THIS APARTMENT COMPLEX in Mount Prospect was one of many places that are accused of denying Section 8 applicants an apartment to rent.
A sweeping undercover investigation by a housing watchdog group recently filed the largest housing discrimination case in Illinois history against 165 real estate agents, brokerage firms, and landlords. The watchdog group alleges they illegally discriminated against low-income families who sought to use Housing Choice Vouchers, commonly known as Section 8.
The defendants include some of the country’s largest real estate companies, including Coldwell Banker, Christie’s International Real Estate, Keller Williams, and Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Chicago.
The Housing Rights Initiative (HRI) submitted 176 complaints against the defendants to the Illinois Department of Human Rights.
HRI is represented in these complaints by two public interest law firms, Peter Romer-Friedman Law PLLC and Handley Farah & Anderson PLLC, and by Disability Rights Advocates, a national nonprofit disability rights legal center with offices in Chicago, Berkeley, and New York.
In the past year, HRI trained, equipped, and deployed an army of undercover investigators who posed as prospective tenants with Section 8 vouchers. These investigators texted hundreds of brokers and landlords to determine whether they complied with the Illinois Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination against voucher holders. HRI found that voucher holders were explicitly discriminated against approximately 36 percent of the time.
HRI posted the results of its investigation in a Google Docs document. The spreadsheet includes the brokers’ names and text messages of conversations they had with the fictitious Section 8 voucher applicants.
Many of the alleged incidents occurred in middle-class and affluent northwest suburbs.
Text messages filed with the complaint show one broker, Coldwell Banker, agreeing to show an applicant an apartment in northwest suburban Glenview. However, when the applicant later texted the same broker asking to use a Section 8 voucher, the landlord said the firm did not accept the voucher.
In another case, a broker named Gail in northwest suburban Barrington agreed to show an applicant a two-bedroom apartment. But when the applicant asked to use a Section 8 voucher, Gail said, “I have no problem with the Section 8. However, the condo association doesn’t allow me to.”
The same denials occurred when Section 8 applicants inquired about apartments in Chicago Heights, Schiller Park, Schaumburg, Mount Prospect, Willowbrook, Lincolnwood, Glencoe, Evanston, and other suburbs.
In Berwyn, Vanessa Gonzalez, a realtor for Kale Realty, in a text message, told a Section 8 applicant seeking a one-bedroom, $1,400 a month apartment that she doesn’t make the decision to accept the voucher. She then told the applicant to apply, pay the application fee, and submit the required documents. Gonzalez said that after the owner had reviewed everything, she would make the final decision. When the applicant asked Gonzalez a follow-up question about whether the Section 8 voucher will be accepted, Gonzalez texted, “The owner is older & isn’t familiar with sec 8 process & inspections. The owner said no.”
In 2022, Governor Pritzker signed HB 2775, which made it illegal for landlords, brokers, and agents to discriminate against housing applicants who seek to use housing vouchers to pay their rent. Today’s historic filing builds upon that foundation by holding discriminatory real estate companies accountable and sending a message that landlords can’t slam the door in the face of low-income families in Illinois.
HRI said housing voucher holders are disproportionately families, Blacks and minorities, and people with disabilities.
Officials at the HRI said their investigation aimed to get the real estate companies to stop their discriminatory housing practices that are exacerbating Chicago’s homelessness and affordable housing crisis.
“Today is the day where an unscrupulous landlord gets inaugurated into the White House,” said Aaron Carr, Founder and Executive Director of HRI. “Let this historic filing send an important message to every real estate player: no matter how empowered you feel over the next four years, you will be held accountable to the law. Break the law, and it will not be a question of whether you get caught, but when.”
Joshua Murillo, Deputy Executive Director of HRI, said, “Discrimination against voucher holders is not just a violation of the law—it’s a barrier that keeps families in Illinois from accessing stable and affordable housing. HRI’s investigation and this filing are critical steps toward holding landlords and brokers accountable and ensuring that everyone, regardless of how they pay their rent, has a fair chance at finding a home.”
Illinois lawmakers weighed in on the investigation.
State Senator Willie Preston said, “The pain of living without a roof over your head is a reality no Illinoian should endure in 2025. In the 1960s, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. came to Chicago to fight for fair housing, recognizing—then as we do now—that housing is not a privilege but a fundamental human right. In Illinois, we will not tolerate those who disregard our laws and exploit our communities.”
State Representative Yolonda Morris said, “As a strong advocate for equitable housing access, I am deeply concerned about the ongoing discrimination faced by low-income tenants, particularly those utilizing housing vouchers such as Section 8. It has come to my attention that certain stakeholders, including brokers and landlords, are not only holding apartments off the market but also misrepresenting their rental policies by falsely advertising them as accepting low-income tenants. This behavior not only undermines the intent of housing assistance programs but also perpetuates systemic inequality within our communities. I urge all stakeholders to adhere to fair housing laws and promote inclusivity by genuinely welcoming all prospective tenants, regardless of their income status. Together, we can work towards a more just housing landscape for all Illinois residents.”
