The City of Elgin, Ill., and the Federal government appear to be headed to court over what the Feds feel is city-inspired racism against Hispanics living within the city limits.

For the past two years the Department of Housing and Urban Development has been attempting to negotiate a settlement with Elgin officials to stop city employees from using occupancy ordinances to harass Hispanic residents.

With the expiration of two deadlines to settle the dispute, however, HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo has turned the matter over to the Justice Department for prosecution.

"It's clear to me that the City of Elgin is either unwilling or unable to reach a negotiated resolution of this dispute," Cuomo said, "As a result, I have referred this matter to the Justice Department."

In the early 1990s, when Elgin experienced overcrowding in residential property, Elgin's Hispanic population grew nearly 52 percent -- from about 14,000 to more than 21,000 -- while the number of non-Hispanic whites decreased slightly to about 54,000.

During that time, city officials began to aggressively enforce provisions of the city's property maintenance code that set occupancy standards.

Hispanic families have testified they were specifically targeted for enforcement of those standards. According to the city's own records, from 1995 to 1998 officials issued 268 citations for occupancy code violations. Of those, 64 percent were issued against families with Hispanic surnames.

Some families say city inspectors would show up unannounced at night or early in the morning -- including 5 a.m. on one occasion -- to see how many people were inside a home. The families also complained that city inspectors entered homes without obtaining permission from occupants who did not speak fluent English.

In one instance, a married couple told HUD that an inspector arrived while the wife's mother was visiting from Mexico. The couple said the inspector gave them a verbal warning to reduce the number of people in the home or face condemnation of the property and eviction -- even though they told him the mother was just a temporary guest.

In September 1999, the city signed a Conciliation Agreement with HUD after seven Hispanic families complained that from October 1998 to May 1999 city officials targeted them for selective enforcement of occupancy standards.

Though the city denied any wrongdoing, officials agreed to pay the families $10,000 and change the manner in which home inspections were conducted. In August 2000, however, HUD determined the city had not changed anything.

Negotiations resumed to help the city avoid a Federal lawsuit, but deadlines in October and November passed without resolution, resulting in Cuomo turning over the case to the DOJ.

Published: November 22, 2000

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