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Chicago Blueprint for Fair Housing
This Progress Report represents an interim update on the efforts of the City of Chicago to meet the milestones for each of the eight goals set out in the Blueprint for Fair Housing.
Chicago’s residential segregation and fair housing challenges are driven by the root causes of systemic racism and poverty. Community conversations and extensive data analysis confirm that barriers to housing today perpetuate Chicago’s residential segregation, creating a cycle of instability with longlasting consequences that not only impact individuals, but the entire city.
Building on these findings of fair housing challenges and root causes, City and community partners collectively developed Chicago’s Blueprint for Fair Housing. The Blueprint sets forth eight goals with complementary strategies and actions for the City of Chicago to advance fair housing.
Led by the Department of Housing, Commission on Human Relations, and Office of the Mayor, City departments will focus their affirmatively furthering fair housing work on these goals:
Goal 1: Increase and preserve affordable, accessible housing options
Goal 2: Prevent involuntary displacement and stabilize neighborhoods
Goal 3: Increase opportunities and community integration for people with disabilities
Goal 4: Address the segregation of opportunity and related inequitable distribution of resources
Goal 5: Enhance housing policies and programs to increase fair housing choice
Goal 6: Expand fair housing outreach, education, and enforcement
Goal 7: Preserve existing and expand affordable homeownership
Goal 8: Ensure that internal policies and practices advance equity and address history of structural racism
An Executive Summary and Full Blueprint Report are available for download below, along with related appendices.
Fair Housing means the right for a person to live where they choose to, free from discrimination. In the City of Chicago, the law that governs fair housing is the Chicago Fair Housing Ordinance (CFHO) enforced by the Chicago Commission on Human Relations (CCHR). The CFHO prohibits discrimination based on race, sex, color, age, religion, disability, national origin, ancestry, parental status, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, military status, and source of income.
Even with one of the strongest fair housing ordinances in the country, discrimination and segregation continue to limit housing opportunities for many Chicago residents. Far too many real estate agents, landlords, and property managers lack an understanding of the CFHO, or hazard to ignore the law to the detriment of many individuals and families.
If you feel you have been a victim of discrimination or would like to obtain additional information about the Chicago fair housing laws, please contact the Commission on Human Relations at www.chicago.gov/cchr, or call 312-744-4111.