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HUD, Elgin, Clash Over Race Discrimination

by Realty Times Staff

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the city of Elgin, Ill., appear to be again on a collision course over alleged city-approved harassment of minorities.

Last September, Elgin and HUD officials entered into an agreement stating that the city would not enforce housing standards more rigorously for Hispanics than for whites.

While the city admitted no wrongdoing, it did agree to pay seven Hispanic families $10,000 and said discriminatory practices would end.

A new review of city inspection practices filed within the past two weeks, however, suggests little may have changed. The report found:

False Justifications for Warrants. City inspectors' affidavits requesting warrants for interior inspections of Hispanic homes indicated that many properties had significant exterior code violations, and, therefore, were likely to have interior code violations. However, in most cases, after the warrants had been issued and the inspections conducted, no exterior violations were cited. HUD officials found no similar instances involving inspections of non-Hispanic homes.

Disparate Application of Room Dimension Requirements. The occupancy code stipulates that a habitable room be a minimum seven feet in any dimension. The requirement, however, was applied differently when calculating habitable space for white homeowners than for Hispanic homeowners.

Disparate Treatment Regarding Definition of Sleeping Room. Similarly, only bedrooms were considered to be sleeping rooms for Hispanic homeowners, while living rooms were included as additional sleeping rooms for white homeowners. Without the inclusion of additional sleeping areas, many Hispanic units were found to be "overcrowded."

Disparate Notification and Re-inspection Processes. Inspectors often called or left notes requesting inspection appointments at the properties of non-Hispanic owners, but did not give such courtesies to Hispanics. Additionally, a great deal of leniency was generally shown to non-Hispanic owners who had been notified of code violations, while properties of Hispanics who had also been so notified were re-inspected quickly, and condemnation notices were placed on the properties if they were still in non-compliance with code.

The city has the opportunity to respond to HUD's report. If the city does not demonstrate that it is in full compliance with the agreement or that it will come into full compliance shortly, HUD said it would refer the matter to the Department of Justice for further legal action.

According to city records, from 1995 to 1998 officials issued about 268 citations for occupancy code violations. Of those, 179 -- or about 64 percent -- went to families with Hispanic surnames. However, Hispanics make up only about 8 percent of homeowners and occupy only about 20 percent of the rental units in Elgin.

More than 80 percent of the citations were issued on the East Side of Elgin, an area with many Hispanic and African American residents.

Published: August 7, 2000

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