If you think that you have experienced employment discrimination in hiring, promotions, or firing, you can speak with a member of the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) and file a charge with them at your local IDHR office. Make sure that you give a complete description of the discrimination.

You can also file with the EEOC, or a local agency. Learn more about reporting workplace discrimination.

There are 2 IDHR offices where you can file a charge in person:

555 West Monroe Street
7th Floor
Intake unit
Chicago, IL 60661
(312) 814-6200
(866) 740-3953 (TTY)
(312) 814-1436 (FAX - Administration)

535 West Jefferson, 1st Floor
Intake Unit
Springfield, IL 62702
(217) 785-5100
(866) 740-3953 (TTY)
(217) 785-5106 (FAX)

To mail your charge, send it to the IDHR location closest to you.

The employer will have 60 days to respond.

IDHR will investigate your claim. They will collect documents and interview witnesses.

Part of the investigation might also include a fact-finding conference. You and your employer can show evidence to the IDHR. The investigator will question both of you. You can respond to your employer’s comments.

You could also go to mediation. You can only mediate if both sides agree to mediate. The goal of the mediation is to settle. If you do not settle, you will move to an investigation.

The Illinois Human Rights Act requires that the IDHR conclude all proceedings and make a finding within 365 days of your Charge being filed.

The investigator will write a report on whether there is enough proof of discrimination. If there is enough proof, you will be given a "Notice of Right to Sue" and you can start a civil suit within 90 days of receipt of the Notice or file a complaint with the Illinois Human Rights Commission.

If you start a civil suit, you must notify the chief legal counsel of the Department within 21 days by serving them with a copy of the complaint. The complaint is a document created when you begin a lawsuit that says what the employer did.

Learn more about the Illinois Human Rights Commission.

The IDHR will dismiss your charge. You will be sent a Notice of Dismissal, which gives you 2 options if you disagree with the decision:

• Request a review of the dismissal before the Illinois Human Rights Commission (IHRC), or
• File a lawsuit in state court. The letter will tell you the deadline for filing or seeking review, but it is generally 90 days after you receive the Notice of Dismissal.

Learn more about the Request for Review process with the IHRC.