"Crime-Free" Housing and Nuisance Ordinances

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act., I hereby request the following records:

Any and all records regarding "crime-free" housing and nuisance property ordinances that will be referred to as “PROGRAM” in this request but could be known (but not limited to) as “Crime-Free Lease Addendum” or "Residential Rental Unit Standards and Neighborhood Integrity" and described in Skokie's Village Code Sec. 42-43 / Sec. 42-35 – 42-36.

In an article entitled “The New Housing Segregation: The Jim Crow Effects of Crime-Free Ordinances” published in the Michigan Law Review, civil rights lawyer and law professor Deborah N. Archer writes:

“Crime-free housing ordinances are one of the most salient examples of the role law plays in producing and sustaining racial segregation today. They are, in this respect, a critical mechanism for effectuating the new housing segregation.”
https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol118/iss2/2

An October 2020 statement by the Shriver Center on Poverty Law calls for the abolition of crime-free and nuisance property ordinances:

“The murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless others have forced a long overdue national conversation about systemic racism in the United States. We cannot talk about dismantling systems of racial oppression and in turn, police reform, without considering one of the most blunt civil instruments law enforcement and local governments have at their disposal: crime-free and nuisance property ordinances.”

This statement reintroduced a 2013 report released by the Shriver Center on Poverty Law entitled "The Cost of Being Crime Free" concluded with:

“Municipalities can and should draft ordinances much more narrowly and thoughtfully to pursue their safety goals while mitigating these critical problems. However, the only sure way for a municipality to avoid these pitfalls is to not have a crime free rental housing or nuisance property ordinance in the first place, and to instead explore other available tools to combat concerns about public safety and the quality of the rental housing stock.”
https://www.povertylaw.org/article/crime-free-and-nuisance-property-ordinances-should-be-abolished

Please provide any and all written records (including but not limited to hard-copy documents, memos, emails, word processor documents, PDF documents, PowerPoint files, images files, video files etc.) regarding PROGRAM including but not limited to:

• any training/presentation materials used in communication, promotions, workshops, seminars, etc

• lease addenda, including sample lease addenda provided by the municipality

• criminal background checks performed on prospective tenants

• evictions filed by property owners and number of tenants evicted as a result of the PROGRAM lease addendum

• suspensions or revocation of a residential rental license, against property owners who fail to comply with the requirements of the PROGRAM lease addendum

• police calls, reports, citations, or arrests, collected by the municipality police department for the purpose of enforcing the PROGRAM

• meeting minutes and correspondence between municipality officials, regarding the implementation and enforcement of the PROGRAM

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Northwestside Coalition