If you think that you have experienced employment discrimination in hiring, promotions, or firing, you can file a charge with the Chicago Commission on Human Relations (CCHR) office. You may want to go to the CCHR office for help writing your complaint, or you may want to use the charge form provided online here.

Make sure that you give a complete description of the discrimination. If you write your own complaint, make sure your complaint is no longer than five pages.

You can file a CCHR charge in person at:

740 North Sedgwick Street
Suite 400
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 744-4111

The CCHR's hours for people to file complaints that they have already filled out are 9:00am to 5:00pm. The CCHR also has intake hours from 9:00am to 3:00pm.

To mail in your charge, send it to the location above. Whether you file a charge in person or by mail, you should provide two copies of your charge. You should also be sure to list a mailing address you can check regularly. The CCHR will mail you information throughout your case.

After you file your complaint, the CCHR will mail your complaint to the employer. The employer will have 28 days to respond to the charge. If the employer responds, the CCHR will mail you information about how to respond to what the employer has filed. The CCHR will also mail you a deadline to respond to anything the employer has filed.

CCHR will investigate your claim. The investigator will collect documents and interview witnesses. It is extremely important to respond to any questions the investigator has for you in order to prove your case. If you do not participate in the investigation, your complaint may be dismissed or you may be required to pay money to the CCHR. (This is called a "monetary sanction.")

During the investigation, the investigator may ask if you are interested in mediation. Mediation is used to help the parties reach a settlement agreement that ends the case.

If both you and the employer are interested in mediation, the investigator will help to facilitate that process. If the parties cannot resolve the issue through mediation, the case will move forward.

The investigator will write a report on whether there is enough proof of discrimination. If there is, the case will go to an administrative hearing.

In an administrative hearing, a hearing officer hears both sides' evidence, such as documents submitted to the CCHR or witness statements. The dates and deadlines related to the hearing will be sent to you via mail. It is important to be prepared with all the evidence you need on the date of your hearing and meet the deadlines issued.
 

If the CCHR finds there is not enough proof of discrimination, it will dismiss your charge. You may file and serve a request for review. If you want the CCHR to review its decision, you must file and serve your request within 28 days of the date the dismissal was mailed to you. You must mail the request to the employer and to the CCHR (or your hearing officer, if your case was dismissed after a hearing)

You can argue that the claim should be reinstated. The request for review must be no longer than 10 pages and must explain the reasons or evidence that support reinstating your claim.