104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 SB1728 Introduced 2/5/2025, by Sen. Mike Simmons SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 775 ILCS 5/3-102 from Ch. 68, par. 3-102775 ILCS 5/3-106 from Ch. 68, par. 3-106 Amends the Illinois Human Rights Act. Makes it a violation of the Real Estate Transactions Article of the Act to unlawfully discriminate using credit score and history, including insufficient credit history. Limits these provisions to landlord and tenant agreements only. LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b A BILL FOR 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 SB1728 Introduced 2/5/2025, by Sen. Mike Simmons SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 775 ILCS 5/3-102 from Ch. 68, par. 3-102775 ILCS 5/3-106 from Ch. 68, par. 3-106 775 ILCS 5/3-102 from Ch. 68, par. 3-102 775 ILCS 5/3-106 from Ch. 68, par. 3-106 Amends the Illinois Human Rights Act. Makes it a violation of the Real Estate Transactions Article of the Act to unlawfully discriminate using credit score and history, including insufficient credit history. Limits these provisions to landlord and tenant agreements only. LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b A BILL FOR 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 SB1728 Introduced 2/5/2025, by Sen. Mike Simmons SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 775 ILCS 5/3-102 from Ch. 68, par. 3-102775 ILCS 5/3-106 from Ch. 68, par. 3-106 775 ILCS 5/3-102 from Ch. 68, par. 3-102 775 ILCS 5/3-106 from Ch. 68, par. 3-106 775 ILCS 5/3-102 from Ch. 68, par. 3-102 775 ILCS 5/3-106 from Ch. 68, par. 3-106 Amends the Illinois Human Rights Act. Makes it a violation of the Real Estate Transactions Article of the Act to unlawfully discriminate using credit score and history, including insufficient credit history. Limits these provisions to landlord and tenant agreements only. LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b A BILL FOR SB1728LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b SB1728 LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b SB1728 LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b 1 AN ACT concerning property. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The Illinois Human Rights Act is amended by 5 changing Sections 3-102 and 3-106 as follows: 6 (775 ILCS 5/3-102) (from Ch. 68, par. 3-102) 7 Sec. 3-102. Civil rights violations; real estate 8 transactions and other prohibited acts. It is a civil rights 9 violation for an owner or any other person, or for a real 10 estate broker or salesman, because of unlawful discrimination, 11 familial status, immigration status, source of income, credit 12 score and history including insufficient credit history, or an 13 arrest record, as defined under subsection (B-5) of Section 14 1-103, to: 15 (A) Transactions. Refuse to engage in a real estate 16 transaction or deny real property, or to discriminate in 17 making available such a transaction; 18 (B) Terms. Alter the terms, conditions or privileges 19 of a real estate transaction or in the furnishing of 20 facilities or services in connection therewith; 21 (C) Offers. Refuse to receive or to fail to transmit a 22 bona fide offer in a real estate transaction from a 23 person; 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 SB1728 Introduced 2/5/2025, by Sen. Mike Simmons SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 775 ILCS 5/3-102 from Ch. 68, par. 3-102775 ILCS 5/3-106 from Ch. 68, par. 3-106 775 ILCS 5/3-102 from Ch. 68, par. 3-102 775 ILCS 5/3-106 from Ch. 68, par. 3-106 775 ILCS 5/3-102 from Ch. 68, par. 3-102 775 ILCS 5/3-106 from Ch. 68, par. 3-106 Amends the Illinois Human Rights Act. Makes it a violation of the Real Estate Transactions Article of the Act to unlawfully discriminate using credit score and history, including insufficient credit history. Limits these provisions to landlord and tenant agreements only. LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b A BILL FOR 775 ILCS 5/3-102 from Ch. 68, par. 3-102 775 ILCS 5/3-106 from Ch. 68, par. 3-106 LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b SB1728 LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b SB1728- 2 -LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b SB1728 - 2 - LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b SB1728 - 2 - LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b 1 (D) Negotiation. Refuse to negotiate a real estate 2 transaction with a person; 3 (E) Representations. Represent to a person that real 4 property is not available for inspection, sale, rental, or 5 lease when in fact it is so available, or to fail to bring 6 a property listing to the person's attention, or to refuse 7 to permit the person to inspect real property; 8 (F) Publication of Intent. Make, print, circulate, 9 post, mail, publish or cause to be made, printed, 10 circulated, posted, mailed, or published any notice, 11 statement, advertisement or sign, or use a form of 12 application for a real estate transaction, or make a 13 record or inquiry in connection with a prospective real 14 estate transaction, that indicates any preference, 15 limitation, or discrimination based on unlawful 16 discrimination or unlawful discrimination based on 17 familial status, immigration status, source of income, or 18 an arrest record, or an intention to make any such 19 preference, limitation, or discrimination; 20 (G) Listings. Offer, solicit, accept, use or retain a 21 listing of real property with knowledge that unlawful 22 discrimination or discrimination on the basis of familial 23 status, immigration status, source of income, or an arrest 24 record in a real estate transaction is intended. 25 (H) Criteria. Use criteria or methods that have the 26 effect of subjecting individuals to unlawful SB1728 - 2 - LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b SB1728- 3 -LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b SB1728 - 3 - LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b SB1728 - 3 - LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b 1 discrimination or discrimination based on familial status, 2 immigration status, source of income, or an arrest record 3 in a real estate transaction. Such criteria or methods are 4 unlawful under this subsection if they are not necessary 5 to achieve a substantial, legitimate, non-discriminatory 6 interest; or if the substantial, legitimate, 7 non-discriminatory interest could be served by another 8 practice that has a less discriminatory effect. 9 (Source: P.A. 102-896, eff. 1-1-23; 103-232, eff. 1-1-24; 10 103-859, eff. 1-1-25.) 11 (775 ILCS 5/3-106) (from Ch. 68, par. 3-106) 12 Sec. 3-106. Exemptions. Nothing contained in Section 3-102 13 shall prohibit: 14 (A) Private Sales of Single Family Homes. 15 (1) Any sale of a single family home by its owner so 16 long as the following criteria are met: 17 (a) The owner does not own or have a beneficial 18 interest in more than 3 single family homes at the time 19 of the sale; 20 (b) The owner or a member of the owner's family was 21 the last current resident of the home; 22 (c) The home is sold without the use in any manner 23 of the sales or rental facilities or services of any 24 real estate broker or salesman, or of any employee or 25 agent of any real estate broker or salesman; SB1728 - 3 - LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b SB1728- 4 -LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b SB1728 - 4 - LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b SB1728 - 4 - LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b 1 (d) The home is sold without the publication, 2 posting or mailing, after notice, of any advertisement 3 or written notice in violation of paragraph (F) of 4 Section 3-102. 5 (2) This exemption does not apply to paragraph (F) of 6 Section 3-102. 7 (B) Apartments. Rental of a housing accommodation in a 8 building which contains housing accommodations for not more 9 than 4 families living independently of each other, if the 10 owner resides in one of the housing accommodations. This 11 exemption does not apply to paragraph (F) of Section 3-102. 12 (C) Private Rooms. Rental of a room or rooms in a private 13 home by an owner if the owner or a member of the owner's family 14 resides therein or, while absent for a period of not more than 15 12 months, if the owner or a member of the owner's family 16 intends to return to reside therein. This exemption does not 17 apply to paragraph (F) of Section 3-102. 18 (D) Reasonable local, State, or federal Federal 19 restrictions regarding the maximum number of occupants 20 permitted to occupy a dwelling. 21 (E) Religious Organizations. A religious organization, 22 association, or society, or any nonprofit institution or 23 organization operated, supervised, or controlled by or in 24 conjunction with a religious organization, association, or 25 society, from limiting the sale, rental, or occupancy of a 26 dwelling which it owns or operates for other than a commercial SB1728 - 4 - LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b SB1728- 5 -LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b SB1728 - 5 - LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b SB1728 - 5 - LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b 1 purpose to persons of the same religion, or from giving 2 preference to such persons, unless membership in such religion 3 is restricted on account of race, color, or national origin. 4 (F) Sex. Restricting the rental of rooms in a housing 5 accommodation to persons of one sex. 6 (G) Persons Convicted of Drug-Related Offenses. Conduct 7 against a person because such person has been convicted by any 8 court of competent jurisdiction of the illegal manufacture or 9 distribution of a controlled substance as defined in Section 10 102 of the federal Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802). 11 (H) Persons engaged in the business of furnishing 12 appraisals of real property from taking into consideration 13 factors other than those based on unlawful discrimination or 14 familial status or source of income in furnishing appraisals. 15 (H-1) The owner of an owner-occupied residential building 16 with 4 or fewer units (including the unit in which the owner 17 resides) from making decisions regarding whether to rent to a 18 person based upon that person's sexual orientation. 19 (I) Housing for Older Persons. No provision in this 20 Article regarding familial status shall apply with respect to 21 housing for older persons. 22 (1) As used in this Section, "housing for older 23 persons" means housing: 24 (a) provided under any State or federal Federal 25 program that the Department determines is specifically 26 designed and operated to assist elderly persons (as SB1728 - 5 - LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b SB1728- 6 -LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b SB1728 - 6 - LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b SB1728 - 6 - LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b 1 defined in the State or federal Federal program); or 2 (b) intended for, and solely occupied by, persons 3 62 years of age or older; or 4 (c) intended and operated for occupancy by persons 5 55 years of age or older and: 6 (i) at least 80% of the occupied units are 7 occupied by at least one person who is 55 years of 8 age or older; 9 (ii) the housing facility or community 10 publishes and adheres to policies and procedures 11 that demonstrate the intent required under this 12 subparagraph subdivision (c); and 13 (iii) the housing facility or community 14 complies with rules adopted by the Department for 15 verification of occupancy, which shall: 16 (aa) provide for verification by reliable 17 surveys and affidavits; and 18 (bb) include examples of the types of 19 policies and procedures relevant to a 20 determination of compliance with the 21 requirement of clause (ii). 22 These surveys and affidavits shall be admissible in 23 administrative and judicial proceedings for the purposes 24 of such verification. 25 (2) Housing shall not fail to meet the requirements 26 for housing for older persons by reason of: SB1728 - 6 - LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b SB1728- 7 -LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b SB1728 - 7 - LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b SB1728 - 7 - LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b 1 (a) persons residing in such housing as of the 2 effective date of this amendatory Act of 1989 who do 3 not meet the age requirements of subparagraph 4 subsections (1)(b) or (c); provided, that new 5 occupants of such housing meet the age requirements of 6 subparagraph subsections (1)(b) or (c) of this 7 subsection; or 8 (b) unoccupied units; provided, that such units 9 are reserved for occupancy by persons who meet the age 10 requirements of subparagraph subsections (1)(b) or (c) 11 of this subsection. 12 (3)(a) A person shall not be held personally liable 13 for monetary damages for a violation of this Article if 14 the person reasonably relied, in good faith, on the 15 application of the exemption under this subsection (I) 16 relating to housing for older persons. 17 (b) For the purposes of this paragraph item (3), a 18 person may show good faith reliance on the application of 19 the exemption only by showing that: 20 (i) the person has no actual knowledge that the 21 facility or community is not, or will not be, eligible 22 for the exemption; and 23 (ii) the facility or community has stated 24 formally, in writing, that the facility or community 25 complies with the requirements for the exemption. 26 (J) Child Sex Offender Refusal to Rent. Refusal of a child SB1728 - 7 - LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b SB1728- 8 -LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b SB1728 - 8 - LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b SB1728 - 8 - LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b SB1728 - 8 - LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b