Chicago HUD Staff Plays Pivotal Role in Historic Accessibility Settlement

A major part of HUD's mission is enforcement of the Federal Fair Housing Act. In the course of a year, thousands of cases are investigated and settled. The Fair Housing Act (http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/housing/title8.htm), as amended, prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of dwellings, and in other housing-related transactions, based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status (including children under the age of 18 living with parents of legal custodians, pregnant women, and people securing custody of children under the age of 18), and handicap (disability).

About a year ago, in what is believed to be the largest settlement ever in a case involving a single building, The John Buck Company and Harry Weese Associates agreed to pay more than $1 million to settle a fair housing lawsuit based on alleged violations of the Fair Housing Act. The Chicago-based developer and architect agreed to the settlement in relation to their roles in constructing a 24-story luxury high-rise apartment complex, The Park Evanston, in Evanston, Illinois. The suit, originally brought to HUD by Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) agency Access Living and investigated by veteran Chicago staff members John Meade and Herb Ziegeldorf, alleged many violations of the accessibility requirements of the Fair Housing Act, including but not limited to:

• Bathroom and bedroom doors too narrow for persons in wheelchairs to use in 80% of the building's 283 units;
• Thermostats too high for disabled persons; and
• Bathrooms without grab bars making the them less usable by the disabled.

As a result of the settlement, all units and common areas will be retrofitted to make them accessible to persons with disabilities. According to the consent decree, bedroom and bathroom doors will be widened. Where necessary, bathrooms and kitchens will be changed to provide maneuvering space, thermostats will be lowered to make them accessible to people who use wheelchairs, and grab bars will be made available to current and future tenants. The agreement stipulates that repairs be made over a period of five years.

Visit our web site to learn all about Federal Fair Housing laws and the protection they afford for persons with disabilities. Complaints can even be filed over the Internet. You can learn about the HUD's Illinois Office of Fair Housing on our website (http://www.hud.gov/illinois).

Persons with disabilities will find many helpful links on our web site, including information on accessibility guidelines, and a full listing of all laws providing protection for the disabled.