Declaration of Policy

A. Equal Opportunity Housing: In furthering the policy of the state as expresses in the Constitution and other laws; in order that the safety and general welfare, peace and health of all the inhabitants of the City may be insured, it is hereby declared the policy of the City, to assure equal opportunity to all Residents, regardless of race, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, creed, or physical or mental handicap to live in decent, sanitary, healthful, standard living quarters.

B. Discrimination: It is the policy of the city that no owner, lease, sublessee, assignee, managing agent, or other person, having the right to sell, rent, lease (or otherwise control) any Housing accommodation and/or real property within the City, or any agent of these, shall refuse to sell, rent, lease, or otherwise deny to or withhold from any person or group of persons such Housing accommodations and/or real property because of race, color religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, creed, or physical or mental handicap of such person or persons or discriminate against any person or persons because of race, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, creed or physical or mental handicap in the conditions, term privileges of the sale, rental or lease of any Housing accommodations and/or real property or in the furnishing of facilities and/or services in connection therewith.

Prohibited Acts

A. Discrimination Unlawful: It shall be unlawful for any owner of real estate, lessee, sublessee, real estate broker or salesman, financial institution or employee of the financial institution, advertiser, or agent of any or all of the foregoing, to discriminate against any person or person because of their race, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, creed, or physical or mental handicap with regard to the sale, exchange or rental, or any dealing concerning any Housing accommodation and/or real property.

B. Realtors, Lending Institutions, Hold To Standards: In addition to the foregoing, it shall be unlawful for any real estate broker or employee thereof, owner or other person, or financial institution dealing with Housing or real property in the City:

• To discriminate against any person in the availability of or the price, terms, conditions, or privileges of any kind relating to the sale, rental, lease, or occupancy of any Housing accommodation or real property in the city or in the furnishing of any facilities or services in connection therewith.
• To publish or circulate, or cause to be published or circulated, any notice, statement or advertisement, or to announce a policy, or to use any form of application, for the purposes, lease, rental or financing of real property, or to may record of inquiry in connection with the prospective purchase, rental or lease of such real estate, which expresses directly or indirectly any discrimination as to race, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, creed or physical or mental handicap of any person.
• To discriminate in connection with lending money, guaranteeing loans, accepting mortgages or otherwise obtaining or making available funds for the purchase, acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, repair or maintenance of any Housing accommodation and/or real property.
• To solicit for sale, lease, or listing for the sale or lease, of any Housing accommodation and/or real property on the ground of loss of value because of the present or prospective entry into any neighborhood of ant person or person of any particular race, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, creed, or physical or mental handicap.
•  To distribute or cause to be distributed, written material or statements designated to induce any owner or any Housing accommodation and/or real property to sell and or lease his property because of any present or prospective change in the race, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, creed, or physical or mental handicap of persons in the neighborhood.
• To make any misrepresentation concerning the listing for sale or the anticipated listing for sale of any Housing accommodations and/or real property for the purpose of including or attempting to induce the sale or listing for sale of any Housing accommodation and/or real property by representing that the presence or anticipated presence of persons of any particular race, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, creed, or physical or mental handicap in the area will or may result in the lowering of property values in the block, neighborhood, or area in which the property is located.
• For an owner to solicit any real estate broker to sell, rent or otherwise deal with such owner's Housing accommodations and/or real property with any limitation on its sale based on race, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, creed, physical or mental handicap.
• For an owner to refuse to sell, rent, or otherwise deal with any Housing accommodation and/or real property because of race, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, creed, or physical or mental handicap of the proposed buyer or tenant.

Fair Housing Policy 

Administrative Review of Alleged Violations
The City Manager or his designee is appointed as the Administrative Hearing Officer for alleged violations of the prohibited acts of the City's Fair Housing Code.

Fair Housing Complaint Procedure

A. Any person aggrieved in any manner by any violation of any provision of the City's Fair Housing Code may file a written signed complaint setting forth his or her grievance on a form obtainable in the City Clerk's office at City Hall.

• Such complaint must be filled with the Clerk of the City within thirty (30) days from the date of commission of the alleged violation and shall include the name and address of the complainant or aggrieved party and the name and address of the person and/or agency against whom the complaint is filed and a brief statement of the facts surrounding the alleged violation.
• Upon receipt of a written signed complaint, the city clerk shall notify the City Manager of receipt of the complaint and provide the City Manager with a copy of the complaint. The City Manager shall, within three (3) Business days of receipt of the complaint from the City Clerk, appoint an appropriate hearing officer and provide the hearing officer with a copy of the complaint.
   

B. Decision of Hearing Officer; Conciliation Hearing: Upon appointment by the City Manager, the hearing officer will decide if the complaint is within his or her jurisdiction and give written notice of notice of his decision to all affected parties within Five (5) days of receipt of the complaint from the City Manager. For those cases which the hearing officer finds to be with his jurisdiction, the hearing officer will call for a conciliation hearing (after conducting whatever investigation it deems necessary) within no more that fourteen (14) Business days from its initial receipt of the complaint.

C. Conduct Informal Interviews: At the conciliation hearing, the hearing officer shall informally interview the complainant and person, persons, or agency whom the complaint had been directed and shall attempt to resolve the complaint by all proper methods of conciliation and persuasion.

D. Formal Hearing: If such attempts at conciliation are not successful, the hearing officer shall, within twenty (21) days of its receipt of a written complaint, proceed promptly to set a date for a formal hearing to be held within thirty (30) days of its receipt of the written complaint.

E. Form and Content of Hearing: Such formal hearing shall be conducted by the hearing officer upon due and reasonable notice of all parties concerned. The hearing officer shall have full power to subpoena witnesses and pertinent documents which powers may be by the hearing officer by proper petition to any court of competent jurisdiction. The hearing officer shall have the power to request and receive relevant records of the City relative to specific complaints. The hearing officer shall have power to administer oaths and to take sworn testimony. At the conclusion of the hearing, the hearing officer shall render a written report and recommendations which shall be served in person or by mail upon the complainant, the party complained against, the City Manager, and the City Council, together with his recommendation, if any, that the City Attorney be instructed to seek injunctive relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to prohibit such violation and/or to prosecute any person or persons who may be in violation of any provision of the provisions of the City's Fair Housing Code.

F. File Complaint: The hearing officer shall be empowered at the conclusion of such proceedings as a part of its report, to file with the City Council, for the purpose of having the City Council file with the Department of Registration and Education of the State, a complaint against any real estate broker (or owner) violating any provisions of the provisions of the City's Fair Housing Code, seeking suspension of the license issued to such broke by the state.

G. Record of Proceedings: The hearing officer shall keep records of his proceedings, especially of his decisions and the reasons for making them. A copy of the proceedings shall be transmitted to the City Clerk, City Manager, and the City Council.

Penalty

Any person convicted of violating any of the provisions of the provisions of the City's Fair Housing Code shall be punished by a fine of not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) nor more that seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00). Each day a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation. This penalty shall, in no way abrogate or impair the right of the City to specifically enforce, by any legal means, any provisions of the City's Fair Housing Code.

Fair Housing Complaint Form 

The City's Fair Housing Code is contained in Title 4, Chapter 11 of the Carbondale Revised Code.

Contacts

Jennifer Sorrell
City Clerk
200 S. Illinois Ave.
P.O. Box 2047
Carbondale, IL 62902-2047
email - jsorrell@ci.carbondale.il.us