FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CR
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1998
(202) 616-2765
WWW.USDOJ.GOV
TDD (202) 514-1888
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT ACTION ARISING FROM PROBE OF INACCESSIBLE HOUSING IN THE CHICAGO AREA WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Architects and homebuilders in the Chicago metropolitan area will now provide accessible housing units for individuals with disabilities, under four agreements today filed by the Justice Department. The Department also sued a suburban architect and builder for not providing accessible units in compliance with federal law.
The lawsuit and settlements, all filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, allege that the companies violated the Fair Housing Act by not providing accessible features such as: doors wide enough for wheelchairs; light switches, electrical outlets, and thermostats in accessible locations; and reinforcements in the bathroom walls to allow for installation of grab bars.
"The Fair Housing Act provides a blueprint for accessible housing. All we are asking is that architects and builders follow that blueprint," said Bill Lann Lee, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.
The Fair Housing Act requires multi-family housing complexes with four or more units to contain, among other things, accessible routes, doorways wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair, reachable thermostats, and bathroom walls equipped with reinforcements so that people with disabilities can install grab bars.
Under the terms of the settlements, the architects and builders have agreed to compensate people affected by the deficiencies, revise plans for unbuilt units to comply with the Fair Housing Act, make changes to finished units to enhance accessibility, build additional units in compliance with the Act even where those units would not be covered by it, train employees, and provide money to fund structural modifications of non-complying units by their owners.
"These settlements will result in more units of accessible housing for persons with disabilities in the Chicago area," said Scott R. Lassar, U.S. Attorney in Chicago. "We hope that architects and builders understand that it is better to design properly from the start instead of making changes after construction is completed."
The lawsuit against Corrib Construction Company and KLLM Architects alleges that they failed to design and build Glenmoor Commons, a condominium in Hickory Hills, Illinois, with common areas that could be used by individuals with disabilities. It also alleges that the ground floor units covered by the Act do not have accessible features like widened doorways, lowered fixtures and grab bar reinforcements in the bathroom walls. The court could require the companies to correct the violations and award damages to people injured by the deficiencies, as well as impose a civil penalty and punitive damages.
One of the four settlements resolves a lawsuit filed in November, 1997 against Hartz Construction Company and Linden Group, Inc., builder and architect, respectively, of Eagle Ridge Condominiums in Oak Lawn, Illinois.
The three other settlements resolve lawsuits that were filed simultaneously with the court today. The first settlement is with Dremco, Inc., and Linden Group, Inc., builder and architect, respectively, of The Claridge, a condominium in Chicago Ridge, Illinois. The second is with Hearthside Homes, Ltd., designer and builder of Hearthside Homes at Broken Arrow in Lockport, Illinois. And the third is with The Kirk Corporation and The Balsamo/Olson Group, builder and architect, respectively, of Gleneagle Farm, a housing development in Carpentersville, Illinois.
The settlements are all part of the Justice Department's continuing efforts to ensure accessible housing to people with disabilities, and stem from an investigation under the accessibility provisions of the Fair Housing Act conducted in the Chicago metropolitan area. The investigation arose from allegations that the defendants violated the Act by failing to include particular design features which would make the units accessible.
The Department began looking at buildings in the Chicago area in 1996 as part of its nationwide enforcement program. The audits, which were performed in partnership with the John Marshall Law School Fair Housing Clinic and Access Living, a Chicago-based disability rights organization, consisted of disabled and non-disabled "testers" who posed as prospective home buyers inspecting properties to see if they met accessibility requirements.
The audits determined that virtually all of the inspected units failed to meet the accessibility requirements. Of the 49 sites tested, 48 were found to be in violation. The Justice Department determined that 29 of the 48 developments--constituting approximately 4,500 units--had significant noncompliance problems.
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