Politics

City Panel Agrees to $2.25M Settlement in Lawsuit Claiming Chicago Failed to Build Enough Affordable Apartments for People With Disabilities

A key Chicago City Council panel agreed Monday to settle a lawsuit brought by disability advocacy organization Access Living that alleged the city failed to comply with federal laws and build affordable housing accessible to Chicagoans with disabilities by paying $2.25 million.

The agreement also calls for the city to build or rehabilitate 2,000 new affordable units accessible to those with limited mobility as well as an additional 840 new affordable units accessible for Chicagoans with limited hearing and sight during the next 12 years, according Managing Deputy Corporation Counsel John Hendricks.

The city will also have to create a system to inspect, monitor and maintain a list of affordable and accessible units as part of the resolution of the lawsuit, which accused the city of violating the Americans With Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act and the Fair Housing Act, Hendricks said.

The settlement is set for a final vote on Wednesday by the full City Council. Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th Ward) cast the lone vote against the settlement.

A spokesperson for Access Living declined to comment on the proposed settlement until after Wednesday’s City Council meeting.

U.S. District Court Judge Edmond Chang refused the city’s request to toss the lawsuit in 2024, and urged both sides to negotiate a settlement agreement.

“(Chicago) may not avoid liability by framing its role in the affordable housing scheme as merely providing funding and tax credits to developers in a way that blanketly absolves the City from its own duty of complying with the federal accessibility laws,” Chang wrote. “Indeed, the city has a regulatory obligation to ensure that the private developers comply with the federal accessibility laws.”

The settlement does not impose “draconian” requirements on the city and would end a legal fight that lasted nearly eight years, Hendricks told the City Council’s Finance Committee.

Between 2018 and October 2024, Chicago paid $4.1 million to the law firms Fox Rothschild and Jackson Lewis to defend this lawsuit, according to records obtained by WTTW News through a Freedom of Information Act request.

WTTW News on Monday requested an updated accounting of the cost of hiring private attorneys to defend the lawsuit filed by Access Living.

The city will also be responsible for paying Access Living’s legal fees, but it is not clear how much that will cost taxpayers since the two sides could not reach an agreement on that issue, leaving it up to Chang.

Access Living had asked the city to pay $19 million to cover its legal costs, Hendricks said.

Nick Blumberg contributed to this report.

Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]

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