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watchdog group, the Housing Rights Initiative, has filed 176 complaints with the Illinois Department of Human Rights alleging housing discrimination against low-income families seeking to rent properties in the Chicago area. The complaints stem from an undercover investigation launched last year, where investigators posed as prospective tenants and contacted hundreds of brokers and landlords via text message.

    The investigation found that real estate professionals often declined to rent properties to voucher holders, with explicit discrimination occurring about 36% of the time. The Housing Rights Initiative claims this is the largest housing discrimination case in Illinois history. The group's founder, Aaron Carr, emphasized that real estate players will be held accountable for breaking the law.

    The complaints were filed under the Illinois Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination against people with housing vouchers. Governor JB Pritzker signed the act into law in 2022 to address a gap in the Fair Housing Act, which does not protect against source of income discrimination. Peter Romer-Friedman, founder of one of the law firms involved, noted that enforcing the state law is crucial for ensuring federal housing programs work effectively and provide quality, affordable housing to millions of people.