Advancing the Fair Housing Agenda

This year’s annual conference will address some of the most pressing issues facing the fair housing community today.A major focus of the conference will be climate and disaster relief and their relationship to housing and lending discrimination. Fires, hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, and severe drought affect the cost and availability of insurance and may give rise to new forms of redlining.Artificial intelligence affects who can rent or buy a home. Can it also be used by fair housing advocates as a tool to fight discrimination?Is the Nation positioned to meet another foreclosure crisis?How do we make effective use of federal and state fair housing laws to ensure equal access to housing for people because of criminal records, source of income, lack of accessibility, and other barriers that impact protected classes?How do we promote the fair housing agenda in times of stress and division with diminishing resources?Because many fair housing organizations and agencies are facing economic challenges that affect their survival, every effort has been made to keep this conference affordable and accessible to all. Your participation is crucial to ensure the nation’s commitment to the fair housing agenda.

CLE credit is extended to Illinois attorneys only. Attorneys who need CLE from other states are welcome to apply to their jurisdictions on their own. The extension of CLE credit is subject to each states approval.

September 4 and 5, 2025

Thursday, September 4

8:45 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. WelcomeNicky Boothe, Dean, UIC School of Law

Michael Seng, Director, UIC Fair Housing Legal Support Center

9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. Keynote Address: New Issues in Fair Housing Law and Litigation

Robert Schwemm, Professor Emeritus, University of Kentucky

10:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. Break

10:15 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Using Litigation to Advance the Law in Uncertain Times

Robert Schwemm, Moderator

Sara Pratt, Consultant

John Relman, Partner, Relman Colfax, PLLC

Steven H. Rosenbaum, Former Chief of the Special Litigation Section and Former Chief of the Housing and Civil Enforcement Section, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice (Retired 2024)

Steve Tomkowiak, Executive Director, Fair Housing Center of Metropolitan Detroit

12:00 p.m.– 1:00 p.m. Lunch - Informal Luncheon Discussion on Funding Fair Housing Enforcement

1:00 p.m.– 2:30 p.m. Using AI to Advance Fair Housing/Fair Lending

Heather Abraham, Director, Civil Rights and Housing Clinic, SUNY-University at Buffalo, Moderator

Chris Brancart, Partner, Brancart & Brancart

Danielle Root, Attorney, Relman, Colfax PLLC

Eric Sublett, Partner, Relman, Colfax PLLC

2:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. Break

2:45 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Advancing Fair Housing through State Legislation and Enforcement

Allison Bethel, Clinical Director, Fair Housing Legal Clinic, UIC Law, Moderator

Heather Abraham

Stella Adams, Stella Adams Consulting

Amy Meek, Deputy Director, Illinois Department of Human Rights

John Petruszak, Executive Director, South Suburban Fair Housing

Sara Pratt, Consultant

4:30 p.m. Reception

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Friday, September 5

9:00 a.m.– 10:30 a.m. The New Redlining: Disaster Relief, Climate Change, and Ensuring Fair Access to Home Insurance

Greg Squires, Professor Emeritus, George Washington University -- Moderator

Birny Birnbaum, Director, Center for Economic Justice

Douglas Heller, Director of Insurance, Consumer Federation of America

Caroline Nagy, Associate Director for Housing, Americans for Financial Reform

10:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. Break

10:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. What We Should Be Doing to Prepare for the Next Foreclosure Crisis?

Michael Seng -- Moderator

Calvin Bradford, Senior Research Fellow, Woodstock Institute

Serrater Chapman, Director of Applied Research, Woodstock Institute

Amy Nelson, Executive Director, Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana

11:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Break

12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. New Frontiers in Ensuring Accessible Housing for Persons with Disabilities

Ken Walden, Managing Attorney, Access Living -- Moderator

Michael Allen, Partner, Relman Colfax PLLC

Josefina Navar, Deputy Director of Hope Fair Housing

Katelyn Polk, Staff Attorney, Access Living

Sara Pratt, Consultant

1:30 p.m. Conclusion

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