(a) The Board shall appoint, retain and employ such persons as it deems necessary to achieve the purposes of this Act. The Board shall establish regulations to insure that discharge shall not be arbitrary and that hiring and promotion are based on merit. No unlawful discrimination, as defined by the Illinois Human Rights Act, shall be made in any term or aspect of employment nor shall any discrimination be made on a basis of political affiliation.
     The Alliance shall be subject to the Illinois Human Rights Act and the remedies and procedures established thereunder. The Alliance shall develop an affirmative action program and file it with the Department of Human Rights to assure that the employment of applicants and treatment of employees are without unlawful discrimination. Such affirmative action program shall include provisions relating to hiring, upgrading, demotion, transfer, recruitment, recruitment advertising, selection for training and rates of pay or other forms of compensation.
     (b) The Board shall organize the staff, assign their functions and duties, fix their compensation, benefits and conditions of employment, and regulate their travel.