Whether Charleston can form a Human Relations Commission to hear discrimination complaints from citizens depends if the city has home rule authority.

The People’s Ordinance Committee met on Thursday, May 29, to answer any questions the public may have about the ordinance or the commission.

If created, the commission would hear grievances pertaining to sexual harassment, as well as unlawful discrimination because of race, gender and physically handicaps inflicted by renters or employers.

Ideally, the commission would hear these issues without cost to either party and decide upon a resolution after hearing both arguments, said supporter and Charleston resident Jamie Christianson.

Christianson and Shannon Phillips, an instructor at Lake Land College, are both members of the People’s Ordinance Committee and want the ordinance to be passed in Coles County, but they are focusing on getting it passed in the city of Charleston first.

City Council members Lorelei Sims and Larry Rennels both support the ordinance in Charleston, but question if they have the authority to pass a human rights ordinance.

According to the Illinois State Constitution, Article VII, “A home rule unit may exercise any power and perform any function pertaining to its government and affairs including, but not limited to, the power to regulate for the protection of the public health, safety, morals and welfare; to license; to tax; and to incur debt.”

A city with home rule authority can pass any laws unless it is prohibited by the state.

Since Charleston does not have home rule authority, the city can only pass laws that Illinois enables it to pass, said City Attorney Brian Bower. Charleston does not have the required minimum population of 25,000 to automatically attain home rule authority. At the moment, passing the ordinance will be difficult.

While the city council can pass other ordinances, details within a proposed human rights ordinance can cause it to go against the Illinois Municipal Code.

Bower is still unsure if home rule will limit or even impact the ordinance in any way, and he said he would research the issue.

Phillips, however, does not feel unnerved about the home rule issue.

“We could do something different, reword something,” Phillips said. “I think there is a lot of wiggle room for us.”

The city of Danville has a Human Relations Commission and it has seven community members appointed by the mayor to hear and decide upon cases of alleged unlawful discrimination.

Christianson and Phillips are suggesting a similar commission of seven appointees.

According to the Illinois Department of Human Resources Web site, 15 incidents of discrimination were reported in 2006 within Coles County concerning employment, housing, and public accommodation.

In 2007, only five incidents were reported in Coles County, all of which were contributed to employment issues. Christianson spoke of an unnamed person or group already in Illinois appointed by the governor already has these responsibilities.

This group or person was said to have worked with Coles County. Coles County deferred the issue to the state’s attorney, who in turn deferred it to Charleston’s city attorney.

Neither Christianson nor Phillips disclosed any names, but they said they would be working with this person or group to move forward with the project.

Ashlei Maltman can be reached at 581-7942 or at anmaltman@eiu.edu.