Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) are asking the Illinois Appellate Court to uphold protections for low-income renters by rejecting a landlord’s attempt to weaken state housing laws.
The state agencies filed an amicus brief in Cole v. Timberbrook Realty LLC in support of a tenant who faces eviction after attempting to pay rent using a federal Housing Choice Voucher. While the landlord claims it did not discriminate against the tenant based on her voucher status, the property owner refused to sign the necessary Housing Assistance Payments contract required to process the federal funds.
Attorney General Raoul stated there is no loophole in the Illinois Human Rights Act allowing landlords to bypass source-of-income protections by refusing to sign required paperwork. IDHR Director Jim Bennett noted that source-of-income allegations represent one of the most common housing discrimination charges filed with the agency.
The legal challenge follows 2023 amendments to the Illinois Human Rights Act that explicitly prohibited real estate transactions from discriminating against individuals based on their source of income. A lower court previously ruled in favor of the landlord, prompting Raoul and the IDHR to urge the appellate court to enforce the legislature’s intent and protect access to affordable housing across Illinois.
