§ 22-26. Complaint process.

(a)

Any person may file a complaint alleging a violation of this chapter with the human relations commission if the alleged violation occurred within the City of Aurora.

(b)

The human relations commission, in accordance with its bylaws and rules of procedure, shall conduct investigations regarding all complaints filed with the human relations commission and hold any hearings necessary to facilitate said investigations and to aid human relations commission members in determining whether or not there has been a violation of this chapter.

(c)

The following parameters shall govern the filing of complaints with the human relations commission:

(1)

A complaint under this chapter must be filed with the human relations commission within one hundred and eighty (180) days from the date of the alleged occurrence of the alleged violation. If the alleged violation is of a continuing nature, the date of occurrence may be any date subsequent to the commencement of the violation, up to and including the date on which it may have ceased.

a.

In order to preserve rights under the Illinois Human Rights Act ("Human Rights Act"), 775 ILCS 5/1-101, et seq., a contemporaneous complaint must also be filed with the Illinois Department of Human Rights ("IDHR") within one hundred and eighty (180) days from the date of the alleged occurrence of the alleged violation.

b.

Any investigation on the part of IDHR will be independent of the Human Relations Commission's investigation and will be governed by the statutory provisions of the Human Rights Act and applicable regulations.

(2)

A complaint will be deemed filed with the human relations commission when it has been filed with the chairperson of the human relations commission or an employee of the city designated by the chairperson to receive complaints; in person, in writing and signed by the complainant. The human relations commission may waive any of these requirements upon a showing of extraordinary circumstances. Each complaint, once filed, shall be docketed and assigned a case number by the chairperson or an employee of the city designated by the chairperson to receive complaints.

(3)

A complaint shall be in such detail as to substantially apprise any party of the date, place and facts with respect to the alleged violation. It must contain the following: (a) the name and address of the complainant; (b) the name, address and telephone number (if known) of the respondent; and (c) a statement of the facts alleged to constitute the chapter violation, including the date(s), location(s) thereof, and basis of discrimination.

(4)

The filing of a complaint or the failure to file a complaint with the human relations commission does not bar any person from seeking any other remedy that may be provided by law.

(d)

The human relations commission shall serve upon the respondent a copy of any complaint (original or amended) filed against said respondent and a copy of this chapter within ten (10) days of filing thereof.

(e)

Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, once a complaint has been served on a respondent, the respondent shall preserve all records and other material which may be relevant to the case until the matter has been closed.

(f)

If a majority of the human relations commission determines after such investigation that probable cause exists for the allegations made in the complaint, the human relations commission shall set a date for a conciliation conference. Such conciliation conference shall be informal and no record of the proceedings shall be kept. At such conference, the human relations commission or any member thereof shall interview the complainant and the person against whom the complaint has been directed and shall attempt to resolve the complaint by all proper methods of conciliation and persuasion. If such attempts at conciliation are not successful within thirty (30) days after the date of filing of the complaint, the human relations commission shall then proceed promptly with a full hearing of the complaint.

(g)

The following parameters shall govern the amendment of any complaint filed with the human relations commission:

(1)

A complaint, or any part thereof, may be amended as a matter of right to cure technical defects or omissions at any time.

(2)

A complaint, or any part thereof, may be amended by the complainant as matter of right to clarify or amplify allegations made therein, due to a change of circumstances, or to set forth additional facts or allegations related to the matter of the original charge, at any time before a public hearing and such amendment shall relate back to the original filing date. The amended complaint shall be in writing, shall be in the same form and shall follow the same content requirements as specified in this section, paragraphs (3)(a), (b), (c) with respect to the original complaint, unless impracticable.

(3)

When facts not raised by the pleadings are heard at a conference or hearing by express or implied consent of the parties, they shall be treated in all respects as if they had been raised in the pleadings. Such amendment of the pleadings as may be necessary to cause them to conform to the evidence and to raise these issues may be made upon motion of any party at any time, but in any event before a final decision is reached; failure to so amend shall not affect the result of the hearing of these issues. If evidence or an amendment is objected to at a hearing on the grounds that it is not within the issues made by the pleadings, the sitting panel may allow the pleadings to be amended and shall do so freely when the presentation of the merits of the action will be served thereby and the objecting party fails to satisfy the siting panel that the admission of such evidence would prejudice the party in maintaining the party's action or defense upon the merits. The chairperson of the human relations commission may grant a continuance to enable the objecting party to respond to such evidence.

(h)

A complaint or any part thereof may be unilaterally withdrawn by the complainant at any time prior to a determination of the human relations commission that there is probable cause to believe that the allegations made in the complaint state a violation of this chapter, or prior to the human relations commission's dismissal of the complaint. A complainant's request to withdraw a complaint shall be in writing and shall be signed by the complainant. The human relations commission shall approve the request if it is knowingly and voluntarily made, and shall promptly notify all parties in writing of the withdrawal.

(i)

Each respondent shall file a short written answer and any defenses within fourteen (14) days of receipt of the complaint. The respondent shall file the answer with the human relations commission and shall serve it upon the complainant. The answer shall not exceed five (5) typewritten pages unless the human relations commission expressly grants permission otherwise. The response shall contain the full name, address and telephone number of respondent and the name, address and telephone number of respondent's attorney if respondent is represented by counsel. The response should contain specific information that directly addresses the allegations contained in the complaint. If no response is filed within the fourteen (14) days, it is presumed that the complaint is not denied and such failure to respond will not delay processing of the complaint.

(j)

Every party has the responsibility to promptly provide the human relations commission with notice of any change in address or any prolonged absence from that current address where he or she can be located when necessary at any time while the case is pending before the human relations commission. In addition, each party is responsible for providing the human relations commission with necessary information and to be available for interviews and conferences upon reasonable notice or request by the human relations commission. If a complainant cannot be located or does not adequately respond to reasonable requests by the human relations commission, the human relations commission may dismiss the complaint. The human relations commission shall promptly serve upon the parties written notice of the dismissal. The notice shall be addressed to the complainant at the last known address, and shall advise that the complainant may obtain review of the matter by the human relations commission by filing a motion to reconsider. If a respondent does not adequately respond to reasonable requests by the human relations commission, the human relations commission may consider the lack of response as an admission of guilt by the respondent.

(k)

The human relations commission may subpoena witnesses and documents as permitted by law, union contract and/or personnel/disciplinary regulations, in order to facilitate any such investigation and/or hearing, provided, however, that subpoenas shall only be issued to persons or for documents which have a substantial evidentiary connection with a written complaint sworn to before the human relations commission, where the opposing parties cannot or will not agree to provide such information voluntarily. In regard to complaints against city employees, the issuance of a subpoena shall be further contingent upon the human relations commission's determination that any internal review procedure of a prospective subpoena recipient has concluded, and upon the human relations commission's consideration of the results thereof, that the subpoena issuance is still required in order to facilitate the proceedings pending before the human relations commission.

(l)

All members of the human relations commission shall maintain the highest level of confidentiality with regard to any and all information received in connection with their work hereunder, and in connection with any and all reports, results of investigations and recommendations it shall issue, and shall sign a confidentiality agreement to that end.

(m)

The human relations commission may issue such publications and results of investigations and hearings, subject to legal and confidentiality limitations, and may make such recommendations to complainants, accused persons and the mayor and city council as in its judgment will effectuate the policy of this chapter. Within forty-five (45) days of receipt of such recommendations, every recipient thereof must respond to the human relations commission, including a written statement of the recipient's actions, or refusal to act, in accordance with the recommendations of the human relations commission.

(Ord. No. O12-043, § 1, 6-12-12)