the knowledge to understand their rights and responsibilities, recognize discrimination,
file a complaint, and locate resources. The primary fair housing service providers in
Lake County are Prairie State Legal Services and Open Communities.
Open Communities (OC): A nonprofit community organization dedicated to
housing, economic, and social justice in northeastern Illinois (including parts of
Lake County), OC acts as a watchdog on fair housing issues and takes fair
housing, as well as general housing, complaints and helps to resolve them, free
of charge. OC educates individuals, real estate professionals, condominium and
homeowners’ associations, and municipal officials about fair housing laws and
responsibilities, provides fair housing education materials, investigates claims of
housing discrimination, and refers cases to attorneys who specialize in fair
housing litigation.
Prairie State Legal Services (PSLS): As described in the preceding sections,
Prairie State Legal Services is under contract with Lake County and the cities of
Waukegan and North Chicago to administer the Fair Housing Program for Lake
County. In this capacity, PSLS provides education regarding fair housing and
tenant/landlord rights on an ongoing basis to community organizations, chambers
of commerce, corporations, realtors associations, landlords, developers,
apartment complex managers, and local government entities, among other
groups.
PSLS also educates County residents by providing a response to all individuals
who question whether they are receiving fair and lawful treatment in their
attempts to secure or maintain housing. PSLS accomplishes this by providing
legal advice and consultations; supplying information on housing and fair housing
rights; informing possible victims of housing discrimination about their legal
options, including use of PSLS investigation and legal representation services
and about their potential remedies; and by making referrals to fair housing
enforcement agencies such as HUD and the Illinois Department of Human
Rights, social service providers, PSLS’s general program for legal
representation, and outside legal services providers, as appropriate. PSLS
provides further education on fair housing law through its process of recruiting
and training volunteers from the community to serve as fair housing testers.
PSLS has been providing fair housing education to the Lake County community
for a number of years. From 2003 through 2012, PSLS did so through a HUD
funded FHIP Education and Outreach grant, and since May 2011 through the
CDBG-funded Fair Housing Program for Lake County. Since January 2013,
PSLS has received a FHIP Fair Housing Enforcement grant through HUD, which
also funds its fair housing education efforts in Lake County. Through these
combined education grants, PSLS provided hundreds of fair housing training
presentations throughout Lake County. Since it began to receive CDBG funding
in May 2011, PSLS has provided over 60 fair housing presentations and/or
training sessions, which last on average one to one-and-one-half hours, to more
90
APPLIED REAL ESTATE ANALYSIS, INC.
LAKE COUNTY, ILLINOIS