TakeRoot Justice

TakeRoot Justice
Name	TakeRoot Justice
Formation	2017
Type	Nonprofit organization
Headquarters	Chicago, Illinois
Region served	United States
Focus	Housing rights, tenant advocacy, public-interest law
Leader title	Executive Director

TakeRoot Justice

TakeRoot Justice is a Chicago-based public-interest legal organization focused on tenant rights, community lawyering, and housing justice. Founded in 2017, the group engages in strategic litigation, community organizing, and policy advocacy to defend renters, preserve affordable housing, and challenge displacement. Its work intersects with civil rights litigation, municipal policy campaigns, and grassroots alliances that include American Civil Liberties Union, National Housing Law Project, and local community organizations across Cook County and other metropolitan regions.

History

TakeRoot Justice was established in the aftermath of foreclosure crises and rising rent burdens that followed the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent housing market shifts. Its founders included public-interest lawyers and community organizers who previously worked with groups such as Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Shannon County Housing Coalition, and legal clinics connected to University of Chicago Law School and Northwestern University School of Law. Early work concentrated on impact litigation and tenant defense in neighborhoods affected by gentrification and large-scale property acquisition by private equity firms, including cases that paralleled national efforts involving entities like Blackstone Group, Invitation Homes, and Equity Residential. TakeRoot Justice grew alongside campaigns for municipal tenant protections seen in cities such as New York City, San Francisco, and Seattle.

Mission and Objectives

TakeRoot Justice's stated mission centers on preventing displacement, expanding tenant protections, and preserving affordable housing stock through legal representation, policy reform, and community empowerment. Objectives explicitly include enforcing anti-discrimination statutes such as the Fair Housing Act, defending tenants under state landlord-tenant codes like those in Illinois General Assembly statutes, and litigating against predatory real-estate practices exemplified in complaints filed against corporate landlords. The organization coordinates with national actors such as National Low Income Housing Coalition and civil-rights litigators who have engaged with courts including the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Programs and Activities

TakeRoot Justice operates several interlocking programs: a tenant defense clinic providing eviction representation modeled on legal aid frameworks used by Legal Services Corporation grantees; affirmative litigation targeting displacement comparable to suits brought by ACLU of Illinois; policy campaigns promoting ordinances similar to those passed in Minneapolis and Oakland; and community-legal education initiatives conducted with partners like Chicago Community Trust and local advocacy groups. It also files amicus briefs and class-action complaints in federal and state courts, often leveraging precedents set in cases such as those adjudicated by the Illinois Appellate Court and invoking statutory remedies under state housing codes. TakeRoot Justice provides training for community organizers akin to programs at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and hosts convenings with tenant unions and coalitions modeled after coalitions in Los Angeles and Philadelphia.

Organizational Structure and Funding

The organization is structured with a board of directors, an executive leadership team, staff attorneys, community organizers, and a fellows program for early-career public-interest lawyers. Governance draws from nonprofit best practices seen at organizations like Public Counsel, with committees overseeing litigation, policy, development, and community engagement. Funding sources include grants from philanthropic foundations comparable to MacArthur Foundation, Ford Foundation, and local family foundations; litigation-support gifts; and individual donations. TakeRoot Justice has also received support through collaborative grants alongside municipal initiatives from offices such as the Chicago Department of Housing and partnerships with legal services networks funded by the Illinois Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission.

Impact and Advocacy

TakeRoot Justice has secured tenant protections through settlements, injunctive relief, and favorable appellate rulings that prevented evictions, preserved rental affordability, and enforced habitability standards under city codes. Its advocacy contributed to local policy debates over rent stabilization and tenant screening practices, aligning with campaigns in Newark and Boston that targeted tenant screening reforms. The group’s litigation strategies have been cited in municipal policy reports and have informed advocacy by national organizations including National Housing Conference and Enterprise Community Partners. TakeRoot Justice also amplifies tenant narratives in media outlets and collaborates with researchers at institutions like University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and University of Chicago to document displacement trends.

Criticisms and Controversies

Critics have questioned the organization’s litigation-first strategies, arguing they can strain relations with municipal officials and complicate negotiation tactics used by housing authorities in cities such as Chicago and Los Angeles. Some landlord associations and trade groups—paralleling positions taken by entities like National Multifamily Housing Council—have challenged TakeRoot Justice’s class-action approaches and sought legislative responses at statehouses including the Illinois General Assembly. Internal critics within activist networks have debated resource allocation between direct legal services and broader organizing, a tension similar to those seen in other public-interest organizations like ACLU affiliates. Additionally, commentators have scrutinized funding from national foundations, raising questions about alignment between donor priorities and community-led agendas central to grassroots movements in neighborhoods across Cook County and comparable metropolitan areas.

Category:Non-profit organizations based in Chicago Category:Tenant rights organizations