potentially eligible clients to HUD or the State of Illinois Department for Human Rights
so that they may file a housing discrimination complaint.
The County’s investment of CDBG funds in both SER Jobs for Progress, Inc. (2004 to
2011) and Prairie State Legal Services (2011 to present) has accommodated direct
legal services and/or referrals (handling discrimination complaints and/or tenantlandlord disputes) for hundreds of Lake County residents. In quarterly reports, PSLS
has provided the following observations from its legal services and referrals work:
“Of the legally protected classifications, the protected category of “disability”
continues to be the one that sees the greatest number of victims of possible
(housing) discrimination.” Examples of challenges faced by clients with
disabilities include:
o Denial of entry into housing due to a disability
o Denial of a request for reasonable accommodation or modification, such
as a request for a support animal
o Unfair/different terms and conditions because of the person’s disability
o Failure to engage in discussion with a person requesting an
accommodation
o Threat of lease termination, voucher termination, or eviction over a
request for reasonable accommodation
“…callers believed they faced discrimination on the basis of familial status.”
PSLS also assisted clients who felt they were being discriminated against based
on race, national origin, order of status protection (for victims of domestic
violence), sexual orientation, and gender.
Many landlords fail to return security deposits.
Some of the issues repeatedly raised by complainants, as reported by PSLS in their
quarterly reports, include:
Lack of affordable housing
Inability to find housing due to criminal records
Sexual harassment by a housing provider
Foreclosure, or rights of tenants in a foreclosed property
Habitability issues; e.g., mold, bed bugs, landlord’s failure to maintain appliances
or windows
Landlords’ failure to return security deposits
Landlords’ failure to provide quiet enjoyment
Landlords’ failure to provide accounting /balance disputes
Fear of retaliation by a landlord if the tenant seeks to enforce their rights
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APPLIED REAL ESTATE ANALYSIS, INC.
LAKE COUNTY, ILLINOIS