Metro-East News

What are crime-free housing programs and why did Swansea trustees scrap theirs?

By Belleville News-Democrat
Jessica Barron, Kenny Wylie and their three children filed a lawsuit against Granite City in 2020 over its crime-free housing program. At the time, they faced eviction because their teenage son’s friend, who they let stay with them a few nights a week one winter, was charged with burglary in a midnight break-in at the neighborhood bar.
Jessica Barron, Kenny Wylie and their three children filed a lawsuit against Granite City in 2020 over its crime-free housing program. At the time, they faced eviction because their teenage son’s friend, who they let stay with them a few nights a week one winter, was charged with burglary in a midnight break-in at the neighborhood bar. Institute for Justice

Swansea’s Board of Trustees voted to repeal the village’s voluntary crime-free housing program, with officials saying existing code enforcement and policing already handle the issues the program was designed to address. The decision follows broader scrutiny of crime-free housing rules in the metro-east region.

Here are key takeaways:

  • The Swansea Board of Trustees voted 5-1 to end the voluntary crime-free housing program at Monday’s meeting, with Trustee Brian Thouvenot casting the lone dissenting vote, following the May 4 Community and Economic Development Committee recommendation.
  • Key provisions of the 2018 ordinance were never put into practice, including the creation of an oversight committee and regular landlord training sessions, which officials cited as reasons for the program’s demise.
  • Police Chief Matthew Blomberg said the village can accomplish the program’s goals without “all the red tape that is listed in the 10-page legislation that was passed in 2018,” noting code enforcement and police interventions already address these matters.
  • The program required participating landlords to evict renters charged with felonies at the rental property or after three ordinance violations within a six-month period, with exceptions for tenants who are disabled, according to the program’s original rules.
  • Of Swansea’s 367 landlords, 259 participated in the voluntary program, which offered a $25 registration fee instead of the $100 charged to non-participants, per village data shared before the vote.
  • Granite City relaxed its own crime-free housing ordinance to require convictions rather than arrests for off-site crimes, following an amendment to the Illinois Human Rights Act and two ongoing civil rights lawsuits from families challenging the rules, as reported in earlier BND coverage.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.

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