The Chicago Human Rights Ordinance MCC 6-10 and the Cook County Human Rights Ordinance prohibit landlords from refusing applicants because their rent comes from a Housing Choice Voucher, SSI, or other lawful source.
MCC 6-10-040 lists source of income as a protected class for housing transactions. Source of income includes Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, VASH, SSI, SSDI, child support, alimony, public assistance, and other lawful payments. Landlords cannot advertise no-vouchers, refuse to apply rent calculations using vouchers, or impose income screens that effectively exclude voucher holders. Income tests must use the tenant-paid portion only, mirroring the federal HUD position. The Chicago Commission on Human Relations and the Cook County Commission on Human Rights investigate. Remedies include damages, civil fines up to $1,000 per violation, attorney fees, and orders to rent. The state Illinois Human Rights Act 775 ILCS 5/3-102.1 layers identical protection statewide as of 2023.
Refusing applicants over voucher status, no-Section-8 ads, or inflated income tests can produce CCHR damages, $1,000 per-violation fines, attorney fees, and Cook County civil rights orders to rent.
Chicago, IL
Chicago bars landlord retaliation under RLTO MCC 5-12-150 and layers Cook County's Just Housing Amendment to limit criminal-record screening. Tenants asserti...
Chicago, IL
The Chicago Housing Authority administers the Housing Choice (Section 8) Voucher program. Combined with MCC 6-10 source-of-income protection and 775 ILCS 5/3...
Chicago, IL
Chicago does not have a formal just cause eviction ordinance, but the RLTO (MCC 5-12) provides substantial eviction protections including anti-retaliation pr...
See how Chicago's source-of-income discrimination rules stack up against other locations.
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