Frequently Asked Questions About the Request for Review Process

The Department of Human Rights investigates discrimination charges. They decide if there is substantial evidence to support a charge. If the Department finds that there is not substantial evidence, they will dismiss all or part of your charge.

The Department also may dismiss your discrimination charge for lack of jurisdiction or your failure to proceed with the investigation. The Department’s Notice of Dismissal explains why they dismissed your charge.

If you do not agree with the Department’s dismissal, you can file a Request for Review with the Human Rights Commission. Some reasons that you might not agree include:
    • you think the Department missed something important,
    • you think the Department made a mistake, or
    • you think the Department came to the wrong conclusion.

The Human Rights Commission is an administrative court system. The Commission makes decisions on complaints of discrimination, approves settlements, and reviews the Department’s dismissal of discrimination charges. The Commission has seven Commissioners, including a Chair. They are all appointed by the Governor of Illinois. The Commissioners are quasi-judicial officials with a range of civil rights experience. The Commissioners come from a variety of fields and bring unique perspectives to the Commission.

The Commission’s mission is to provide a neutral forum for resolving complaints of discrimination filed under the Illinois Human Rights Act. The Commission is also responsible for furnishing information to the public about the Act and the Commission. To fulfill this mission, the Commission strives to provide professional, competent, and considerate service to everyone who seeks information from us or who has a case before the Commission.

A Request for Review is a written document asking the Commission to review a determination made by the Department of Human Rights. It is just like an appeal.

The Notice of Dismissal that you receive from the Department has a Request for Review form. If you want the Commission to review your case, you must fill out the Request for Review form and file it with the Commission.

There will be a deadline on the Request for Review form that you receive. You must file the Request for Review or ask for an extension by this deadline. Go to the "Step Two: Write a Request for Review" page to learn more.

You do not need a lawyer, but you can hire a lawyer to help you. The Commission does not provide lawyers or offer legal help. Go to the “Information for Self-Represented Litigants” page for information on getting legal help.

There will be a deadline on the Request for Review form that you received. You must file the Request for Review by this deadline or ask for an extension.

If you are not able to file your Request for Review by the deadline, you can ask for a 30-day extension. To ask for an extension, you must file a Motion for Extension of Time to File a Request for Review. The Commission’s website has a fillable “Request for Review / Motion for Extension of Time” form.

File a motion the same way you file the Request for Review. Go to the “Step Three: File your Request for Review” page to learn more.

The first time you ask for an extension, it is automatically granted. If you ask for more extensions, a panel of three Commissioners decides if you should receive the extension.

You must file your Request for Review by the original filing deadline or any extension deadline.

If you do not file in time, your case will be over. This means the Department’s determination will be the final decision in your case. The Commission cannot consider any Requests for Review filed late.

All you need to say is that you want the Commission to review your case because you think the Department’s decision was wrong.

But you can give the Commission more information about your case.

For example, you can:
    • explain why the Commission should review your case,
    • say why you disagree with the Department’s determination,
    • give the Commission facts you thought the Department missed,
    • ask for more investigation of important or missed facts, and/or
    • share new evidence that supports your charge.

You also can include supporting materials or evidence that prove your case. This evidence can include information you gave to the Department during its investigation. It also can include new documents or evidence.

You can include a copy of your charge and the Department’s investigation report. But you do not have to include these documents. The Commission always receives copies of the charge and investigation report.

The Department is not required to give their entire investigation file to the Commission. If you want the Commission to consider any documents or exhibits contained in your investigation file, you must include them with your Request for Review.

You can attach more pages if you need to.

Your Request for Review cannot be longer than 45 single-spaced pages. This includes any supporting materials or evidence. The Commission will not look at any information after page 45.

No, the Request for Review is a public record under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). This means that the Commission must give copies of the Request for Review and other documents related to your case if someone asks for them in a FOIA request.

The Commission also must publish its decisions on the Commission’s website and give them to online legal research databases. Although the Request for Review is not published, information in the Request for Review might be part of the decision. You can look at published decisions on the “Commission Decisions” page for examples.

You can look at and make copies of the Department’s investigation file to help prepare your Request for Review.  Call the Department at (312) 814-6262 to set up a date and time to look at the file. You will need to call at least 3 business days before you want to look at the file. Do not wait until the last minute to ask to look at the file.  Files larger than 50 pages will be sent to an outside vendor for copying. The Department is not responsible for fees charged by the vendor.  

No, you cannot use DVDs, CDs, or portable flash drives to give the Commission any information. You also cannot use hyperlinks to cloud storage platforms (for example, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, Apple iCloud, or Dropbox) in your Request for Review.

You can file your Request for Review in one of the following ways:

    • Email the Request for Review to HRC.News@illinois.gov. Your Request for Review is considered “filed” with the Commission on the date it was emailed.

        Save your Request for Review as a PDF file. This means that you will need to put all your evidence or supporting materials into one PDF file. The Commission cannot accept any other document types by email (for example, .doc, .docx, .txt, .jpeg, or .png).

    • Mail a paper copy of your Request for Review to:

        Illinois Human Rights Commission
        Michael A. Bilandic Building
        160 N. LaSalle Street, Suite N-1000
        Chicago, IL 60601

    Your Request for Review is considered “filed” with the Commission on the postmark date. Do not wait until the deadline to mail your Request for Review.

    • Personally deliver your Request for Review to:

        Illinois Human Rights Commission
        Michael A. Bilandic Building
        160 N. LaSalle Street, Suite N-1000
        Chicago, IL 60601

    You must go from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. You cannot go on a State holiday.

    • Fax your Request for Review to (312) 814-6517. Your Request for Review is considered “filed” with the Commission on the date it was faxed.

No, there are no fees or charges to file a Request for Review with the Commission.

An attorney from the Commission’s Office of the General Counsel takes a fresh look at the case. The attorney will look at your original charge and the information and evidence you include in your Request for Review. The attorney will make a legal recommendation to a panel of three Commissioners. The Commissioners will make a final decision about your case. They will look at the recommendation and use their own expertise to make this decision.

The Department always files a response to your Request for Review. They have 30 days to do this. The Department must send you a copy of their response. You have 15 days to file a reply to the Department’s response.

The person, business, or organization you made a charge against also may file a response to your Request for Review (called a “position statement”). They have 15 days after they receive the Department’s response to do this. They must send you a copy of their position statement. You cannot file a reply to the position statement.

No, you can choose whether to file a reply to the Department’s response. If you decide to file a reply, you can respond to the issues or arguments covered in the Department’s response. File your reply the same way you file the Request for Review. Go to the “Step Three: File your Request for Review” page to learn more.

The Commission needs at least six months to review your case and make a decision. The Commission may take more time depending on the number of cases before it.

You cannot talk to the Commissioners about your case or argue your case in front of the Commissioners.

However, you can attend Commission meetings and listen while the Commissioners discuss your case. Commission meetings are open to the public. Go to the “Commission Meetings” page to find the dates and times for future meetings. You also can see the agendas with the list of cases set for the meetings.

The Commission can:
    1. change the Department’s dismissal because they find substantial evidence of discrimination (this means your case can move forward),
    2. agree with the Department’s dismissal, or
    3. send the case back to the Department for more investigation.

You can appeal the Commission’s decision to the Illinois Appellate Court. Go to the “Resources for Self-Represented Litigants in Civil Appeals” page of the Access to Justice Commission’s website to get more information.

Your case can now move forward in a court. You can:
    1. file your case in the Commission’s Administrative Law Section (go to the “Administrative Law Section” page to get more information), or
    2. file your case in the appropriate circuit court.