Fair Housing Law: State & Local Laws

Illinois Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Civil Rights and Fair Housing in Illinois (CARLI)

The Illinois Human Rights Act, passed in 1979, contains provisions prohibiting discrimination in "real estate transactions." The law is codified in 775 ILCS 5/3-101 et seq.

• West's Smith-Hurd Illinois Compiled Statutes Annotated. KFI1230.A473 - 9th Floor. 
• Annotated code available via  Westlaw. 
• Statute available via Lexis. 
• Statute available via Illinois General Assembly.
• Decisions of the Illinois Human Rights Commission are available at the commission website, Westlaw, and Lexis.

Other State Sources

• 50-State Survey Fair Housing Laws

Cook County, Chicago, and other local municipalities have provisions in their ordinances addressing fair housing issues. Often, the ordinances also create local agencies that take and adjudicate discrimination complaints. 

Many other local municipalities also have provisions covering fair housing.  

• American Legal Publishing’s Code Library provides access to local codes by state.
• The Municode Library also provides municipal codes throughout the United States.

In 1963, the City of Chicago passed a fair housing ordinance that provided protection against discrimination under certain circumstances. Since then the ordinance has been amended to expand the number of prohibited practices.

• Municipal Code of Chicago 1990: A Codification of the General Ordinances of the City of Chicago, Illinois. KF1231.A6 1990 - 9th Floor. 
• Chicago Human Rights Ordinance Chicago Municipal Code §6-10-010 et. seq.
• Chicago Fair Housing Ordinance Chicago Municipal Code §5-8-010 et. seq.
• Chicago Commission on Human Relations is the implementing agency for the Chicago Fair Housing and related ordinances
• City of Chicago Decisions & Precedents in Discrimination Cases contain precedential decisions and a digest of rulings. Most commission decisions can also be found on Westlaw.
• Subject Matter Index/City of Chicago Commission on Human Relations. KFX1234.S83 - 9th Floor. This finding tool index ruling and decisions of the Human Relations Commission from 1990-2006, with periodic updates.

Cook County also has provisions in its ordinances prohibiting certain discriminatory practices. The Cook County Human Rights Commission implements the ordinances prohibiting discrimination.

• Cook County Human Rights Ordinance Cook County Code of Ordinances § 42-30 et seq. 
• Decisions of the Cook County Human Rights Commission. 

Summary Chart of Laws/Protected Classes: This chart summarizes the protections against housing discrimination in Illinois and the Chicago Metropolitan Area.