Housing


The Shriver Center's housing attorneys advocate to preserve low-income housing and protect residents of public and subsidized housing throughout Illinois. We play a pivotal role in overseeing and documenting the Chicago Housing Authority's (CHA's) Plan for Transformation, defending low-income renters through impact litigation, advancing innovating housing policies at the state and local levels, and providing professional support to housing advocates nationwide. The Shriver Center advances fair housing and serves as an integral player in the national housing rights arena.
Read more about the Shriver Center's housing advocacy.

When Discretion Means Denial for Persons with Criminal Records in Federally Subsidized Housing
When the Secretary of U.S. Housing and Urban Development recently urged public housing authorities to use their discretion to admit applicants with past arrest and conviction records rather than simply exclude them from subsidized housing, we wondered: what happens when discretion means denial?


Guided by the Urban Land Institute and supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Preservation Compact has brought together leaders from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to craft a new vision for Cook County—to reverse the downward trend in Cook County’s affordable rental housing supply by 2020. The Shriver Center is a partner organization to the Preservation Compact plan.

Below are links to several important documents related to the Preservation Compact:



Are We Home Yet? Creating Real Choice for Housing Choice Voucher Families in Chicago
The Illinois Assisted Housing Action Research Project (IHARP), a collaboration of Housing Action Illinois, the Latino Policy Forum, the Nathalie P. Voorhees Center for Neighborhood and Community Improvement, and the Shriver Center has released this report, which finds that the majority of the Chicago Housing Authority's 35,000 Housing Choice Voucher households continue to reside in predominately African-American, poverty concentrated communities in Chicago. These communities, which continue to struggle with high rates of unemployment, foreclosures, and above-average rates of crime and poor health, do not provide real opportunity for voucher families. The report recommends that the Chicago Housing Authority, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the City of Chicago, housing advocates, and public officials work together towards a comprehensive agenda to advance housing mobility and real opportunities for voucher families, as well as to strategically invest in the the communities where voucher families currently live.

Online Guide to Identifying Federally Assisted Properties
The Shriver Center has published two online guides to identifying federal assisted properties. A generic guide lists local, state, and national online resources that may provide useful information for federally assisted properties in a specific area. A second guide features local, state, and national online resources of particular interest to advocates in Illinois.


The Safe Homes Act and VAWA:
How to Protect Victims of Violence in Private Rental Market, Public, and Subsidized Housing
On December 11, 2008, the Shriver Center hosted a webinar for service providers on how to protect the housing rights of victims of violence under the Safe Homes Act and the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). A recording of the presentation, as well as links to relevant resources, are available.

Housing Rights for Victims of Domestic and Sexual Violence
These brochures, flyers, and legal tools outline provisions of The Safe Homes Act and the Violence Against Women Act of 2005 (VAWA), which protect the housing rights of victims of domestic and sexual violence. Please feel free to download and distribute any of the materials.

Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky's Keynote Address at the Landau Housing Luncheon
Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law hosted the annual Howard Landau Housing Justice Awards Luncheon on June 11, 2007. Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky delivered this year's keynote address. A citizen advocate, grassroots organizer, and exemplary leader, Congresswoman Schakowsky has fought throughout her career for economic and social justice and improved quality of life for all—championing, among others, the expansion of housing opportunities for low-income people.

One-for-One Replacement of Public Housing Demolished
As HOPE VI, the federal plan to revitalize public housing, comes up for reauthorization in 2007, the Shriver Center is adding its expertise to an important conversation about meeting the housing needs of low-income people. Shriver Center Director of Housing Litigation, William P. Wilen, has coordinated a coalition of housing advocates and service providers working to ensure that every unit of public housing demolished is replaced so that families who wish to remain in their communities can do so.

Jane Addams Senior Caucus v. Moody Bible Institute of Chicago
The Shriver Center has filed a complaint against the Moody Bible Institute (MBI) for violating a section 8 contract. The complaint was filed on behalf of the residents of Morningside I because MBI, owner of the Morningside I, is converting contractually mandated Project-Based Section 8 units to a dormitory for MBI students. Pursuant to the contract signed by MBI, the evangelical center is legally obligated to lease 201 units to eligible low-income applicants, with at least 30% of the initial leasing being targeted to very low-income individuals.

The Lawndale Restoration
Shriver Center attorneys have filed a complaint challenging the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's decision to terminate a project-based Section 8 contract on 1,240 housing units comprising the Lawndale Restoration property, following HUD's foreclosure on the HUD mortgages and property.

McLean County Housing Crisis Averted
After advocates and Illinois’s congressional delegation campaigned to prevent 64 families from losing their housing in Bloomington-Normal, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced in midmonth that it would return the $299,000 in unspent reserve funds to the McLean Housing Authority.

Shriver Center, Jenner & Block Restore Housing Choice Vouchers

Chicago Housing Authority and Housing Advocates Settle Lawsuit over Resident Relocation
For more information, contact Kate Walz.

Comprehensive Affordable Housing Plan
The Illinois Development Authority has published Illinois' Comprehensive Affordable Housing Plan. The Plan includes over 80 recommendations geared toward six housing priority populations: very low-income households and families; low-income senior citizens; low-income people with disabilities; homeless people and families at risk of becoming homeless; low- and moderate-income families and people unable to find housing near jobs and transportation; and low-income families and people living in existing affordable housing that is in danger of becoming unaffordable. Shriver Center housing advocates participated in the regional solutions working group, which made recommendations to the Governor of Illinois as part of the planning process.

Empty Promises: Fair Housing Ordinances in Metropolitan Chicago Suburbs
This report from the Leadership Council for Metropolitan Open Communities shows that municipal support for fair housing is primarily symbolic.

Inside Housing