Bill Text: IL HB5394 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Human Rights Act. Provides that if there is a housing subsidy, it is a civil rights violation for an owner or any other person, or for a real estate broker or salesman to: (1) use a financial or income standard in assessing eligibility for the rental of housing that is not based on the portion of the rent to be paid by the tenant; or (2) use a person's credit history as part of the application process for a rental accommodation or deny an applicant based on credit score or credit history, without offering the applicant the option, at the applicant's discretion, of providing lawful, verifiable alternative evidence of the applicant's reasonable ability to pay the portion of the rent to be paid by the tenant, including, but not limited to, bank statements, pay stubs, rental history, or benefit statements. Provides that if the applicant elects to provide lawful, verifiable alternative evidence of the applicant's reasonable ability to pay, the housing provider must do both of the following: (1) provide the applicant reasonable time to respond with that alternative evidence; and (2) reasonably consider that alternative evidence in lieu of the person's credit score or credit history in determining whether to offer the rental accommodation to the applicant. Requires that the Department of Human Rights adopt any rules necessary for the implementation and enforcement of the new provisions, including, but not limited to, rules on the circumstances and conditions under which use of credit scores or history to deny a rental application to a person with a housing subsidy may constitute a civil rights violation.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2026-04-17 - Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB5394 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-HB5394-Engrossed.html

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AN ACT concerning civil law.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Illinois Human Rights Act is amended by
changing Section 1-103 and by adding Section 3-104.2 as
follows:
(775 ILCS 5/1-103) (from Ch. 68, par. 1-103)
Sec. 1-103. General definitions. When used in this Act,
unless the context requires otherwise, the term:
(A) Age. "Age" means the chronological age of a person who
is at least 40 years old, except with regard to any practice
described in Section 2-102, insofar as that practice concerns
training or apprenticeship programs. In the case of training
or apprenticeship programs, for the purposes of Section 2-102,
"age" means the chronological age of a person who is 18 but not
yet 40 years old.
(B) Aggrieved party. "Aggrieved party" means a person who
is alleged or proved to have been injured by a civil rights
violation or believes he or she will be injured by a civil
rights violation under Article 3 that is about to occur.
(B-5) Arrest record. "Arrest record" means:
(1) an arrest not leading to a conviction;
(2) a juvenile record; or

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(3) criminal history record information ordered
expunged, sealed, or impounded under Section 5.2 of the
Criminal Identification Act.
(C) Charge. "Charge" means an allegation filed with the
Department by an aggrieved party or initiated by the
Department under its authority.
(D) Civil rights violation. "Civil rights violation"
includes and shall be limited to only those specific acts set
forth in Sections 2-102, 2-103, 2-105, 3-102, 3-102.1, 3-103,
3-102.10, 3-104.1, 3-104.2, 3-105, 3-105.1, 4-102, 4-103,
5-102, 5A-102, 6-101, 6-101.5, and 6-102 of this Act.
(E) Commission. "Commission" means the Human Rights
Commission created by this Act.
(F) Complaint. "Complaint" means the formal pleading filed
by the Department with the Commission following an
investigation and finding of substantial evidence of a civil
rights violation.
(G) Complainant. "Complainant" means a person including
the Department who files a charge of civil rights violation
with the Department or the Commission.
(G-5) Conviction record. "Conviction record" means
information indicating that a person has been convicted of a
felony, misdemeanor or other criminal offense, placed on
probation, fined, imprisoned, or paroled pursuant to any law
enforcement or military authority.
(H) Department. "Department" means the Department of Human

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Rights created by this Act.
(I) Disability.
(1) "Disability" means a determinable physical or mental
characteristic of a person, including, but not limited to, a
determinable physical characteristic which necessitates the
person's use of a guide, hearing or support dog, the history of
such characteristic, or the perception of such characteristic
by the person complained against, which may result from
disease, injury, congenital condition of birth or functional
disorder and which characteristic:
(a) For purposes of Article 2, is unrelated to the
person's ability to perform the duties of a particular job
or position and, pursuant to Section 2-104 of this Act, a
person's illegal use of drugs or alcohol is not a
disability;
(b) For purposes of Article 3, is unrelated to the
person's ability to acquire, rent, or maintain a housing
accommodation;
(c) For purposes of Article 4, is unrelated to a
person's ability to repay;
(d) For purposes of Article 5, is unrelated to a
person's ability to utilize and benefit from a place of
public accommodation;
(e) For purposes of Article 5, also includes any
mental, psychological, or developmental disability,
including autism spectrum disorders.

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(2) Discrimination based on disability includes unlawful
discrimination against an individual because of the
individual's association with a person with a disability.
(J) Marital status. "Marital status" means the legal
status of being married, single, separated, divorced, or
widowed.
(J-1) Military status. "Military status" means a person's
status on active duty in or status as a veteran of the armed
forces of the United States, status as a current member or
veteran of any reserve component of the armed forces of the
United States, including the United States Army Reserve,
United States Marine Corps Reserve, United States Navy
Reserve, United States Air Force Reserve, and United States
Coast Guard Reserve, or status as a current member or veteran
of the Illinois Army National Guard or Illinois Air National
Guard.
(K) National origin. "National origin" means the place in
which a person or one of his or her ancestors was born.
(K-5) "Order of protection status" means a person's status
as being a person protected under an order of protection
issued pursuant to the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986,
Article 112A of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963, the
Stalking No Contact Order Act, or the Civil No Contact Order
Act, or an order of protection issued by a court of another
state.
(L) Person. "Person" includes one or more individuals,

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partnerships, associations or organizations, labor
organizations, labor unions, joint apprenticeship committees,
or union labor associations, corporations, the State of
Illinois and its instrumentalities, political subdivisions,
units of local government, legal representatives, trustees in
bankruptcy or receivers.
(L-5) Pregnancy. "Pregnancy" means pregnancy, childbirth,
or medical or common conditions related to pregnancy or
childbirth.
(M) Public contract. "Public contract" includes every
contract to which the State, any of its political
subdivisions, or any municipal corporation is a party.
(M-5) Race. "Race" includes traits associated with race,
including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective
hairstyles such as braids, locks, and twists.
(N) Religion. "Religion" includes all aspects of religious
observance and practice, as well as belief, except that with
respect to employers, for the purposes of Article 2,
"religion" has the meaning ascribed to it in paragraph (F) of
Section 2-101.
(O) Sex. "Sex" means the status of being male or female.
(O-1) Sexual orientation. "Sexual orientation" means
actual or perceived heterosexuality, homosexuality,
bisexuality, or gender-related identity, whether or not
traditionally associated with the person's designated sex at
birth. "Sexual orientation" does not include a physical or

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sexual attraction to a minor by an adult.
(O-2) Reproductive Health Decisions. "Reproductive Health
Decisions" means a person's decisions regarding the person's
use of: contraception; fertility or sterilization care;
assisted reproductive technologies; miscarriage management
care; healthcare related to the continuation or termination of
pregnancy; or prenatal, intranatal, or postnatal care.
(O-5) Source of income. "Source of income" means the
lawful manner by which an individual supports himself or
herself and his or her dependents.
(P) Unfavorable military discharge. "Unfavorable military
discharge" includes discharges from the Armed Forces of the
United States, their Reserve components, or any National Guard
or Naval Militia which are classified as RE-3 or the
equivalent thereof, but does not include those characterized
as RE-4 or "Dishonorable".
(Q) Unlawful discrimination. "Unlawful discrimination"
means discrimination against a person because of his or her
actual or perceived: race, color, religion, national origin,
ancestry, age, sex, marital status, order of protection
status, disability, military status, sexual orientation,
pregnancy, reproductive health decisions, or unfavorable
discharge from military service as those terms are defined in
this Section.
(Source: P.A. 102-362, eff. 1-1-22; 102-419, eff. 1-1-22;
102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 102-896, eff.

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1-1-23; 102-1102, eff. 1-1-23; 103-154, eff. 6-30-23; 103-785,
eff. 1-1-25.)
(775 ILCS 5/3-104.2 new)
Sec. 3-104.2. Credit history and subsidies.
(a) As used in this Section, "housing subsidy" means, but
is not limited to, housing choice vouchers, permanent
supportive housing program placements, or rapid rehousing
subsidies.
(b) If there is a housing subsidy involved in the process
of securing rental housing, it is a civil rights violation for
an owner or any other person, or for a real estate broker or
salesman, to:
(1) use a financial or income standard in assessing
eligibility for the rental of housing that is not based on
the portion of the rent to be paid by the tenant; or
(2) use a person's credit history as part of the
application process for a rental accommodation or deny an
applicant based on credit score or credit history, without
offering the applicant the option, at the applicant's
discretion, of providing lawful, verifiable alternative
evidence of the applicant's reasonable ability to pay the
portion of the rent to be paid by the tenant, including,
but not limited to, bank statements, pay stubs, rental
history, or benefit statements.
(c) If the applicant elects to provide lawful, verifiable

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alternative evidence of the applicant's reasonable ability to
pay under subsection (b), the housing provider must do both of
the following:
(1) provide the applicant reasonable time to respond
with that alternative evidence; and
(2) reasonably consider that alternative evidence in
lieu of the person's credit score or credit history in
determining whether to offer the rental accommodation to
the applicant.
(d) The Department shall adopt any rules necessary for the
implementation and enforcement of this Section, including, but
not limited to, rules on the circumstances and conditions
under which use of credit scores or history to deny a rental
application to a person with a housing subsidy may constitute
a civil rights violation under this Section.