Naperville Councilman Kevin Coyne says the City Council’s decision to require landlords to consider federal housing vouchers as income is the most recent example of government flexing its muscle to weaken society.
“It’s an expansion of government that’s harmful for at least one side,” Coyne told the DuPage Policy Journal. “Property owners shouldn’t be forced to enter into a program that ultimately will raise costs for them because of things like inspections and having to hire other professionals for different things.”
The council voted 5-4 to approve the measure, which also prohibits landlords from disqualifying so-called Housing Choice Voucher holders solely based on their Section 8 source of income.
Coyne expects the new law to come as a shock to many property owners, whom he insists aren’t even aware that the ordinance now exists.
“You don’t have to enter into the program until a Section 8 tenant actually approaches you with a voucher,” he said. “In any case, to tell a property owner you have to consider certain people is big government in every way.”
Coyne said even those who promoted the program are misguided about its effects.
“There’s the perception that this program and this ordinance are all diversity geared, but from what I’m being told a large number of the voucher recipients here in Naperville are white citizens,” he said.
According to the DuPage Housing Authority, approximately 2,700 vouchers are now in use across the county, with about 500, or 18 percent, of them being used in Naperville.
Joining Coyne in opposition to the measure were Mayor Steve Chirico and fellow council members Paul Hinterlong and Patty Gustin.
"It’s one thing to educate landlords and property owners about the need for diversity, but to continue to expand the scope of government is something else entirely," Coyne added.
Alerts Sign-up