Racial Profiling Alleged in Illinois

The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (http://icirr.org/) has requested the DOJ to investigate racial profiling at the McHenry County, Illinois, sheriff's office. The Northwest Herald reports that the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights asked the civil division of the U.S. Department of Justice for an investigation. The group wants to know if the department is incorrectly listing the race of Latinos on tickets. Coalition director Joshua Hoyt says more Latinos are stopped and are being systematically misclassified. An attorney for the sheriff's office said, "Racial profiling, such as pulling people over because they are Latino, is a serious accusation." (http://icirr.org/en/node/5322)

The ICIRR recently "celebrated with religious, civil rights and immigrant leaders the defeat of 10 anti-immigrant bills recently introduced in the Illinois Senate and House of Representatives. Due to Congressional failure to pass immigration reform, many states, including Illinois, have introduced legislation that would impact the lives of immigrants. Participants thanked State Rep. Greg Harris, who is the Chair of the Human Services Committee and responsible for stopping these bills to pass his committee. “By blocking these hate bills we are affirming that Illinois is home,” said State Representative Greg Harris (D-13). 'We are showing that our state is not Arizona and that Illinoisans don’t buy in the politics of hate.'"

The ICIRR is "dedicated to promoting the rights of immigrants and refugees to full and equal participation in the civic, cultural, social, and political life of our diverse society. In partnership with its member organizations, ICIRR educates and organizes immigrant and refugee communities to assert their rights; promotes citizenship and civic participation; monitors, analyzes, and advocates on immigrant-related issues; and, informs the general public about the contributions of immigrants and refugees."

Read the March 31, 2011 Northwest Herald article: http://www.nwherald.com/2011/03/31/group-seeks-racial-profiling-investigation/a4kqz32/.

Higher Discriminatory Rents for Tenants with Health/Therapy Dogs

A North Dakota federal judge has refused to throw out a lawsuit claiming discrimination against a Fargo property manager. Fair Housing of the Dakotas, a nonprofit advocacy group (which was closed in 2010-2011 because of lack of funding), accuses Goldmark Property Management of a "pattern of discrimination" in charging tenants higher rents and assessing fees. Fair Housing says Goldmark illegally charged tenants extra for keeping dogs they needed for their health or therapy. It seems pretty clear this is a reasonable accommodation. Read the April 1, 2011 Greenfield Reporter article: http://www.greenfieldreporter.com/view/story/cff8e58d72954c77a8b85d0625f49899/ND--Housing-Lawsuit/.

Great Place for Fair Housing News

The National Fair Housing Advocate's website has some breaking news, legal research, tools, links, etc. It's worth a view: http://www.fairhousing.com/.

Free Consumer Law Webinars Offered

The National Community Law Center (NCLC) is broadcasting free webinars on a variety of subjects interesting to consumers. While most are through its elder rights initiative —the National Elder Rights Training Project of the National Legal Resource Center sponsored by the Administration on Aging, others include auto fraud, domestic violence survivors, and others, such as:

• Foreclosure Prevention.
• Debt Collection.
• The Protection of Exempt Benefits.
• Bankruptcy.
• Effective Health Care Planning.
• Cars and Working Families: Cash for Clunkers.
• Credit Reporting and Repair for Domestic Violence Survivors.

Check it out: http://www.nclc.org/conferences-training/webinars.html.

New Edition of "Fair Housing E-News"

Just posted a new edition of Fair Housing E-News. Just a couple of the headlines:

PrimeLending Resolve Allegations of Lending Discrimination. Settlement Provides $2 Million to African-American Borrowers Who Paid Higher Interest Rates...between 2006 and 2009... http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/December/10-crt-1406.html

Census Finds Maryland's Minority Population Is Now 45% . The recently released 2010 decennial U. S. Census data showed Hispanics, African Americans and Asians are growing... HUD Proposes New Rule For Equal Housing Regardless Of Sexual Orientation Or Gender Identity. View the proposed rule. The rule would: (1) Prohibit lenders from using sexual orientation or gender identity to determine a borrower’s eligibility for FHA mortgage financing; (2) Clarify that all otherwise eligible families, regardless of marital status, sexual orientation...

HUD Conducting The First National Study Of Housing Discrimination Against LGBT Community. Every ten years, HUD does a study of the impact of housing discrimination on the basis of race and color. LGBT individuals and families...

Obama Administration, Treasury, & HUD Release February Housing Scorecard.

Census Finds Gay Parenting More Prevalent in the South. The data show, child rearing among same-sex couples is more common in the South than in any other region of the country, according... Read the January 19, 2011 Times article.

Census Finds Maryland's Minority Population Is Now 45%. The recently released 2010 decennial U. S. Census data showed Hispanics, African Americans and Asians are growing... Read the article.

New State-by-State Analysis of Food Hardship Shows One in Seven Respondents in Maryland Reported in First Half of 2010 Inability to Afford Enough Food...

NY To Require Homeowners Facing Foreclosure To Be Represented by a Lawyer

New York State would be the first state to assure that all homeowners facing foreclosure be represented by a lawyer. While criminal defendents are guaranteed legal representation, a homeowner confronted with foreclosure is on his/her own. The problem affects a large number of people. In over 50% of active NY foreclosure cases the homeowner does not have a lawyer. This is "an uneven playing field," according to the chief judge of New York Jonathan Lippman. Read the article in the February 16, 2011 New York Times (page B1).

Trying to Find Accessible Rental Housing? See Our Guide to Internet Housing Sites.

The GBCHRB has just released a guide to internet sites that feature rental housing listings. To access it, go to: http://www.gbchrb.org/internethousingguide.htm.