FREEPORT — In the midst of an onslaught of scandals that brought down prominent public figures, Gov. Bruce Rauner on Nov. 16 signed into law Public Act 100-0554 to strengthen existing state statutes pertaining to workplace sexual harassment.
The amendment gave local units of government two months to do the same.
As of Monday, all local government bodies such as the Freeport City Council and Stephenson County Board were to have updated their harassment policies, which at a minimum must:
Prohibit sexual harassment.
Provide details on how an individual can report an allegation of sexual harassment, including options for making a confidential report to a supervisor, ethics officer, inspector general, or the Department of Human Rights.
Prohibit retaliation for reporting sexual harassment allegations and allowing an accuser to file claims of retaliation under the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act, the Whistleblower Act and the Illinois Human Rights Act.
Detail the consequences for violating the prohibition of sexual harassment and knowingly making a false report.
The city of Freeport on Jan. 8 passed an ordinance closely resembling one recommended by the Illinois Municipal League. There is not much of a difference between the city's new policy, aside from how incident reports are handled. Previously, only sexual assault reports required a full investigation.
"I'm not sure anything really changes, but now we have to do a full investigation for sexual harassment as well," City Manager Lowell Crow said. "Before, it wasn't required for sexual harassment."
Crow added that all reports are taken seriously, as sexual harassment is different for everyone.
"Sexual harassment is in the eye of the beholder," he said. "If the person feels they are being harassed, they're being harassed."
The Stephenson County Board also updated its sexual harassment policy at a Dec. 13 meeting. The voice vote was approved unanimously, according to the meeting minutes.
Stephenson County Administrator Jim Snider said the county's policy also stayed largely the same. County leaders were already working on a revised personnel policy when Rauner signed the act into law.
"We pretty much had a head start on being prepared for it," Snider said.
The Illinois Human Rights Act was amended to require the Illinois Department of Human Rights to establish and operate a sexual harassment hotline by Feb. 16.
The hotline will give individuals employed in the public or private sector an avenue to anonymously report sexual harassment.
Through the hotline, the Department of Human Rights will help callers find resources such as counseling services and assist in the filing of sexual harassment complaints with the department or other applicable agencies. The department may recommend that an individual seek private counsel, but cannot make recommendations for legal representation.
Register Star reporter Jeff Kolkey contributed to this report.
Chris Green: 815-987-1241; cgreen@rrstar.com; @chrisfgreen
Derrick Mason: 815-232-0133; derrick.mason@journalstandard.com; @derrickhmason