January 17, 2025
Contact: MacKenzie Speer, Attorney & Dominic Voz, Director of Fair Housing
Tel: 312-202-3650 & 312-620-8304
Niles, IL – Today, Open Communities announced the filing of a federal fair housing complaint against the Housing Authority of Cook County (HACC), alleging that the management at a subsidized housing complex in Niles is engaging in severe and pervasive acts of harassment and discrimination against Black tenants and applicants.
Open Communities, a more than 50-year-old nonprofit fair housing organization serving the north suburbs of Chicago, is being represented in the complaint by Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Legal Aid Chicago. The Complaint can be found here or downloaded below.
The investigation lasted two years, beginning with residents and social service workers coming to Open Communities to describe incidents of discriminatory treatment by HACC’s property manager at the Huntington Apartments. Witnesses subsequently detailed a well-understood environment of racial hierarchy and specific incidents where the property manager subjected Black tenants to harassment and different treatment, including eviction actions, compared to White counterparts.
Dominic Voz, Director of Fair Housing at Open Communities, emphasized that discrimination in settings intended to offer dignified support for our most marginalized neighbors will not be tolerated.
“A place like the Huntington Apartments, which is intended to prioritize housing for low-income applicants with disabilities, should be a trauma-informed center of community care, not a near-fiefdom where residents are subject to the discriminatory whims of those in power, as the complaint alleges.”
Open Communities encourages past or present residents of the Huntington Apartments or others with knowledge of the building to contact the agency with any other information regarding civil rights violations by emailing intake@open-communities.org or calling 847-501-5760.
