PROTECT IMMIGRANT TENANTS End Intimidation and Retaliation

SB 3103 (Sen. Castro) (Rep. Mah)

This bill creates the Illinois Immigrant Tenant Protection Act to protect renters from unscrupulous landlords who seek to avoid their legal obligations under Illinois landlord- tenant laws and local ordinances. Landlords who harass tenants, ignore necessary repairs, and perform illegal evictions should be held accountable. It is time to ensure that all Illinois tenants feel secure when exercising their housing rights.

The bill would do as follows:

 Prohibit landlords from threatening to disclose or actually disclosing the tenant’s immigration status to harass the tenant, retaliate against the tenant, or force the tenant to move out without using proper procedures.

 Prohibit landlords from using the civil court system to harass immigrant tenants.

 Provide tenants the right to sue landlords who disclose or threaten to disclose their immigration status.

 Create a defense to unlawful evictions based on immigration status and prohibit questions about tenants’ immigration status in discovery or at trial.

The bill does not prohibit landlords from complying with any legal obligation under federal or state law. Nor does it prohibit reference or credit checks.

House Sponsors: Rep. Theresa Mah - Elizabeth Hernandez - Emanuel Chris Welch, Silvana Tabares, Barbara Flynn Currie, Christian L. Mitchell, Cynthia Soto, Will Guzzardi and Linda Chapa LaVia.

SB3103 passed the Illinois Senate on May 9, 2018 and is being considered in the Illinois House of Representatives.

For more info: Rev 05/15/2018 Dolores Ponce de Leon, Latino Policy Forum, [email protected] Steven Monroy, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, [email protected] Kevin Herrera or Kate Walz, Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law kevinherrera@poverty law.org, [email protected],

Supporters of SB3103

ACLU of Illinois Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago Center for Changing Lives City of Chicago Chicago Area Fair Housing Alliance Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Disability Rights Action Coalition for Housing Enlace Chicago Erie Neighborhood House HANA Center Housing Action Illinois Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights La Casa Norte Latino Policy Forum Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing Legal Council for Health Justice Logan Square Neighborhood Association Mujeres Latinas en Accion National Association of Social Workers - Illinois Chapter National Immigrant Justice Center Palomares Social Justice Center Pilsen Alliance Presence Health Project IRENE The Resurrection Project SEIU Healthcare Spanish Community Center