Cook County Illinois - Just Housing Amendment

[Hadi Fallah]

In Cook County, it is unlawful to deny housing or change the terms of the rental agreement because of an arrest record, juvenile record, or a conviction that has been expunged, sealed, or pardoned.

It also affects how landlords advertise their rental listings in Cook County. Housing providers may not say "no felons," "no sex offenders," "no convicted drug dealers," "no criminal history," or "no arrest history" in their advertisements

Check your Rental Application Form. If your application form asks applicants to disclose their criminal histories,  As of December 31, 2019, Cook County Must provide their tenant selection criteria along with the rental application to the tenant and landlords must approve conditionally based on their credit before requesting a criminal history and consider only the last three years of any convictions.

The ordinance is a bit complicated and needs explanation. We developed our own forms and working through the process of getting all the disclosures sorted out.

Hope it helps

https://www.cookcountyil.gov/content/just-housing-amendment-human-rights-ordinance