The Justice Department announced Wednesday it has filed a civil lawsuit against Tinley Park, a town of roughly 58,000 to the southwest of Chicago, for refusing to approve a low-income housing development.
According to the lawsuit, the Buckeye Community Hope Foundation sought to build an apartment complex for low-income people nearby Tinley Park’s downtown in 2015. It would have been financed through Low Income Housing Tax Credits given by the Illinois Housing and Development Authority.
But according to the Justice Department, Tinley Park refused to approve the project due to racial discrimination. Tinley Park’s Plan Commission tabled consideration of the housing project after the village’s trustees asked them to do so.
The housing project was in “precise conformance” with the applicable building requirements and thus should have been approved under Tinley Park’s zoning ordinances, the lawsuit alleges.
“Our office is committed to fighting unlawful discrimination wherever it occurs, including in fair housing,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary T. Fardon of the Northern District of Illinois. “Where appropriate, we will pursue local governments that try to reduce affordable housing opportunities for discriminatory purposes.”
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, seeks a court order requiring Tinley Park to approve the housing project’s development. It also seeks monetary damages, in addition to a civil penalty, for those hurt by Tinley Park’s blockage of the apartment complex.
According to demographic statistics, less than 4 percent of Tinley Park’s population is black.
