Executive Summary
For individuals with criminal records, finding a place to live in Chicago can be extremely challenging. Through interviews with 81 individuals with criminal records, this study shows how the presence of a criminal record creates barriers for individuals on the private housing rental market regardless of the individual’s age or the age of the individual’s record.
The presence of a criminal record can multiply other forms of disadvantage, deepening racial, class, and gender divides. By discriminating against individuals with criminal records, landlords not only undermine individuals’ attempts to build stable lives, but also reproduce and multiply largescale social inequities. Nationally, 95% of state prisoners will be released from prison at some point, while an estimated one in three Americans has a criminal record. In Chicago alone, approximately 11,000 individuals return from Illinois prisons each year, so the challenges experienced by people with criminal records are widespread. Moreover, in Illinois, about 48% of individuals released from prison will return within three years—a figure that reveals the pressing need for improved reentry opportunities and supports. Housing, in particular, comprises a crucial component of successful reentry—a key building block that promotes steady employment, fosters mental and physical health, supports individuals in their recovery from substance abuse, and provides the other advantages of stable shelter that are vital to basic human wellbeing.
This report proposes policy solutions to help overcome systemic discrimination against renters with criminal records and mitigate the ripple effects of that discrimination. Through a combination of reforms, this report proposes a pathway to expand housing access to those with criminal records in order to make Chicago and other cities more equitable and hospitable places for all residents to call home.
