Shriver Center Housing Litigation Director Bill Wilen Transitions to Counsel

In the early years of federally funded legal services; many idealistic young lawyers entered the field. Some turned it into an entire career and helped define what that kind of career could be. Bill Wilen is a leader among that admirable original group of career legal services lawyers, and is now entering the next phase of his remarkable life. Some (including Bill) call this “retirement.” But, just as he helped define what it means to be a successful career legal services lawyer, Bill will help expand the definition of what it means for someone in our line of work to “retire.”

Looking back on his decades of advocacy, Bill identifies a feeling akin to that of a young baseball player entering the major leagues: “I can’t believe they actually pay you to do this!” But after more than thirty-five years at the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago (LAF) and then the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law—currently as director of housing litigation—Bill plans to retire at the end of June. He will continue as “of counsel” to the Shriver Center in pending litigation. 

Inspired by Perry Mason, Bill started law school at Northwestern expecting to become a criminal defense lawyer, but he became involved in housing cases at Northwestern’s clinic. The Illinois Supreme Court had just decided a case recognizing the warranty of habitability, and the clinic was seeing large numbers of tenants. Immersing himself in those cases, Bill saw that the scale was weighted in the landlords’ favor. Upon graduation in 1973, the single job opening at LAF was for a housing lawyer. Bill had found his calling. Assigned to a neighborhood office, he represented hundreds of clients and engaged in class action litigation to tackle broader problems that emerged from the individual cases. As often happens in legal services, four years made Bill a “veteran” and he became supervisor of the Uptown neighborhood office, where he mentored and trained younger attorneys (including the current president of the Shriver Center).

In 1982 Bill transferred to LAF’s main office to supervise the organization’s overall housing work. Bill knew from his practice that tenants’ judicially recognized and statutorily created rights were often ignored in the high-volume Cook County courtrooms, where few tenants have lawyers. Among these rights were the warranty of habitability and security-deposit matters that Bill had been tangling with since law school. Seizing the moment for important change, Bill co-drafted a landlord-tenant ordinance codifying rights and responsibilities. Chicago adopted the ordinance in 1986. It is still in effect. The ordinance makes sure that the rights of tenants are observed even when they are unrepresented. The real estate industry challenged the ordinance in federal court. Bill joined the City of Chicago’s lawyers in defending the law, and both the district court and the Seventh Circuit upheld it.

When the issues in Bill’s cases suggested the need for a national solution, Bill engaged in national advocacy. The early 1980s produced a foreclosure crisis similar to the one we currently face. At that time the federal law governing Federal Housing Administration–insured loans required lenders to forbear from foreclosing and attempt to work out the mortgage arrears. Bill joined with lawyers from Community Legal Services in Philadelphia and the National Housing Law Project to secure these rights in the nationwide class action Ferrell v. HUD. Tens of thousands of clients were able to save their homes.

Bill is best known for being the David taking on the Goliath of the Chicago Housing Authority. He says that it’s his work with residents of Henry Horner Homes that has brought him the greatest satisfaction, and which he feels is a real legacy. The case was filed in 1991 on behalf of public housing residents who alleged that the housing authority, to justify tearing the buildings down, had allowed a level of deterioration that amounted to “de facto demolition.” A consent decree signed in 1995 provided for phased redevelopment and one-for-one replacement housing. “Horner was listed as one of the worst developments in the United States and now it’s a model community,” Bill explains. “The whole west side of Chicago is totally different now.” The ongoing project is now a model mixed-income community, with public housing residents as part of the mix. Bill is at the heart of a major public policy experiment that is an important blueprint for redevelopment, as well as a living argument for reinstatement of the one-for-one replacement rule. Bill and allies are working on the reenactment of that rule in Congress today.

Looking back, Bill emphasizes how impressed he has always been with his colleagues in legal services, whom he describes as “a different breed of people, who could make a lot more money but would rather push for a more just society. I loved the work so much that I never thought of doing anything else. My wife got a little tired of hearing me say how I couldn’t wait to get to work. It just fit perfectly, and I never looked back.”

Bill has won many awards and official recognition for his accomplishments. Two that mean a great deal to him were both awarded in 2000. The Thomas H. Morsch Public Service Award from the Chicago Bar Foundation saluted and rewarded Bill’s accomplishments as a career public interest lawyer.

The David B. Bryson Award from the National Housing Law Project recognized Bill for showing a long-term commitment and a record of exemplary achievement in furthering housing justice for the poor. Bill was a friend and colleague of David Bryson, who was a top specialist at the National Housing Law Project before his untimely death, and the award was particularly poignant and satisfying. So, what is in store for someone like Bill in his “retirement,” other than continuing to represent the Horner residents on a part-time basis? Well, Bill is an avid poker player (if not a consistent winner, say his regular playing partners).

He has a world-class collection of Mickey Mantle baseball cards and memorabilia. There is talk that Bill may turn that interest into the most comprehensive history ever of the Yankee star. And there are the main obsessions: his grandchildren. The Shriver Center is grateful for Bill’s distinguished career, wise counsel, and good friendship and cheer. We wish Bill the best in his retirement and in the commencement of the next phase of his work and life.