On a good note the police arrested the contractor but my friend's money is gone. 

I recently had someone tell me that if I write a real estate contract for a property in Illinois without a license I can be arrested.

Three teenage males were found in the car and arrested for Grand Theft Auto.

Lower your standards and expectations.You are trying to rent a less desirable apt with only one bedroom and upstairs (carrying the groceries won't be fun) and you are doing it in the worst time of year to have vacancies.Excellent tenants with great credit and perfect backgrounds already have good housing for the winter and don't wanna move in the middle of the Holidays.Your tenant pool will be limited to people who have lower incomes,minor arrest records,recently lost their homes to foreclosure,downsizing from a more expensive apt,etc.You need to settle for people who have enough to pay the rent and maybe have a co-signer to guarantee the rent.Allowing section 8 tenants can help fill a vacancy faster as well as offing rent discounts for the first month or lower deposits to help them afford the move in costs.Offering a free moving truck rental and help getting the heavy furniture upstairs is a real eye catcher for potential tenants worried about how to get their stuff moved in on their own.

She will get arrested.

They never even arrested the guy that bought it originally either.

He was subsequently arrested, but not before he changed the locks (in violation of the lease) in response to the wife leaving.  

I just saw this news article and feel bad for the owner that was renting out this house:http://abc30.com/news/man-arrested-in-west-central...At least annual inspections of smoke detectors is a good idea to get into the place and make sure something crazy isn't going on.

We have the recordings of the police showing up and arresting her.

Thus, a discriminatory effect resulting from a policy or practice that denies housing to anyone with a prior arrest or any kind of criminal conviction cannot be justified, and therefore such a practice would violate the Fair Housing Act.Policies that exclude persons based on criminal history must be tailored to serve the housing provider’s substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory interest and take into consideration such factors as the type of the crime and the length of the time since conviction.