Just last month, a federal judge in Granite City, IL, upheld a crime-free housing ordinance that “mandated evictions of entire households in response to any arrest,” irregardless of whether the arrestee was a member of the household or even at the house when the crime occurred.
The lawsuit was filed by Debi Brumit, whose daughter stole a van, causing Debi, her partner, and her two grandchildren to be evicted. The van wasn’t at the house when police found it, and Debi’s daughter didn’t even live with the family – she was in town for the weekend for substance abuse treatment.
Such abuses of power in Granite City are not rare. This Daily Beast article notes that in the period between 2014 and 2019, over 300 evictions, many based on crimes that didn’t even happen at the homes, were targeted for eviction. According to the article, one family was even evicted after a member kicked a police officer’s shin at a church picnic.
So what are crime-free housing ordinances? Crime-free housing ordinances are programs that aim to reduce crime by requiring or encouraging landlords to reject or evict tenants based on their criminal history. This can go from, having the police called too many times to the place of residence, being arrested, or, in Debi Brumit’s case, having contact with a guest who has committed a crime.
Crime-free housing ordinances exist across the country. In 2019, the Washington State Attorney General filed a lawsuit against the city of Sunnyside in Yakima, Washington, alleging that in three cases, Sunnyside police evicted people without proper notice and without official court orders. In 2016, Thelma Jones, a black women from Faribault, Minnesota, was evicted for “ongoing criminal activities” after having the police called to her house 82 times. Neither she, nor her children, had a criminal history; in reality, the calls were from her white neighbors, complaining about various instances like Jones’ hosting a family barbeque or a child’s birthday party.
Thelma Jones’ case highlights a major problem with housing ordinances – that they are incredibly subjective. The evictions are typically carried out by the police, and the Granite City police captain’s words about the housing ordinance – “They’re guilty if I say they’re guilty” – isn’t much for a show of confidence. Such subjectivity opens the door for racism; the Attorney General in the Sunnyside lawsuit alleged that many incidents, including the three cited, happened to predominantly Latinx people, and the Jones’ case came about because of her white neighbors hoping to take advantage of the ordinance to force her out.
The federal judge’s ruling in September has now opened the door for similar ordinances to take place nationwide, so if you’re just moving out of the college dorms and into new housing, it’s best to read up on housing laws and ordinances near you to make sure what happened to Debi Brumit, Thelma Jones, and the Sunnyside community doesn’t happen to you.