How Many Section 8-Type Vouchers in Burr Ridge?

BURR RIDGE, IL — Most of Burr Ridge is in DuPage County, and in that portion, just one family had a Section 8-type voucher in 2019. That's out of 3,192 such vouchers throughout DuPage County. It's a program meant to help low-income residents pay for housing.

Perhaps Burr Ridge's statistics are unsurprising. The village is one of the wealthiest in the area, with a median household income of nearly $145,000, a median housing price of more than $670,000 and median monthly rent of $2,200.

Nearby Hinsdale, which is among the state's wealthiest, had four voucher recipients in 2019. Darien, which has a considerably lower median income, had 120 voucher holders.

In most states, including Illinois, landlords are allowed to discriminate against those with federal housing vouchers because of the extra requirements, including unit inspections every two years.

In 2000, Naperville became one of the few towns around the country to ban housing discrimination based on source of income. A few years ago, it clarified that law to explicitly ban discrimination against recipients of Housing Choice Vouchers. No other town in DuPage County has such a rule.

Nationwide, just 14 percent of families with children in the Housing Choice Voucher program live in neighborhoods where fewer than 10 percent have incomes below the poverty line, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The center largely blames that situation on the landlords who refuse to accept vouchers.

Kenneth Coles, executive director of the DuPage Housing Authority, said one of the reasons Burr Ridge has so few voucher recipients is that it contains mostly single-family housing. Naperville, by contrast, has more than 13,000 rental units, he said.

Another reason is that Burr Ridge has such expensive housing that the vouchers are often unable to cover rent, Coles said.

Even with a law such as Naperville's, Coles said, it's hard to determine how much discrimination exists against voucher holders. That's because while landlords may be required to take applications, they may later deny them, he said.

Coles encouraged voucher recipients to file complaints if they believe they have been discriminated against.

"Even if you feel it's a waste of time, please report it," Coles said. "If I were to feel discriminated against, I would file a complaint with HUD. Let them determine if it was discrimination. You never know unless you ask."

He noted the federal government pursues Fair Housing Act violations, citing the U.S. Justice Department's recent lawsuit against Hinsdale over the village's efforts to shut down a sober living house.

Coles said he did not understand the opposition to voucher holders. If the voucher program were eliminated, the county's housing court would still be plenty busy with all the other landlord-tenant issues, he said.

During the pandemic, Housing Choice Vouchers have become more popular among landlords, Coles said.

"If the voucher holder loses income, all the rent will still get picked up," he said.