Chicago Suburb To Pay $800K Settlement After Barring Sober Living Facility From Residential Area
The village of Hinsdale has agreed to pay $800K to settle a lawsuit alleging the community in Chicago’s western suburbs violated the Fair Housing Act when it denied a sober living facility the right to operate in a residential neighborhood.
The Department of Justice first brought suit against Hinsdale in November 2020, alleging the village denied reasonable accommodations to Trinity Sober Living LLC to operate a sober living home for 10 adults and a house manager.
The DOJ alleged the city sued Trinity for a zoning code violation one day after it requested reasonable accommodations for the facility. Hinsdale's suit claimed the sober living home would be considered a commercial use because more than three unrelated adults would be living there.
“Local governments do not have the right to use zoning laws and restrictions as a vehicle to discriminate against people with disabilities,” Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general in the DOJ’s civil rights division, said in a press release.
“The Department of Justice is committed to vigorous enforcement of federal law to ensure that individuals in recovery have access to the housing and support they need to maintain their sobriety and lead productive lives.”
While still pending approval in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the settlement would require the village to pay $790K in monetary damages to Trinity and a $10K civil penalty to the federal government.
The village would also have to amend its zoning ordinances to reflect federal anti-discrimination laws and reasonable accommodation policies. Village employees would additionally be required to undergo training to prevent further housing discrimination, and the village will be assigned a fair housing compliance officer and report to the DOJ periodically.
The settlement would also conclude a suit brought by Trinity.
Trinity Executive Director Michael Owens told ABC affiliate WLS in 2019 he was stunned when he sought to open the facility and the village responded to neighbors' complaints by filing suit in DuPage County.
"My neighbors have told me, 'Oh, it's a great thing that you're doing,' but nobody wants it in their backyard," Owens said at the time.
Owens fired back with a federal lawsuit on behalf of Trinity, claiming residents of his home were protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fair Housing Act.
“Individuals with disabilities — including those recovering from drug and alcohol addiction — should not be excluded from living in residential neighborhoods,” U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois John R. Lausch Jr. said in the DOJ statement. “Such discrimination by local governments is forbidden under the Fair Housing Act.”
