Illinois Crime-Free Housing Laws Lead to Evictions Over Minor Infractions

Catherine Lang lost her apartment near Chicago after police observed her erratic driving and charged her with driving under the influence. Although a jury later acquitted her, the eviction had already been enforced.

Dalarie Hardimon faced eviction when police pursued a speeding suspect who had fled in her van through a residential area.

Catherine Garcia was forced to leave the townhouse she and her sons had called home for two decades. The reason: an excessive number of 911 calls, most of which originated from her intellectually disabled son.

These women lived in Illinois municipalities that have enacted crime-free housing ordinances, which grant authorities and landlords the power to evict tenants accused of legal violations.

Originally designed to remove violent offenders, drug dealers, and disruptive tenants, these laws have increasingly been applied broadly, resulting in families being displaced for minor or even unproven infractions, according to an investigation by multiple local sources.