Sandwich City Council approves housing discrimination ordinance

The city of Sandwich wants to make sure that no one is the victim of housing discrimination.

At the June 5 Sandwich City Council meeting, City Council members unanimously approved a fair housing ordinance that prohibits housing discrimination on the basis of one’s race, color, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex or physical or mental handicap. Those violating the ordinance face fines between $100 and $1,500.

Each day a violation continues is considered a separate violation, according to the ordinance.

City Administrator Geoff Penman told City Council members that he was working on a grant application and “this was one of the few things that we had missing that would have disqualified us from the grant. I spoke to City Attorney Cassandra Gottschalk, and it felt like it was something we should be adding to our ordinances.”

Gottschalk said Illinois already has its own fair housing standards.

“It’s really duplicative,” she said in talking about the city’s ordinance. “It’s doesn’t make a huge difference, except for any violations are now city violations.”

After the meeting, Penman said he was applying for a grant to tear down some abandoned houses.

“They wanted to make sure we were abiding with all the proper rules,” he said.

According to the ordinance, “it is hereby declared the policy of the city of Sandwich, Illinois, 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.”

The Illinois Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination in all aspects of real estate transactions, including renting or leasing, home sales, mortgage lending and insurance, advertising, practices such as restrictive covenants and new construction. The law also prohibits aiding and abetting unlawful discrimination, intimidation and interference in the exercise or enjoyment of an individual’s fair housing rights and retaliation against an individual for opposing what they reasonably believe is unlawful discrimination.

Those violating the act face civil penalties ranging from $16,000 for a first violation to $70,000 for more than two violations.