It is illegal for your employer to retaliate against you for reporting discrimination or harassment to management on behalf of yourself or a colleague or participating in an investigation of discrimination or harassment either conducted within the organization or by an outside agency. Retaliation can take the form of sudden or unsubstantiated performance criticisms, an unwarranted performance improvement plan, demotion, failure to promote, or termination. If this is happening to you, it may be because of your protected activity. Illinois law protects other types of what the law calls “protected activity” such as an employee complaining about unlawful activity by the employer or being a “whistleblower.”