For more than 30 years, the Fair Housing Legal Support Center & Clinic has been dedicated to educating the public about fair housing law and providing legal assistance to private or public organizations that seek to eliminate discriminatory housing practices.
Since its inception, the Fair Housing Legal Support Center has presented local and national conferences bringing together leading scholars and practitioners to analyze cutting-edge issues involving discrimination in rental and sales transactions, accessible housing for persons with disabilities, fair lending and predatory lending practices, and efficacious enforcement techniques. In addition, the Center has developed training workshops in response to the needs of the fair housing community at large.
The Fair Housing Legal Clinic is one of the few law school clinics in the United States devoted exclusively to fair housing training and enforcement. The Clinic enables degree candidates to gain practical legal experience and bolster their resume at the same time. Not only do students learn the substance of fair housing law, but the Clinic also offers opportunities to participate in federal court litigation, as well as state and administrative proceedings. Students also have the unique opportunity to participate in community outreach service and make general fair housing presentations to individuals, groups, and agencies.
The Clinic has served thousands of clients in the Chicago metropolitan area who have been denied housing because of discrimination under federal, state, and local fair housing laws and ordinances. The Clinic's testing and investigations program is an invaluable resource and assists the attorneys and student interns with case development and enforcement activities. In addition to casework, staff at the Clinic regularly schedule education and outreach presentations in an effort to raise awareness of fair housing laws and the rights of individuals under the law.
This guide lists resources covering Fair Housing Law and related legal areas that can be found in the Louis L. Biro Law Library. Locations and call numbers are noted for print and media resources which can be found in the library. Links to databases are also included in this guide. Some links to databases may only be accessed by UIC Law students, faculty, and staff. These may require users to provide their UIC Law login and password when accessing from off campus. Westlaw and Lexis links require users to have appropriate credentials. Where possible, links to freely available resources have also been provided.
Since fair housing issues often overlap with other legal issues, it can be useful to expand searches to include related topics. Treatises on property law, elder law, disability law, and predatory lending, among others, will often cover issues concerning housing discrimination.
The following list includes Library of Congress Subject headings that can be used to search library catalogs.
For assistance with legal research questions, research strategies, print research, or legal databases questions, contact the UIC Law reference librarians via law-library@uic.edu or "Make an Appointment" via the online scheduler. Please book your appointment 48 business hours in advance. Alternatively, you can stop by the reference desk for immediate help with a quick research question.