Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
1401 New York Avenue, NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACTS:

Stacie B. Miller, Communications Dir.
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights
202-662-8317, office
202-445-6101, mobile
smiller@lawyerscommittee.org

Maggie Kao, (202) 466-2735 or (919) 360-0308
Mistique Cano, (202) 263-2882 or (202) 904-7222

July 21, 2008

Il Attorney General Lisa Madigan Joins Launch Of National Commission To Investigate Housing Discrimination
National Commission Co-Chaired by Former HUD Secretaries Launches in Chicago

CHICAGO – On Tuesday, July 15 at 9 AM CDT Attorney General Lisa Madigan will join former Vice Presidential candidate Jack Kemp and Henry Cisneros, both former Department of Housing and Urban Development secretaries, to launch a national commission that will document housing problems in Chicago and the Midwest. Chicago is the first of five cities the national commission will visit.

The commission is being hosted by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (LCCRUL), Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund (LCCR/EF), the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) and the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA).  The findings and recommendations of the Commission will be released in a December report. 

Forty years after the enactment of the Fair Housing Act in 1968, significant discrimination still exists within Chicago, mirroring experiences across the country.  Housing industry practices both at the private and government levels have perpetuated a systematic theme of discrimination.  As the city’s low-cost public housing provider tears down thousands of homes and real estate speculation forces low and middle-class families out of their neighborhoods while current fair housing laws go under-enforced, Congress must strengthen fair housing laws and enhance enforcement mechanisms to offer adequate protection to working families.

WHAT: National Housing Commission Launches in Chicago; Hearing will Investigate Obstacles to Fair and Affordable Housing

WHO: Illinois Attorney General Madigan, Former HUD Secretaries Kemp and Cisneros, and area housing experts and advocates

WHEN: Tuesday, July 15, 9 a.m.

WHERE: Access Living
115 W Chicago Avenue
Chicago, IL 60610