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This page contains some of the
important issues that the Housing Committee on Housing and
Urban Development addressed in 2005. Our efforts are
designed to make home rental and ownership a fair and open
process for all of the people of Illinois.
State Subsidies to Keep
Families from becoming Homelessness Responding to
cuts in the federal Housing Choice Voucher Program (also
known as Section 8), I helped pass Senate Bill 75, which
works to keep families from becoming homeless by offering
state subsidies directly to landlords to encourage them to
lower rental rates for low-income families. SB 75
was signed into law.
Protection from Predatory
Lenders
With many home loan lenders engaging in predatory lending in
minority communities, I worked to include two local
communities, Bellwood and Maywood, in a statewide pilot
study of lending practices. The legislation,
House
Bill 4050, encourages fair lending and provides credit
counseling for at-risk families involved in the study.
HB 4050 was signed into law.
Fighting Against Housing
Discrimination Discrimination remains a barrier to
renting and purchasing a home for many Illinois families.
I introduced House Bill 917, which makes it a civil rights
violation to intimidate, coerce or otherwise interfere with
anyone trying to complete a real estate transaction.
HB 917 was signed into law.
This year, it will
be my priority to continue to challenge source-of-income discrimination
by landlords who refuse to rent to families who use vouchers
to pay housing costs.
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