On April 25, 2019, the Cook County Board of Commissioners passed an amendment (Ord. No. 19-2394) to § 42-38 of the Cook County Human Rights Ordinance (“Ordinance”) to

  1. Prohibit housing discrimination based on an individual’s covered criminal history; and
  2. Require housing providers to perform an individualized assessment of an otherwise qualified individual’s criminal conviction history prior to denying them housing.

Below are frequently asked questions for applicants and the general public to help navigate the Just Housing Amendment to the Human Rights Ordinance. PDFs of this FAQ and a FAQ for housing providers, sample language for notices to applicants, definitions, and an outline of the processes and individualized assessment tool are available to download here:

To  find out more about Just Housing Ordinance, click here.