Champaign — Ch. 17 Human Rights § 17-58
Credit transactions
Operative Text
(a) Loans. It shall be unlawful to do any of the following acts based on unlawful discrimination: deny any person any of the services normally offered by such an institution; provide any person with any service which is different from, or provided in a different manner than, that which is provided to other persons similarly situated; deny or vary the terms of a loan; deny or vary the terms of a loan on the basis that a specific parcel of real estate offered as security is located in a specific geographical area; deny or vary the terms of a loan without having considered all of the regular and dependable income of each person who would be liable for repayment of the loan; or utilize lending standards that have no economic basis and which constitute unlawful discrimination. (b) Credit cards. Nothing contained in this article shall prohibit a financial institution or a person who offers credit cards from making an inquiry of: (1) The applicant's age, permanent residence, immigration status, or any additional information if such inquiry is for the purpose of determining the amount and probable continuance of income levels; (2) Credit history, or other pertinent element of credit-worthiness as provided in regulations of the State of Illinois, using any empirically derived credit system which considers age if such system is demonstrably and statistically sound; (3) Refusing to extend credit when required by or pursuant to any credit assistance program expressly authorized by law for an economically disadvantaged class of persons; (4) Credit assistance program expressly authorized by a nonprofit organization for its members of an economically disadvantaged class of persons; or (5) Special purpose credit program offered by a profit-making organization to meet special social need which meets standards prescribed by the State of Illinois in its regulations.
Champaign Ch. 17 § 17-58 addresses credit transactions in the context of human rights protections. Under this provision, lenders are prohibited from denying or altering loan terms, offering unequal service, or applying economically unsound lending standards on the basis of unlawful discrimination, including discrimination tied to the geographic location of a property offered as collateral. At the same time, the provision carves out specific situations where financial institutions and credit card issuers may lawfully inquire about age, residency, immigration status, or credit history, and may operate certain special-purpose or credit-assistance programs aimed at economically disadvantaged groups.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Property owners and managers who seek financing or are involved in real estate transactions should be aware that Champaign Ch. 17 § 17-58 places obligations on lenders that can affect how loan applications tied to specific properties are evaluated. A compliant lending institution considers all regular and dependable income of every person liable for repayment and does not vary loan terms based solely on a property's geographic location. Operators familiar with this provision are better positioned to recognize when a lender's practices may fall outside what the ordinance permits.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
Champaign Ch. 17 § 17-58 provides protections for individuals seeking loans or credit who may have experienced unequal treatment or denial of services based on unlawful discrimination. Tenants and prospective buyers who believe a lender has denied or varied loan terms, offered inferior service, or applied discriminatory lending standards may have grounds to raise a violation under this provision. General enforcement paths can include filing a complaint with the Champaign Human Relations Commission or consulting a tenant-rights or fair-housing organization for guidance on available options.
General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.
Generated November 10, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
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