Section 310 ILCS 10/25 - Rentals and tenant selectionIn the operation or management of housing projects an Authority shall at all times observe the following duties with respect to rentals and tenant selection:
(a) It shall not accept any person as a tenant in any dwelling in a housing project if the persons who would occupy the dwelling have an aggregate annual income which equals or exceeds the amount which the Authority determines (which determination shall be conclusive) to be necessary in order to enable such persons to secure safe, sanitary and uncongested dwelling accommodations within the area of operation of the Authority and to provide an adequate standard of living for themselves.(b) It may rent or lease the dwelling accommodations therein only at rentals within the financial reach of persons who lack the amount of income which it determines (pursuant to (a) of this Section) to be necessary in order to obtain safe, sanitary and uncongested dwelling accommodations within the area of operation of the Authority and to provide an adequate standard of living.(c) It may rent or lease to a tenant a dwelling consisting of the number of rooms (but no greater number) which it deems necessary to provide safe and sanitary accommodations to the proposed occupants thereof, without overcrowding.(d) It shall not change the residency preference of any prospective tenant once the application has been accepted by the authority.(e) If an Authority desires a criminal history records check of all 50 states or a 50-state confirmation of a conviction record, the Authority shall submit the fingerprints of the relevant applicant, tenant, or other household member to the Illinois State Police in a manner prescribed by the Illinois State Police. These fingerprints shall be checked against the fingerprint records now and hereafter filed in the Illinois State Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history records databases. The Illinois State Police shall charge a fee for conducting the criminal history records check, which shall be deposited in the State Police Services Fund and shall not exceed the actual cost of the records check. The Illinois State Police shall furnish pursuant to positive identification, records of conviction to the Authority. An Authority that requests a criminal history report of an applicant or other household member shall inform the applicant at the time of the request that the applicant or other household member may provide additional mitigating information for consideration with the application for housing.(e-5) Criminal history record assessment. The Authority shall use the following process when evaluating the criminal history report of an applicant or other household member to determine whether to rent or lease to the applicant: (1) Unless required by federal law, the Authority shall not consider the following information when determining eligibility for federally assisted housing : (A) an arrest or detention;(B) criminal charges or indictments, and the nature of any disposition arising therefrom, that do not result in a conviction;(C) a conviction that has been vacated, ordered, expunged, sealed, or impounded by a court;(D) matters under the jurisdiction of the Illinois Juvenile Court;(E) the amount of time since the applicant or other household member completed his or her sentence in prison or jail or was released from prison or jail; or(F) convictions occurring more than 180 days prior to the date the applicant's application for housing is reviewed for acceptance.(2) The Authority shall create a system for the independent review of criminal history reports:(A) the reviewer shall examine the applicant's or other household member's criminal history report and report only those records not prohibited under paragraph (1) to the person or persons making the decision about whether to offer federally assisted housing to the applicant; and(B) the reviewer shall not participate in any final decisions on an applicant's application for federally assisted housing.(3) The Authority may deny an applicant's application for federally assisted housing because of the applicant's or another household member's criminal history record, only if the Authority: (A) determines that the denial is required under federal law; or(B) determines that there is a direct relationship between the applicant or the other household member's criminal history record and a risk to the health, safety, and peaceful enjoyment of fellow tenants. The mere existence of a criminal history record does not demonstrate such a risk.(f) It may, if a tenant has created or maintained a threat constituting a serious and clear danger to the health or safety of other tenants or Authority employees, after 3 days' written notice of termination and without a hearing, file suit against any such tenant for recovery of possession of the premises. The tenant shall be given the opportunity to contest the termination in the court proceedings. A serious and clear danger to the health or safety of other tenants or Authority employees shall include, but not be limited to, any of the following activities of the tenant or of any other person on the premises with the consent of the tenant:(1) Physical assault or the threat of physical assault.(2) Illegal use of a firearm or other weapon or the threat to use in an illegal manner a firearm or other weapon.(3) Possession of a controlled substance by the tenant or any other person on the premises with the consent of the tenant if the tenant knew or should have known of the possession by the other person of a controlled substance, unless the controlled substance was obtained directly from or pursuant to a valid prescription.(4) Streetgang membership as defined in the Illinois Streetgang Terrorism Omnibus Prevention Act. The management of low-rent public housing projects financed and developed under the U.S. Housing Act of 1937 shall be in accordance with that Act.
Nothing contained in this Section or any other Section of this Act shall be construed as limiting the power of an Authority to vest in a bondholder or trustee the right, in the event of a default by the Authority, to take possession and operate a housing project or cause the appointment of a receiver thereof, free from all restrictions imposed by this Section or any other Section of this Act.
Amended by P.A. 103-0215,§ 5, eff. 4/30/2024 (see P.A. 103-0563,§ 900, eff. 11/17/2023).Amended by P.A. 102-0813,§ 510, eff. 5/13/2022.Amended by P.A. 102-0538,§ 740, eff. 8/20/2021.Amended by P.A. 101-0659,§ 5-5, eff. 3/23/2021.Amended by P.A. 093-0749, § 5, eff. 7/15/2004.Amended by P.A. 093-0418, § 40eff. 1/1/2004.P.A. 89-351, eff. 1-1-96.