2026-09-10 · Illinois · Regulation

What happened. On May 26, 2026 the Cook County Commission on Human Rights, with Roosevelt University's Policy Research Collaborative, released the first comprehensive evaluation of the Just Housing Amendment to the Cook County Human Rights Ordinance.¹

The assessment launched in October 2024, with a housing-seeker survey from January 2025. A public “Fireside Chat” followed on May 27, 2026.

What the Just Housing Amendment requires

Adopted in 2019 and effective January 1, 2020, it bars housing providers from discriminating on “covered criminal history” at any stage of the application process, and restricts the use of criminal records beyond the last three years for tenant screening.

The four barriers the assessment identified

1. an awareness gap among both housing seekers and providers, producing non-compliance;
2. transparency failures — applicants reported not receiving the written explanations for denial that the ordinance requires;
3. missing individualized assessments — applicants were not given the required opportunity to contextualize their conviction history;
4. housing shortage and income-requirement barriers.

The commitment that changes the risk

The Commission committed to improve accessibility for reporting violations, expand enforcement and file more Commission-initiated complaints, and increase outreach and education.

1. Cook County Commission on Human Rights, release of the Just Housing Amendment impact assessment (May 26, 2026) ↩
2. Illinois Department of Human Rights, protected classes in housing including source of income ↩