Municipalities throughout Illinois have enacted so-called “crime-free housing and nuisance property” ordinances (CFNOs) under the guise of fighting crime and keeping communities safer by allowing the police and landlords to evict tenants who are accused of breaking the law. However, in practice, CFNOs establish a system that forces housing providers to unfairly penalize and sometimes even evict tenants based only on an alleged criminal or nuisance activity—no matter how minor. This often means pushing families into instability and even homelessness, ultimately undermining public safety.  

CFNOs frequently exclude people of color from housing and endanger our community’s most vulnerable members. This includes survivors of domestic violence and people with disabilities, whose calls for emergency services or the police have led to eviction rather than the assistance needed. Furthermore, these ordinances often violate fair housing and other civil rights laws. 

The Community Safety Through Stable Homes Act would help protect people from unfair discrimination, keep families in their homes, and encourage more effective responses to criminal activity in local communities.   

For over fifteen years, Illinois has neglected to fund homeless education, which would support school districts in novel interventions to identify and assist students experiencing homelessness. Estimates indicate that up to 55,000 students experiencing homelessness are not identified by school districts or provided with services in Illinois.  

The number of students experiencing homelessness in Illinois increased by 30.86% between the 2020-21 school year and the 2021-22 school year. In response to the crisis, the federal government stepped in with COVID relief funds which included funding for homeless education, but that support ended in September 2024. With current efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education while homelessness continues to rise, it is imperative that we reinstate funds for homeless education. CCH is advocating for $5 million designated in ISBE’s budget to provide much-needed funding for school districts to better support homeless students.  

This flexible funding allows districts to support students’ most immediate needs, like purchasing a washer and dryer for students experiencing homelessness to clean their clothing before or after school or refurbishing decades-old on-campus showers, giving students a consistent place to maintain their hygiene. These small interventions can go a long way to improve attendance rates for students experiencing housing instability.

CCH shares periodic updates about how you can support our legislative agenda by submitting witness slips, contacting your elected officials, and more! If you would like to stay informed and raise your voice in support of these efforts, sign up for our action alerts below:

For more information on CCH’s 2026 legislative agenda, contact Niya K. Kelly, Director of State Legislative Policy, Equity and Transformation.