The Rules to the Just Housing Amendment Passed!

A huge victory for over one million people in Cook County who will be protected by the Just Housing Amendment!

The Rules to the Just Housing Amendment passed on November 21, 2019, ensuring that over one million residents of Cook County will be protected against housing discrimination. The law will go into effect on January 1, 2020. The Amendment and its accompanying rules contain significant protections for people with records. For example, housing providers and housing authorities cannot look back more than three years from the date of conviction and cannot consider certain aspects of justice system records (such as arrests, juvenile records, and sealed and expunged records) when making housing determinations. For applicants with a conviction on their record, housing providers will need to conduct an individualized assessment and consider factors such as the nature of the offense and the time that has passed since the offense.

This amendment could not have passed without the work of our sponsor, Commissioner Brandon Johnson, and the Cook County Human Rights Commission, as well as the countless advocates and supporters who took action to show their support for the Amendment.

We wish to thank all our members who responded to the coalition’s requests to email, phone, and arrange meetings with their commissioners and who showed up to the County and Commission hearings. Without you, this landmark achievement would not have occurred. On behalf of all the individuals who will now be able to obtain housing, thank you.

Please take a moment right now to express your gratitude. Take action by emailing the Human Rights Commission and your Cook County commissioner a word of thanks.