Shriver Center on Poverty Law

Last Thursday was #DisabledWomensEqualPayDay - a reminder that disabled women and femmes hold up our communities yet still face deep pay gaps and barriers. We call on Congress to pass the TCIEA for fair wages & healthcare.
[tinyurl.com/DWEPD25]
#EconomicJustice #DisabilityEmployment

When housing justice is on hold, lives are too.
Federal funds for safer affordable housing were frozen—leaving Lakeside Tower residents waiting for repairs.
We stand with tenants to end this freeze and fight for safe, stable homes for all.

@nhlp.bsky.social

If you suspect you’ve been discriminated against based on your source of income, it’s important to collect as much info as possible:

WHO you interacted with,
WHAT was said,
WHEN the interaction took place, &
WHERE you were renting or trying to rent

#KnowYourRights. Stand up to discrimination.

If a landlord refuses to rent to you or treats you differently because of how you pay rent, you may have experienced #SourceOfIncome discrimination. Landlords can ask how a tenant supports themselves & can require proof of income, but cannot treat types of income differently.
#KnowYourRights

For low-income Black women especially, closing the #WageGap would put the actual money they’ve earned in their pocket to take care of themselves and their families. Anything less simply isn't acceptable. #BlackWomensEqualPayDay share.equalrights.org/s/9NdrJve7

In Illinois, a landlord cannot require you to pay with wage income (money you get from a job), but must also accept any lawful form of non-wage income. At the Shriver Center on Poverty Law, we're working to enforce these protections, and ensure stable housing.
#KnowYourRights

The U.S. House just passed the federal budget reconciliation bill, a cruel transfer of wealth from people living in poverty to the ultra-wealthy.

We were founded to fight back against 1996’s “welfare reform.” We’re still here and we will not be silent. Read more: www.povertylaw.org/article/the-...

Leading through crisis: Five years at the helm of the Shriver Center - Shriver Center on Poverty Law June marks my fifth anniversary as president and CEO of the Shriver Center on Poverty Law, but it feels like a lifetime ago, or like it happened on an alternate timeline.

Audra Wilson took over as the head of the Shriver Center five years ago. She reflects on her tenure, which began at the height of the COVID pandemic and George Floyd uprisings. As crises have become the new norm, she urges nonprofits to be nimble enough to adapt to changing needs. bit.ly/4evmLqh

Illinois’ 2026 budget fails to protect residents from federal attacks on healthcare & food aid. We proposed bold solutions — but lawmakers didn’t go far enough. The fight isn’t over.
Read our full response: www.povertylaw.org/article/illi...
#MobilizetoDefendDemocracy #FY26

Need a beach read? Check out our June newsletter! This month we’re discussing:

🎉 President & CEO Audra Wilson’s first 5 years
🤝 How you can help defend democracy with us
📝 The 2026 state budget + legislative session

Plus, upcoming trainings and more in this month’s wrap-up: bit.ly/newssignups

There’s No Room for White Fragility in the Fight for Racial Justice - Shriver Center on Poverty Law Attacks on critical race theory are attempts to deny the American origin story: a century of slavery, the genocide of Indigenous peoples, and legalized discrimination.

Tomorrow, we celebrate #Juneteenth, when slavery was abolished in the U.S.

Reflecting on progress & work ahead, President & CEO Audra Wilson wrote: “Minimizing, sanitizing, or rejecting the existence of racism doesn’t make it vanish: it reinforces it.” www.povertylaw.org/article/no-r...

Wage inequality for LGBTQIA+ people is real — and worse at the margins. 📉 LGBTQIA+ people of color, immigrants, trans and nonbinary folks face even greater economic insecurity. We fight for pay equity because our community deserves to thrive, not just survive. #PrideInYourPay #LGBTQIAEqualPay

Crestwood tenants lived in inhumane conditions for years due to mismanagement. Our housing justice team secured hotel stays for tenants & won critical repairs.

Your gift power legal advocacy & tenant justice. w/our Board's $20k match, your gift doubles: tinyurl.com/5d8t9vnv

Today:

-We'll talk with Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch and Senate Republican Leader John Curran.
-We'll hear from leaders at @shrivercenter.bsky.social and @ilblackadvocacy.bsky.social about what the state budget means for their constituents.

It's all at 11:
will.illinois.edu/am/willplayer

This spring we're mobilizing to defend democracy & we need your help.

We're defending people's power, rights, & voices. Our Board of Directors is matching gifts $-for-$ up to $20K, so your gift = double the impact.

Donate today: www.povertylaw.org/2025-mobiliz...

In this month's newsletter, we’re featuring:

🤝How you can help defend democracy with us
🏡Our work toward safe & stable housing for reentering Illinoisans
📝A convening cohosted by our Legal Impact Network

Plus, our new donor newsletter, trainings, & more: www.povertylaw.org/get-involved...

Illinois has a $2 billion budget deficit, jeopardizing so many things that we rely on and want to improve: public transportation, access to health care, and more. But progressive tax solutions can generate more revenue from corporations and the ultra-rich.
illinoisrevenuealliance.org

Tell Your Legislators to Save the Pretrial Success Program! In 2023, Illinois became the first state in the country to end money bond and expand access to the presumption of innocence. With more people returning to the community, the Pretrial Success pilot pro...

The Pretrial Success program expands access to mental health & substance use disorder support, transportation, and child care for people awaiting trial.

Budget cuts are putting these essential services in jeopardy, tell your legislators to protect them: actionnetwork.org/letters/tell...

Congressional Republicans released their bill to gut Medicaid in order to pay for tax cuts for the rich. It cuts the heart out of Medicaid & the ACA, resulting in millions losing coverage & billions in lost state funding.

We must push back. Use this script to make your voice heard: bit.ly/4kiGYl5

We've submitted a witness slip in support of safe and stable housing — have you?

The Wage Gap Robs Mothers of What They’re Owed - National Women's Law Center In 2023, the most recent data available, mothers working full time, year-round were typically paid only 74 cents for every dollar paid to full-time, year-round working fathers.

In 2023, working moms were paid just 74 cents for every dollar dads were paid. That lost $19K each year could have paid for more than six months of groceries, six months of child care, and five months of rent. #MomsEqualPayDay nwlc.org/resource/equ...

Update on our 2025 legislative agenda - Shriver Center on Poverty Law Despite the challenging climate, our advocates are working tirelessly to win support for our legislative agenda for Illinois, which envisions a state where everyone can thrive. While it’s impossible t...

To be blunt: this has been a challenging climate to advocate for economic & racial justice.

Our advocates are working tirelessly toward a state where everyone can thrive. Regardless of how the legislative session plays out, we’re ready to meet the moment: www.povertylaw.org/article/upda...

100 days of chaos. 100 days of broken promises.
Trump is committed to slashing Medicaid by BILLIONS — ripping health care away from seniors, children, and veterans to fund tax breaks for billionaires. #HandsOffMedicaid

Republicans in Congress are trying to gut #Medicaid. The move would cut health coverage for millions of Americans only to fund $4.5 trillion in tax breaks for billionaires. Contact your lawmakers and demand they protect Medicaid now. Details here: 👇

bit.ly/3ENoslF
@protectourcare.org

We're in the Illinois capitol today with the coalition Home for Good telling lawmakers to fund housing programs for people leaving prison. These initiatives reduce recidivism and homelessness. Tell your state electeds you support Home for Good by signing 2 letters. It takes 1 minute!
bit.ly/4iAEAVq

The White House puts fair housing on the chopping block - Shriver Center on Poverty Law Proposed budget cuts threaten fair housing enforcement, putting millions at risk of discrimination and instability. By slashing funding for frontline organizations and gutting HUD’s enforcement capaci...

#FairHousing is under attack.

These budget cuts would put millions at risk of discrimination & instability, & make it harder to hold bad actors accountable.
We'll fight in the courts & in coalition w/our partners to ensure #HousingIsAHumanRight for ALL. More here: www.povertylaw.org/article/hud-...

Understanding the wide-reaching impacts of Medicaid cuts - Shriver Center on Poverty Law The Shriver Center's Hana Urban spoke to Stephanie Altman, director of healthcare justice and senior director of policy, to discuss what cuts to Medicaid could mean for Illinois and lessons from the f...

Medicaid touches every part of the health care system & economy.

But proposed cuts would put 3.5mil Illinoisans in danger of losing health coverage. Stephanie Altman, director of healthcare justice, broke down what the cuts could mean for IL & lessons from 2016: www.povertylaw.org/article/step...

It's wrap-up time! In this month's newsletter, we discuss:

⚖️ The fight for #justice amidst national threats
🏥 #Medicaid cuts impact w/Stephanie Altman, director of healthcare justice
🏘️ How #HUD cuts endanger fair housing

Plus, housing wins, #KnowYourRights trainings, & more: tinyurl.com/bd2n7b72

The Wage Gap #IRL (In Real Life) for Women of Color

The wage gap is worse for women of color and disabled women – impacting their ability to accumulate savings for emergencies, retirement and generational wealth. When we close the gap for everyone, we all win. #EqualPayDay share.equalrights.org/s/gaUTa4mC

Shriver Center on Poverty Law The Shriver Center on Poverty Law is leading the fight for economic and racial justice by litigating, shaping policy, and training and connecting people in the advocacy community.

15 years ago, the #AffordableCareAct was signed into law.

The ACA gave access to health benefits for millions, a first in our country’s history. Healthcare is a human right, & despite recurring threats, we will continue fighting for the ACA.

Join us in protecting healthcare access: povertylaw.org.