Section 8 Housing in Chicago, IL

The Chicago metro is split across several housing authorities, and most of the big voucher waitlists are closed. The Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) runs the largest program. CHA's Housing Choice Voucher waitlist is closed at this time, and when it reopens CHA holds a public waitlist lottery. CHA's HCV waiting list was last opened October 27, 2014 and closed November 24, 2014. More than 280,000 people applied in 2014, up from 203,000 in 2010. While the voucher list is closed, other CHA lists are not. CHA's Public Housing and Project-Based Voucher waitlists are always open. Suburban Cook County is served by a separate agency. The Housing Authority of Cook County (HACC) opened its HCV waitlist for the first time since 2001, accepting applications October 19 through November 2, 2020, with 10,000 lottery spots for new applicants. The practical takeaway: apply the moment any list opens, apply to multiple authorities, and keep your contact info current so you are not dropped.

If you are looking in the suburbs, each county has its own authority with its own list. The DuPage Housing Authority Housing Choice Voucher wait list last opened May 10, 2022, and before that in 2019. All nine waiting lists at DuPage Housing Authority have been closed to new applicants. DuPage does open its Project-Based Voucher lists more often. DuPage opened PBV waitlists March 6 through April 3, 2024, selecting 300 applicants per waitlist by random lottery rather than first-come-first-served. For Lake County, the Lake County Housing Authority directs Section 8 applicants to check their waitlist status at waitlistcheck.com. One common point of confusion: the state agency does not run vouchers. The Illinois Housing Development Authority does not issue or accept applications for Housing Choice Vouchers and tells applicants to contact a local public housing agency. Because openings are rare and often announced with as little as 48 hours notice, set up online accounts (RENTCafe for DuPage) ahead of time.

Illinois is one of the better states for voucher holders because landlords cannot legally reject you just for using Section 8. Governor Pritzker signed HB 2775 in May 2022, making source-of-income discrimination in real estate a civil rights violation effective January 1, 2023. Local law is even older. The city of Chicago outlawed source-of-income discrimination in 1999, and the Illinois Human Rights Act was expanded in January 2023. The Cook County Human Rights Ordinance prohibits discrimination based on legal source of income such as a housing voucher and applies to all housing units in Cook County, regardless of building size or owner occupancy. What this bans in practice: refusing to rent to a qualified voucher holder, posting 'No Section 8' ads, and refusing routine voucher paperwork or inspections. On income screening, a landlord may only count the tenant's portion of the rent when using a minimum income standard, because the granting agency has already determined the person can pay their share.

The law is strong on paper, but tenants should be realistic about how long complaints take. As of May 2, 2025, the Chicago Commission on Human Relations had 226 cases pending, 188 at the investigation stage, with each investigator carrying about 31 cases. Of more than 300 source-of-income complaints filed with the commission between January 2018 and March 2025, only seven complainants received rulings. Discrimination remains common on the ground. In fair housing testing, landlords in low-poverty opportunity areas who were not in CHA's voucher program discriminated against white testers with vouchers 55% of the time, refusing to rent outright in 39% of tests. The courts are another path. In August 2024 Mikia Knighten filed one of the first Cook County lawsuits under the expanded Illinois Human Rights Act after losing her CHA voucher when landlords repeatedly turned her away. If you are rejected, document everything (texts, emails, ads) and file quickly.

Voucher use in Chicago is heavily concentrated by geography and race. Last year CHA administered 41,000 vouchers and HACC issued more than 13,000, with the vast majority concentrated in majority-Black ZIP codes on the South and West sides and in south suburban Cook County. More than 42,000 people received CHA vouchers as of last year, 88.9% of whom were Black and 82.8% women. Landlords in South and West side neighborhoods are more familiar with the program, so leasing there is often easier, but those areas have faced decades of disinvestment. To move to higher-opportunity areas, use CHA's mobility program. Mobility Areas are neighborhoods with under 20% poverty and low crime; the Mobility Counseling Program helps families find housing there, and families not already living in a Mobility Area can get a $1,000 grant. HACC has used Small Area Fair Market Rents since 2013 to raise payment standards in resource-rich suburban ZIP codes.

Your voucher covers rent above your tenant share (generally about 30% of adjusted income) up to a payment standard tied to Fair Market Rent, which varies by ZIP code under Small Area FMR rules. Income limits set who can qualify. For a household of four, the current Very Low Income limit for Section 8 eligibility in the Chicago-Joliet-Naperville HUD Metro FMR Area is $59,950. That is based on an area median income of $119,900, effective April 1, 2025. Because payment standards are higher in low-poverty ZIP codes, a voucher can stretch further in an opportunity area, though you may face more landlord resistance there. Families living in Mobility Areas can receive higher rent assistance, available on their own through the HCV program or with help from the Mobility Counseling Program. When you get a voucher, you submit a Request for Tenancy Approval packet before moving in and CHA inspects the unit and sets the approved rent.