Chambana Sun

At its April 10 meeting, the Urbana City Council held a discussion after its regular items of business on housing discrimination and the crisis pregnancy center. 

Council member Grace Wilkin of the Sixth Ward wanted to bring these items up as they have been a focus for city staff and council members in recent weeks. 

Mayor Diane Marlin said that city staff has been working on housing discrimination since it was brought up in March, attending some seminars and workshops in the area and reaching out to neighboring communities to ask for guidance and advice.

Marlin said that the city of Urbana has a human rights ordinance protecting residents from housing discrimination, and it will continue to enforce that as it has  since it was written in 1979. She also shared that the city will work with each complaint that comes its way, whether it is verbal or written, but warned residents that it is harder to prove discrimination based on a verbal complaint because it always comes back to two parties’ words against each other.

“And it's clear that as well, our own ordinance, and the law that went into effect Jan. 1, is that a landlord cannot refuse to lease an available housing unit simply because the rent will be paid with a housing voucher such as Section Eight or tenant-based rental assistance,” Marlin said. “That is the law in a nutshell. If a prospective tenant meets all their rental criteria intends to pay with the voucher, the landlord cannot refuse to rent. And at that point the landlord is required to enroll in the voucher program in order to accept the funds. And there's a process done for that."

Marlin said this doesn't mean the landlord has to give up his or her rights.

"It doesn't mean that the landlord gives up all rights to apply rental criteria, such as checking references or asking for a credit check or verifying information on an application that absolutely still can be done," she said. "But landlords have to treat all applicants the same throughout the process. And that's the key to this new law, and that's been the key to our own ordinance. And I just want to assure everyone that the City of Urbana will continue to work with the community to ensure that all people have equal access to clean, safe and decent housing.”

The council also discussed the crisis pregnancy center amid efforts in the state government toward regulating these centers. Activists have asked for greater accountability for pregnancy centers which do not always have licensed staff or the full range of care options for its patients. The council discussed finding a way to create a preventative pregnancy clinic or service in the area to counteract the problem, as well as enforcing the new state regulations.

The board also saw a presentation from MSW Candidate Brittany Tuten on an evaluation of CTSO’s Education and Employment Opportunities Program.

The council will meet again at 7 p.m. on April 24 at 400 South Vine St.