Great news for Illinois employers concerned with efficiency: Governor J.B. Pritzker signed Senate Bill 2487 into law on August 15, 2025, eliminating mandatory fact-finding conferences for Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) charges filed on or after that date. This change reduces procedural requirements for employers and streamlines the IDHR process.

Previously, each IDHR charge required a fact-finding conference, at which each party was required to attend by phone for up to two hours. Prior to the pandemic, these conferences were held in person and were not limited to two hours. I recall several long drives from Chicago to Marion for such hearings, and they were not worth the time or expense of the trip. The fact-finding conference is typically a rehash of the complainant's charge and the employer's position statement with little substantive progress.

Under the amended law, fact-finding conferences will generally only be held if both parties submit a written request for a conference within 90 days of the charge being filed. In practice, this is unlikely to occur, as employers generally have no reason to request such a conference. The IDHR retains discretion to require a fact-finding conference even if neither party requests one. However, given the agency's limited investigator resources and ongoing delays, it is unlikely this discretion will be exercised frequently. 

Employers responding to charges filed before August 15, 2025, will still need to participate in fact-finding conferences. Nevertheless, they can take solace in knowing that, going forward, such conferences are unlikely to be required for new charges.