republic-os/legislation/us/states/il/97th/hb-178.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "HUMAN RTS-NOTICE-FACT FINDING"
description: "Amends the Illinois Human Rights Act. In cases other than real estate transaction cases: provides that the Department of Human Rights shall serve on (instead of send by certified or registered mail to) the parties written notice of the complainant's right to sue in court or file with the Human Rights Commission; provides that the time within which to file a party's position statement and a respondent's response to the charge is 30 (instead of 60) days; and provides that the Department may issue a default within 30 (instead of 60) days. In cases other than real estate transaction cases, provides that upon reasonable notice to the complainant and the respondent, the Department shall conduct a fact finding conference, unless prior to 365 days after the date on which the charge was filed the Director has determined whether there is substantial evidence that the alleged civil rights violation has been committed, the charge has been dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, or the parties voluntarily and in writing agree to waive the fact finding conference (instead of providing that upon reasonable notice to the complainant and the respondent, the Department shall conduct a fact finding conference prior to 365 days after the date on which the charge was filed, unless the Director has determined whether there is substantial evidence that the alleged civil rights violation has been committed or the charge has been dismissed for lack of jurisdiction). In real estate transaction cases, provides that the parties may voluntarily waive the fact finding conference requirement."
jurisdiction: "us/states/il"
legislature: "Illinois General Assembly"
session: "97th"
identifier: "HB 178"
citation: "Illinois HB 178 (97th)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: []
version_count: 3
action_count: 31
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2011-01-13"
last_action: "2011-06-28"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/f54e88b9-3d28-4a69-87cb-7b4e592b66e0"
source_url: "http://ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=178&GAID=11&DocTypeID=HB&LegId=54754&SessionID=84&GA=97"
source_hash: "7b0d34b1d84b62de4b646a0d216d9ff4732620509faa1f99fbe91d3636655cfc"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-il"]
---

# Illinois HB 178 (97th) — HUMAN RTS-NOTICE-FACT FINDING

Amends the Illinois Human Rights Act. In cases other than real estate transaction cases: provides that the Department of Human Rights shall serve on (instead of send by certified or registered mail to) the parties written notice of the complainant's right to sue in court or file with the Human Rights Commission; provides that the time within which to file a party's position statement and a respondent's response to the charge is 30 (instead of 60) days; and provides that the Department may issue a default within 30 (instead of 60) days. In cases other than real estate transaction cases, provides that upon reasonable notice to the complainant and the respondent, the Department shall conduct a fact finding conference, unless prior to 365 days after the date on which the charge was filed the Director has determined whether there is substantial evidence that the alleged civil rights violation has been committed, the charge has been dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, or the parties voluntarily and in writing agree to waive the fact finding conference (instead of providing that upon reasonable notice to the complainant and the respondent, the Department shall conduct a fact finding conference prior to 365 days after the date on which the charge was filed, unless the Director has determined whether there is substantial evidence that the alleged civil rights violation has been committed or the charge has been dismissed for lack of jurisdiction). In real estate transaction cases, provides that the parties may voluntarily waive the fact finding conference requirement.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Introduced** (filed) — [source](http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09700HB0178&GA=97&SessionId=84&DocTypeId=HB&LegID=54754&DocNum=178&GAID=11&Session=&print=true)
2. **Engrossed** (committee substitute) — [source](http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09700HB0178eng&GA=97&SessionId=84&DocTypeId=HB&LegID=54754&DocNum=178&GAID=11&Session=&print=true)
3. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09700HB0178enr&GA=97&SessionId=84&DocTypeId=HB&LegID=54754&DocNum=178&GAID=11&Session=&print=true)

## Votes

- Third Reading — **112–0** (pass) · lower
- Third Reading — **55–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Karen A. Yarbrough — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2011-01-13** Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Karen A. Yarbrough `filing`
- **2011-01-18** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2011-01-18** Referred to Rules Committee `referral-committee`
- **2011-02-08** Assigned to Judiciary I - Civil Law Committee `referral-committee`
- **2011-02-23** Do Pass / Short Debate Judiciary I - Civil Law Committee; 007-004-000 `committee-passage`
- **2011-02-23** Placed on Calendar 2nd Reading - Short Debate
- **2011-03-08** Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Monique D. Davis
- **2011-03-10** House Floor Amendment No. 1 Filed with Clerk by Rep. Karen A. Yarbrough `amendment-introduction`
- **2011-03-10** House Floor Amendment No. 1 Referred to Rules Committee `referral-committee`
- **2011-03-15** House Floor Amendment No. 1 Recommends Be Adopted Rules Committee; 004-000-000 `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2011-03-17** Second Reading - Short Debate `reading-2`
- **2011-03-17** House Floor Amendment No. 1 Adopted by Voice Vote `amendment-passage`
- **2011-03-17** Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading - Short Debate
- **2011-03-31** Third Reading - Short Debate - Passed 112-000-000 `reading-3, passage`
- **2011-03-31** Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Camille Y. Lilly
- **2011-04-06** Arrive in Senate `introduction`
- **2011-04-06** Placed on Calendar Order of First Reading `reading-1`
- **2011-04-06** Chief Senate Sponsor Sen. Terry Link
- **2011-04-07** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2011-04-07** Referred to Assignments `referral-committee`
- **2011-04-27** Assigned to Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2011-05-05** Do Pass Judiciary; 008-000-000 `committee-passage`
- **2011-05-05** Placed on Calendar Order of 2nd Reading May 6, 2011
- **2011-05-06** Second Reading `reading-2`
- **2011-05-06** Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading May 10, 2011
- **2011-05-12** Third Reading - Passed; 055-000-000 `reading-3, passage`
- **2011-05-12** Passed Both Houses
- **2011-06-10** Sent to the Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2011-06-28** Governor Approved `executive-signature`
- **2011-06-28** Effective Date January 1, 2012
- **2011-06-28** Public Act . . . . . . . . . 97-0022 `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/f54e88b9-3d28-4a69-87cb-7b4e592b66e0`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Illinois legislature records).