§ 25-63

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 the Legislative Inspector General as a person subjected to alleged discrimination, harassment, or sexual harassment in violation of Section 5-65 of this 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 Legislative Inspector General receiving a complaint in which the complainant is identified, to be notified by the Legislative 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 Legislative Inspector General and the Legislative Ethics Commission; (2) within 5 business days after the Legislative 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 Legislative Inspector General's decision; however, if the Legislative 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 Legislative Inspector General and to review, in person and in the presence of the Legislative 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 Legislative Inspector General or Legislative Ethics Commission; (5) to submit a complainant impact statement that shall be included with the Legislative Inspector General's summary report to the Legislative Ethics Commission for its consideration; (6) to testify at a hearing held under subsection (g) of Section 25-50, to the extent the hearing is based on an allegation of a violation of Section 5-65 of this 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 Legislative 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 Legislative Ethics Commission for any violation of the complainant's rights under this Section by the Legislative Inspector General. (c) The complainant shall have the sole discretion in determining whether or not 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 Legislative Inspector General's investigation of the complaint. (d) The notice requirements imposed on the Legislative Inspector General by this Section shall be waived if the Legislative 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.)