SB1817 Summary

• Adds "immigration status" as a protected class in Illinois Human Rights Act real estate provisions, prohibiting discrimination based on actual or perceived citizenship or immigration status in housing transactions, financing, and brokering activities.

• Expands protections against discrimination by third-party loan modification service providers to include immigration status alongside existing protections for familial status, source of income, and arrest records.

• Extends blockbusting prohibitions to include immigration status among the characteristics that cannot be used to solicit sales or induce property owners to sell based on prospective demographic changes in a neighborhood.

• Updates gender-specific language throughout the statute by replacing "he or she" and "his or her" with gender-neutral terminology ("the person," "the owner's," etc.).

• Adds exemption allowing financial institutions and others to consider immigration status in real estate transactions when required by state or federal law.