HOPE Fair Housing Center is celebrating another successful quarter of providing fair housing enforcement, education, and advocacy across Illinois. We are still adhering to strict COVID-19 guidelines with some of our staff working remotely from home and holding all of our events virtually.

Despite these restrictions, we have been able to continue on with our mission and maintain our commitment to community engagement. A great example of this was our 2021 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service Event held on January 18th, which resulted in our highest attendance rate at any HOPE event yet! We would like to thank everyone for your continued support, and hope that you are staying safe!

Check out what we've been up to below!

There's still time to register for our special documentary screening of "The Color Tax: Origins of the Modern-Day Racial Wealth Gap". Directly after the screening we will be hosting a Q&A discussion panel with the film's lead producer, Bruce Orenstein, as well as panelists Frank Lipo, from the Oak Park River Forest Museum, and Illinois state Representative La Shawn Ford.

This free event will take place virtually on February 16th from 2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

To register and read more details about the event, visit our Crowdcast page.

Radio, television, and newspapers, oh my! HOPE has had a busy three months, and we are thankful to all of the media outlets who helped us spread the word about fair housing. Check out some of these pieces below!

Telemundo Chicago- Marcando La Diferencia

Daily Herald- "Source of income discrimination -- let's end it"

WDBC 90.9- Doing Good

Comcast Network, CN100TV - HOPE Fair Housing Center

Daily Herald- "Rollback the rollback"

In addition to our Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Event, HOPE has been very busy this winter with community outreach efforts. Some of our educational events included:

v The Western DuPage Chamber of Commerce invited HOPE to lead a multi-chamber virtual seminar about the impact of COVID-19 on fair housing protections, as well as what businesses can do to uphold the Fair Housing Act. In addition to the Western DuPage Chamber, members from the Wheaton, Bloomingdale, Oak Park River Forest, Carol Stream, Chamber630, Batavia, Bartlett, and Romeoville Chambers also joined in.

v HOPE met with the staff at Sarah's Inn, a domestic violence shelter in River Forest, to discuss specific housing rights for victims of abuse, and best practices for implementing them.

v HOPE also has upcoming presentations scheduled for;

· The League of Women Voters serving Warrenville, West Chicago, Winfield, Wheaton and Carol Stream

· The Wheaton Rotary Club

· The Village Leadership Academy's 8th Grade Class

· The Mount Prospect Public Library

If you would like a HOPE staff member to come speak to your group, please email our Director of Outreach, Rachel Watson, at rachel.watson@hopefair.org!

Tara Joy joined HOPE in December 2020 for one year of service through the AmeriCorps VISTA program. She graduated in 2020 from Wesleyan University with degrees in Neuroscience and Psychology, and a minor in Data Analysis.

As part of a longer-term effort to expand HOPE’s service area downstate, Ms. Joy helps profile communities throughout Southern Illinois through a combination of research and interviews with local organizations. If you have any questions about our downstate efforts, you can contact Tara via email at VISTA@hopefair.org.

Like many fair housing agencies across the nation, HOPE relies on trained fair housing testers to help uncover instances of discrimination in our communities. Testers act like "secret shoppers" to get information about a housing transaction which our enforcement team can then compare to the experiences of other testers and look at any disparities in treatment. For their efforts, testers receive a stipend after each test they complete.

We are currently looking for individuals who are interested in becoming testers. No prior fair housing experience is required and HOPE will provide all relevant training. If you or someone you know would like to learn more about becoming a fair housing tester, check out our Common Tester Questions handout!

Keep up with us on our social media!