Gautreaux Litigation

Impact for Equity has focused on public housing for over five decades through our groundbreaking Gautreaux lawsuit. In 1969, a federal court ruled that the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) had unconstitutionally segregated African American public housing residents and ordered an expansive remedy. As counsel for public housing residents and applicants in the case, Impact for Equity lawyers have worked to eliminate racial segregation in Chicago public housing and promote authentic choice for families participating in federally subsidized housing programs.  

Our recent publication, The Fight for Fair Housing: A Summary of Gautreaux v. Chicago Housing Authority, reflects on the origins of the lawsuit, summarizes the legal proceedings, and explains several court-ordered remedies. The Gautreaux plaintiffs and CHA entered into a Settlement Agreement in 2019, and Impact for Equity continues to advocate for and support public housing residents across Chicago.    

Click here  to view the digital archive of the Gautreaux litigation, which is now housed at the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse of the University of Michigan Law School.

The Chicago/Cook County Two-Generation Economic Mobility Project

Many families living in historically disinvested neighborhoods in the Chicago region, particularly families of color, face high barriers to attaining the prerequisites for economic mobility. Housing Choice Vouchers have enabled some families with lower incomes to surmount the affordable housing barrier, but the experiences of families receiving housing support services, the factors that cause families to remain in or move from their neighborhoods of choice, and the experiences of their children have not been gathered and understood.  The 2Gen Project, with a focus on two generations (adults and youth), grew from a need to answer these questions.  Read our overview of the 2Gen Project to learn more.

The first study in the 2Gen Project, Staying Put, was conducted by a team of researchers at Loyola University Chicago’s Center for Urban Learning and Research. It identifies families’ experiences in opportunity neighborhoods and makes policy recommendations.  Read the Staying Put report to learn more.

Affordable Housing

Impact for Equity works to expand the supply of affordable housing and to expand housing choices. Through this work, we have joined with partners to create the Illinois Housing Roundtable, advocated for state and local laws that require the development of affordable housing, made local programs to respond to the foreclosure crisis of the mid-2000s, led the effort to create the Cook County Land Bank, and piloted a program to improve access to housing for residents returning from incarceration.