Illinois Hate Crime and Bias Incident Hotline

The Illinois Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes – a Governor-appointed commission administered by the Illinois Department of Human Rights – proposes to establish a statewide Hate Crime and Bias Incident Helpline. The proposed helpline would collect anonymous or self-identified reports of hate crimes and bias incidents, connect callers with support services, and direct callers to additional reporting options, such as a law enforcement agency, if applicable.

Project activities include:

Developing a comprehensive strategic community and organizational partner outreach plan;
Designating partner organizations that provide hate crime victim support services, with an emphasis on identifying organizations serving high-target protected classes and underserved geographic areas;
Developing and delivering comprehensive trauma-informed technical assistance for helpline operators; and
Developing proper helpline intake and referral procedures.

Expected outcomes include:

Development of a statewide, non-law enforcement hate crime and bias incident reporting mechanism,
Expansion of hate crime victim services resource availability and coordination, and
Increased availability of hate crime and bias incident data.

Victims of hate crimes and bias incidents are the intended beneficiaries of this project, especially those who do not wish to engage with law enforcement and those who live in regions of Illinois who do not have easy access to victim support services.