‘Crime Free Housing’ ordinances sometimes used to evict tenants with minor offenses

CHICAGO (WGN) — Crime-free housing laws are local ordinances that empower police and landlords to evict tenants who are accused of breaking the law, but an investigation shows some tenants are being evicted for virtually any alleged infraction, no matter how minor.

The ordinances in dozens of communities around Illinois are intended to help landlords get problem tenants out of their properties, particularly those committing violent felonies or convicted of drug possession, but an investigation by the Illinois Answers Project and The New York Times revealed more than 1,000 cases in five years where tenants were evicted or faced eviction for misdemeanor crimes or crimes they didn’t commit.

In one instance, a resident and her sons were evicted from their townhouse after a number of 911 calls were placed from the woman’s intellectually disabled son.

“Ultimately the city decided that that was a nuisance and used the ordinance to get her out of her home,” Illinois Answers Project reporter Sidnee King said Friday on the WGN Evening News.

An Illinois Senate committee this week advanced a measure that would limit the circumstances under which ‘Crime Free Housing’ ordinances can be used to evict tenants.

Watch the full interview with Sidnee King in the video attached to this article.