Chicago Heights — Ch. 23 Human Relations § 23-106
Conciliation
Operative Text
(a) Beginning immediately upon the filing of a complaint and continuing through either its dismissal or the referral of the complaint to the housing practices review commission, the administrator shall, to the extent feasible, engage in conciliation with respect to such complaint. The administrator may, at his own initiative, or shall, upon request of either a complainant or a respondent, remove himself as conciliator and request the mayor of the municipality to appoint a separate conciliator. The substitute conciliator shall be a member of the community relations board or other resident of the municipality who has been trained in mediation techniques. In appointing a substitute conciliator, the mayor shall attempt to select a person whom both the complainant and respondent view as fair and impartial. The administrator or the substitute conciliator appointed by the mayor shall attempt by all accepted methods of conciliation and lawful persuasion to resolve the grievance delineated in the complaint. (b) Nothing stated or occurring at a conciliation meeting shall be made public or used for any purpose under this article. (c) An agreement arising out of such conciliation shall be treated as a settlement pursuant to section 23-109 of this article. (d) A conciliation may provide for binding arbitration of the dispute rising from the complaint. Any such arbitration that results from a conciliation agreement may award any relief as provided for in this article. (e) If, after making a finding of substantial evidence, the administrator or substitute conciliator determines that additional attempts at conciliation would not further the objectives of this article, or that the complaint cannot be resolved by conciliation, the administrator shall report and transfer the complaint and filings to the housing practices review commission.
Chicago Heights Ch. 23 § 23-106 establishes a conciliation process that begins as soon as a housing discrimination complaint is filed and continues until the complaint is either dismissed or forwarded to the housing practices review commission. During this process, an administrator — or a substitute conciliator appointed by the mayor — uses accepted mediation methods to try to resolve the dispute. Anything said or that occurs during conciliation meetings is kept confidential and cannot be used elsewhere in the proceedings. If conciliation succeeds, the resulting agreement is treated as a formal settlement; if it fails, the complaint moves forward to the housing practices review commission.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Under Chicago Heights Ch. 23 § 23-106, a respondent in a housing discrimination complaint can expect to be contacted for conciliation efforts shortly after a complaint is filed. Operators who participate in good faith in the conciliation process should be aware that statements made during those meetings are confidential and cannot be used against them in later proceedings. If a conciliation agreement is reached, it carries the weight of a formal settlement under § 23-109, which may include binding arbitration terms if both parties agree.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
Chicago Heights Ch. 23 § 23-106 gives complainants the right to participate in a confidential conciliation process aimed at resolving housing discrimination grievances without a full commission hearing. A complainant — or a respondent — may request that the administrator step aside and that the mayor appoint a neutral substitute conciliator drawn from the community relations board or trained local residents. If conciliation does not resolve the matter, the complaint is transferred to the housing practices review commission for further review; tenant-rights organizations familiar with Chicago Heights human relations procedures can help explain what each stage of this process generally involves.
General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.
Generated November 9, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
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