Last month ended with Illinois legislative wins in all three of our policy focus
areas: economic opportunity, safety and justice, and health and healing. These historic reforms will ultimately support our fight for equity and opportunity for all people, but what do they mean for Illinoisans? We asked project specialists from across Heartland Alliance what this meant for the people they serve, and how these wins will reduce barriers to opportunity.
On March 23, Governor Pritzker signed the Public Housing Access Bill into law, a first of its kind in a piece of legislation that creates uniform standards for screenings for the more than 100 public housing authorities across Illinois – reducing barriers for those who have been formerly incarcerated. The bill goes even further, making it so that public housing authorities can no longer consider non-convictions – such as arrest histories, juvenile records, or expunged and sealed records – in their screenings. The law provides that public housing authorities can only consider criminal backgrounds six months from the time of application, and must do individualized assessments. Our policy team is proud to have advocated for this new law in partnership with the Restoring Rights and Opportunities Coalition of Illinois.
Susie Schoenrock is a housing solutions specialist with our new Housing for Justice Initiative. She believes that the structural barriers to housing for build even greater systemic injustices, and that this legislation brings us closer to addressing permanent punishments.
“This is a significant step to help protect people and get them into public housing. Currently, it’s just a terrible cycle: our participants, the majority with criminal records, can’t get a job if they have nowhere to live. So, this law opens many doors for our participants to secure housing. And because the Housing for Justice Initiative works mostly with private landlords, I am interested in seeing if these help private landlords be a little less strict in their screening criteria. If public housing changes the way they screen applicants, potentially that may trickle down to other landlords’ requirements.”
Susie Schoenrock, Housing Solutions Specialist, Housing for Justice Initiative, Heartland Alliance
Governor Pritzker also signed the Predatory Loan Prevention Act on March 23, capping the Annual Percentage Rates (APR) for all consumer loans in Illinois at 36%. Before, predatory payday and car loans averaged at 297 and 179 APR respectively, trapping consumers in a cycle of debt. This act was advocated for by our Illinois Asset Building Group and a coalition of over 50 industry, government, community, and advocacy leaders. With this new law, Illinois joins 17 other states plus Washington D.C. in capping consumer loans at 36% APR.
Social workers and financial experts with Heartland Alliance’s Asset Building services program are dedicated to increasing access to tools and education that help people build wealth, with the ultimate goal of closing the racial wealth gap in Chicago. According to the team’s leaders, an important part of that fight is combating products that strip wealth and keep people from thriving.
“This [law] means that instead of predatory loans, people will keep and grow their assets. Payday loans worked like a robbery: over time, they take 3, 20, and over 500 times what you originally borrowed. So, with this law people will get justice.”
Barbara L. Martinez, Manager, Asset Building Programs, Heartland Alliance
“You shouldn’t have to lose the title of your car, in order to keep your small cleaning business going. That makes no sense. We didn’t want people to have to turn to payday and title loans that only solve the problem in the short term, but pushes you down the road to bankruptcy.”
Kathryn Socha, Director Asset Building services, Heartland Alliance
Finally, in March, the Illinois legislature passed a healthcare omnibus bill, championed by the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus. It is now on its way for the Governor to sign, and we are proud to have been integrally involved with two provisions within the legislation. Our healthcare policy team fought for new “Good Samaritan” reforms that will further protect people who call 911 from punishment when someone near them is overdosing. Once signed, the Illinois Good Samaritan reform will be the strongest law in the country. Furthermore, we fought for a statewide community health worker program that will help reach community members in culturally competent and effective ways.
Heartland Alliance Health’s Tony Strong works directly with individuals addressing opioid substance use disorders. He has seen firsthand how systemic and legislative barriers keep people from practicing harm reduction.
“This will save lives. It gives people empowerment. People can now feel they have some recourse and not just feel powerless when someone is in danger of losing their life because they can be criminally charged in the process.”
Anthony Strong, Senior Mental Health Worker, Heartland Alliance Health
We celebrate these wins, look forward to work on how these new laws will be implemented across the state, and will continue to advocate for our legislative agenda. As Tony said, these legislative wins bring us closer to achieving equity and opportunity for ALL.
”The more bricks we can add to this house, the sturdier it would become”.
