UPDATE: IAR's Howard Handler reports that shortly after the article on property blacklisting ran in the Evanston newspaper, Northwestern University removed the list from its website. 

2/24/2012

The North Shore Barrington Association of REALTORS® has filed a report with Evanston officials accusing the city of blacklisting properties around Northwestern University.  (Article, Evanston Review.) 

The city issued a list in September of 52 properties that it determined had code violations and were possibly overcrowded. The list was seen as a guide for students making housing choices in advance of returning to school last year.

Said Howard Handler, a government affairs director for the Illinois Association of REALTORS® who works with the North Shore Barrington association: 

“I’ve never seen anything like this before, where the city issues a boycott list like this. Where is there authority to do this?” 

Handler noted in the article that the city's policy amounted to creating a "government blacklist." The association's report found cases where properties were placed on the city's list despite there being no violations, or in some cases very minor violations.