[il-talk] Hud charges Illinois university with violating FairHousing Act

[Patti Gregory-Chang]

 HUD Charges? Illinois University with Violating the Fair Housing Act?
> Thursday, Oct 1, 2009 @10:50am CDT
>
>
> WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today 
> announced that it has charged? Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois 
> with housing discrimination for allegedly refusing to allow a student with 
> epilepsy and blindness to live in a dormitory with her trained service 
> dog.
>
>
> The Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful to refuse to make reasonable
> accommodations in policies or practices when a person with a disability 
> may require such an accommodation in order be afforded the equal housing 
> opportunity others enjoy.
>
>
> "Having a service animal promotes independent living for many people with 
> disabilities, " said John Trasvia, HUD's Assistant Secretary for Fair 
> Housing and Equal Opportunity. "HUD is committed to making sure colleges 
> and universities promote supportive living environments for people living 
> with disabilities. "
>
>
> HUD brought the charge on behalf of the student who obtained a service dog 
> from a non-profit organization that trained the dog to assist the student 
> in the event of an epileptic seizure. HUD alleges that once the student 
> obtained the service animal, Millikin University banned the student from 
> even entering the dormitory building with the dog, requiring the student 
> to vacate her room if she wanted to keep the animal and commute to school 
> from her parents' home. Later, the university relocated the student to an 
> inaccessible dormitory.
>
>
> The HUD charge will be heard by a United States Administrative Law Judge 
> unless any party to the charge elects to have the case heard in federal 
> district court. If an administrative law judge finds after a hearing that 
> discrimination has occurred, he may award damages to the complainant for 
> her damages as a result of the discrimination. The judge may also order 
> injunctive relief and other equitable relief to deter further 
> discrimination, as well as payment of attorney fees. In addition, the 
> judge may impose civil penalties in order to vindicate the public 
> interest.
>
>
> A federal district court judge may also award punitive damages to the 
> complainant.
>
>
> FHEO and its partners in the Fair Housing Assistance Program investigate 
> approximately 10,500 housing discrimination complaints annually. People 
> who believe they are the victims of housing discrimination should contact 
> HUD at 1-800-669-9777(voice),
> 800-927-9275 (TTY). Additional information is available at
> www.hud.gov/fairhousing.
> http://illinoishomepage.net/content/fulltext /?cid=109371_
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