inspector General. (c) The complainant shall have the sole discretion in determining whether to exercise the rights set forth in this Section. All rights under this Section shall be waived if the complainant fails to cooperate with the Executive Inspector General's investigation of the complaint. (d) The notice requirements imposed on Inspectors General by this Section shall be waived if the Inspector General is unable to identify or locate the complainant. (e) (Blank).

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 101-221, eff. 8-9-19; 101-617, eff. 12-20-19.)