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JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SETTLES HOUSING DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT

WASHINGTON, D.C. The Justice Department announced today that the city of Fairview Heights, Illinois has agreed to pay $275,000 to resolve a discrimination complaint filed in April of 2000.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court in East St. Louis, alleged that the city violated the Fair Housing Act when it refused to permit an African-American developer to build an apartment complex in Fairview Heights because of his race. Additionally, the complaint alleged that the city refused to allow the construction of the complex because it believed a significant number of the residents would be African-American. The suit also alleged that the city rejected the complex because it would attract too many families with school-age children. Discrimination in housing based on race or families with children violates the Fair Housing Act.

Under the agreement, which was approved today by United States Judge Michael J. Reagan of the Southern District of Illinois, the city will pay a total of $275,000 to the developer, the owners of the property, and others who would have assisted in developing the complex. The money will be used to compensate them for damages incurred when Fairview Heights refused to permit the developer to build the apartment complex.

"Race is far too often a barrier to building badly needed housing in our nation's cities and suburbs," said Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Ralph F. Boyd Jr. "This agreement will prevent Fairview Heights from considering race or familial status when other housing developments are proposed in the future."

In addition to the monetary settlement, the agreement also requires the city to:

• appoint a fair housing compliance officer who will receive complaints of discrimination against the city and represent the city on local committees charged with reducing barriers to fair housing;

• hire an independent contractor approved by the United States to train its employees and elected officials annually for three years on the requirements of applicable non- discrimination laws and;

• submit records for the next three years of the actions it takes on applications to build multi-family housing in the city to the United States for monitoring purposes.

This case began when the developer filed a complaint with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) alleging that the city violated the Fair Housing Act when it denied his application to build the complex. HUD investigated the matter and later referred it to the Department of Justice, which filed suit.

Persons who believe that they have been victims of housing discrimination should call HUD at 1-800-669-9777 or the Department of Justice at 1-800-896-7743. Additional information is available on HUD's website at www.hud.gov.

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