Is housing discrimination illegal even if the action wasn’t intended?

According to the Fair Housing Act, yes.

Should the federal government go after errant housing providers in those scenarios? Well, that depends on the president.

In 2013, Barack Obama codified what’s known as the “disparate impact” rule, in other words, recognizing discriminatory practices not motivated by discriminatory intent. The Biden administration reinstated the rule. Now President Donald Trump seeks to roll it back by preventing agencies from investigating housing discrimination complaints.

Still, the disparate impact remains legal — federally and locally. And Illinois ensured extra protections by codifying disparate impact into state law. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has reduced the workforce in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and is antagonistic toward fair housing.

Let’s go back to the legal origins. In 1966, Martin Luther King Jr. spent time in the city for the Chicago Freedom Movement, which protested housing segregation and slums. Part of that campaign sent Black people to real estate offices, and agents told them they had no listings. Soon after, the campaign sent white people to the same offices, and agents gave them listings. After King’s assassination in 1968, Congress quickly passed the Fair Housing Act. The civil rights law prohibited discrimination against people trying to rent or buy a home. Race, sex and national origin are among the protected classes.

Today that King campaign is called “testing,” and fair housing organizations continue the practice. They send two people — one pair Black and one pair white — with otherwise similar profiles to visit the same housing provider. The volunteers are trained to see how they are treated and report back if discrimination occurs. State and local fair housing centers do a variety of education and fight discrimination — to the chagrin of the Trump administration, which has also sought to gut their funding. To advance fair housing, HUD is a primary source of financing. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, along with other states, filed a lawsuit to challenge the attacks. Some contracts have been reinstated, but not every center received back money.

“A lot of our worst fears have kind of already happened. We know that it’s going to take at least a decade to rebuild the federal infrastructure to what it was before with the number of federal workers,” said Emily Coffey of the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights. “What we had a couple of years ago was never enough. We are still one of the most segregated cities in the country. What worries me the most is that we won’t be able to sustain what we have, and rebuilding that is so much more challenging than just weathering a storm.”

To counter the political climate, fair housing groups have formed the Illinois Housing Equity Collective, which seeks $5 million from the state for fair housing enforcement. So far philanthropy has contributed to the collective.

Michael Chavarria leads HOPE Fair Housing Center, which serves DuPage and Kane counties and parts of Northern Illinois. The mixed messaging from the federal government has prevented growth and also caused rearranging their budget while waiting on reimbursements. He doesn’t want to tap into reserves to cover a bill when the federal government promised that money.

“Just last year we held over 40 events that were targeted at training individuals, be it housing seekers, housing providers, local government. We reached about 3,500 people through our online educational campaigns. We reached almost 750,000 people across Illinois. So we really aim to prevent discrimination by making sure everyone knows their rights and responsibilities. We do not want to have to sue people,” Chavarria said.

Illinois finds itself once again on the front lines of protecting residents — see reproductive, immigration or First Amendment rights. And now must add fair housing, which Trump pushed against just last week by refusing to sign a bipartisan housing affordability bill.

The reason? He first wants Congress to approve the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE America Act — legislation designed to create more inequity and burn democracy to the ground.

Natalie Y. Moore is a senior lecturer at Northwestern University.

The Indiana Fever will be without Caitlin Clark when they face the Los Angeles Sparks on Saturday, June 27 (8 p.m. ET, CBS).

Clark exited the Fever’s 111-109 loss to the Mercury on Wednesday with 5:15 remaining in the third quarter because of an ongoing back issue. She will not play Saturday because of the injury.

“She’s OK. She’s gonna be out on Saturday, but she’s doing all right,” White said Friday.

“No indication (of how long she’ll be out). Obviously, it’s a good time because we have all week next week. So, we’ll take this opportunity just to get her treatment, get her healthy, get her back on the floor and see what happens.”

More: Caitlin Clark made the WNBA bigger. It’s still playing small | Opinion

After Saturday’s matchup against the Sparks, Indiana does not play again until Sunday, July 5, giving Clark more than a week of rest.

What time is Indiana Fever vs Los Angeles Sparks game?

• Date: Saturday, June 27
• Time: 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT)
• Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse (Indianapolis)

The Fever and Sparks play at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 27, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

What TV channel is Indiana Fever vs Los Angeles Sparks game on today?

• TV: CBS
• Stream: Paramount+

The Iowa Events Center could soon get a new operator as Polk County leaders consider putting the complex’s management contract up for bid for the first time since its opening. 

Polk County officials are poised to bid out a management contract for the Iowa Events Center complex in downtown Des Moines as its current agreement with the Oak View Group expires this year.

Polk County supervisors in mid-June voted 3-2 to hire the event center’s representative, JLL Consulting, to help select and oversee its next operator during the first year. That agreement will cost $197,500, county documents show. Outgoing supervisors Angela Connolly and Tom Hockensmith voted against the move.

Connolly said the county could use a consultant to better understand the complex’s operations and budget. Still, she and Hockensmith agreed it would be difficult for a new firm to outdo Oak View Group’s success.

“And it just seems to me that we are trying to fix something here that is not broken,” Hockensmith said.

The county-owned Iowa Events Center complex is Des Moines’ primary convention center and arena. The complex includes the EMC Expo Center — previously Hy-Vee Hall — Community Choice Convention Center and the Casey’s Center. Formerly the Wells Fargo Arena, the nearly 17,000-seat arena was renamed the Casey’s Center in July 2025.

The events center has hosted acts such as Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift and The Eagles.

Oak View Group has managed the events center since acquiring in 2021 its original contractor, Global Spectrum/Spectra, which had held the contract since 2004. The firm describes itself as a full-service venue management company that helps clients host sports, live entertainment and conventions, according to the complex’s website.

The Iowa Events Center brought in about $1.8 million to the county in fiscal year 2025, which began July 1, 2024, general manager Chris Connolly told the Des Moines Register. As they close out the 2026 fiscal year, they’re projecting about $2 million in revenue. In the 2024 fiscal year, the events center had its best operating year, raking in more than $3 million, Connolly said.

He points to the firm’s role in selling the naming rights of the arena to Casey’s and the expo center to EMC Insurance. Before the arena opened in 2005, Wells Fargo paid $11.5 million for the naming rights for 20 years. Casey’s paid $18.3 million to have the rights for 10 years.

Beyond the numbers, “we’ve forged relationships with these people for years and think that that is huge,” he said of partnerships with corporations like Casey’s and EMC.

Connolly said the Oak View Group was told last fall that the county would likely hire a consultant and the management contract could be out for bid. That’s standard practice, he said.

“None of it was a surprise. We get it,” Connolly said. “Like I said, I think our performance speaks for itself, so I’m not worried about that. If a consultant wants to come in and take a look at it, maybe there’s some efficiencies that can be improved.”

He said Oak View Group would bid on the contract should the county issue a request for proposals.

“I almost see this as going through a process … and whatever direction that goes, we’ll be ready for it,” Connolly said.