Action Alert: Prevent Housing Discrimination
March 24, 2022
Ask your state senator to vote YES in support of HB2775 so that a renter's source of income cannot be used as grounds to deny them a lease.
1. TAKE A QUICK MINUTE TO SEND AN EMAIL
Email your state senator urging them to support HB2775.
2. JOIN THE PHONE BANKING EFFORT
Make an old-fashioned phone call to your state senator. View the list of senators and suggested scripts.
3. AMPLIFY SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN
Help HB2775 content make as much noise as possible in the social space! Remember, it's so important to comment on your own reasons for supporting HB2775 and why this bill is important to you. Use any of the following links to view campaign posts: Twitter Facebook LinkedIn. Instagram
4. SIGN ON TO BE AN INDIVIDUAL COMMUNITY ENDORSER
Help us reach our goal of obtaining 1,000 community endorsers! Persons with lived experience, veterans, professionals, persons with disabilities, students, workers, private landlords, business owners, and any individual wanting to express their support is welcome to fill out this form and add their name as a community endorser. This action takes about 2 minutes.
Background
This bill would level the playing field and ensure equal access to Illinois’ scarce housing resources in communities of a renter’s choice. The bill would make it a civil rights violation for a landlord who requires minimum income levels as a condition of rental to refuse to include rental assistance, housing vouchers, disability income and other sources of federal, state and local funding in its income calculation.
The following resources provide information about common negative perceptions related to tenants who receive rental support:
Investigating the Relationship Between Housing Voucher Use and Crime
The Voucher Promise: "Section 8" and the Fate of an American Neighborhood
League Position
The League of Women Voters believes that every person and family should have decent, safe, and affordable housing. Publicly-funded housing should meet the following requirements:
Lower-income families should not be segregated in large developments or neighborhoods. As their economic status improves, they should be able to continue to live in the same units as private tenants or as homeowners.
Housing should be designed to meet human needs and built with amenities that will encourage economic integration within apartment buildings as well as within neighborhoods.
Publicly assisted housing should be included in viable, balanced communities, with provision for quality public services and facilities, including schools, transportation, recreation, etc., that will encourage integration and stability.