A new law ensuring that state-level employment, lending, health-care, education and other civil-rights protections remain strong and enforceable—even when changes are made in enforcement at the federal level—was signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker on July 31.
The bipartisan Civil Rights Safeguard Act (SB 3777) was sponsored by state Sen. Adriane Johnson and state Rep. Justin Slaughter. According to an Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) press release, the law “codifies disparate impact protections under the Illinois Human Rights Act. [It] ensures that policies and practices that may appear neutral on their face, but result in unlawful discriminatory effects, can continue to be addressed under Illinois law.”
SB 3777 doesn’t create a new law; rather, it expands the list of protections beyond what was provided under Public Act 103-859, which focused on disparate impact in housing under Article 3 of the Illinois Human Rights Act. It takes effect Jan. 1, 2027.
Women Employed President and CEO Cherita Ellens, speaking at a press conference at her organization’s headquarters on Aug. 12, called the signing a “momentous occasion for Illinois working people. It is a critically important measure in this moment when the federal administration is unraveling our civil rights protections every single day … and has shown they will weaponize the very agencies meant to protect us.”
A few examples of the people who will be protected include “survivors of domestic and sexual violence who are disproportionately female, Black and Brown homeowners and consumers who face barriers from redlining, immigrants and naturalized citizens who face barriers to language access, disabled veterans who face housing voucher-based discrimination, LGBTQ+ persons who face sex discrimination and students with disabilities who face inequitable school policies,” according to the IDHR press release.
Ellens said discrimination is oftentimes covert rather than explicit. For decades the disparate impact standard has been a vital tool to root out structural sexism and racism, which often manifests itself in unnecessary requirements (such as mandatory drug tests) before a person is considered for a job.
Ellens said this ends up shutting the doors to high paying jobs which push women and particularly women of color to lower paying jobs and industries. The result is occupational segregation which widens the gender and generational wealth gaps.
Bennett said this law is a complement to the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. He spoke about the symbiotic relationship the state of Illinois had in the past with the federal government regarding civil rights enforcement which has now fallen apart due to the actions of the Trump administration since last January. Bennett praised the contributions of state Rep. Will Guzzardi and IDHR Legislative Affairs Director Marlen Mendoza as well.
The new law is one way Illinois has had to go it alone because federal agencies like the EEOC are being “twisted in ways that cause harm to the very people that they were made to protect,” said Bennett. He spoke about the need for a permanent comprehensive state infrastructure to protect Illinois residents no matter what happens at the federal level during each election cycle.
Johnson spoke about the attacks Illinois and other states have had to withstand from the Trump administration since last January, particularly in the areas of education, local governments, the environment, infrastructure and critical funding for SNAP and Medicaid.
She added the Illinois General Assembly “continues to do the difficult work of finding solutions to eliminated that impact across the state of Illinois and we will not back down when our civil rights are under attack.”
Slaughter spoke about the “hard work of so many dedicated advocates and individuals who demanded change and insisted that Illinois go further to address and comprehensively eliminate discriminatory practices while promoting and protecting everyone’s civil rights.” He said SB 3777 is the most progressive law in the country and he hopes Illinois will become a “national leader as it relates to disparate impact discrimination.”
Latino Policy Forum Government Relations and External Affairs Associate Director Juan-Carlos Bautista focused on the ways SB 3777 will protect students from underserved communities including English language learners, immigrants and/or students of color at a time when those groups are being attacked by the federal government. He said the law ensures these groups are able to remedy instances where they are denied access to meaningful education, resources and support under state law.
Illinois Black Advocacy Initiative (ILBAI) State Fiscal Policy and Governance Director Adam Slade spoke about the unanimous 1971 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Griggs v. Duke Power Company, “a case brought by Black workers who were denied advancement because of an aptitude test that had nothing to do with their ability to do their job.” This ruling was subsequently codified into federal law in 1991.
Slade said, “discrimination doesn’t need a slur or a slammed door to do its damage. It can hide inside a hiring algorithm, credit score or policy that looks perfectly neutral on paper but shuts Black families and other people with protected status out of jobs, homes and credit opportunities.”
Woodstock Institute Advocacy Associate Myanno Miller focused on the ways SB 3777 will make credit and lending more accessible, safe and equitable at a time when “federal regulators are backing off enforcement of the very tools that are supposed to keep credit markets fair as more people than ever are turning to credit just to make ends meet.”
Miller also spoke about the anti-redlining activists who “showed the country that a lending policy doesn’t have to say the quiet part out loud to systematically shut down Black and Brown families, women and other protected groups from equal and fair access to credit.” She said housing and credit discrimination are “two side of the same coin” and pointed to the 2008 financial crisis as the perfect example this.
National Employment Lawyers Association of Illinois (NELA Illinois) President Gail Eisenberg spoke about the EEOC under the Trump administration dropping lawsuits they previously brought on behalf of impacted workers which were picked up by NELA Illinois members. She said in order for them to ensure people’s rights are upheld they need an administrative agency to do the investigation, which is where the IDHR comes into play since the EEOC won’t do it.
Eisenberg said SB 3777 “makes it clear that Illinois will not leave workers, employers or judges guessing about what our state law requires. Illinois law will be interpreted according to Illinois values, Illinois constitutional guarantees and not according to the changing politics of Washington.”