On October 4, 2022, Professors Jason Mazzone and Robin Fretwell Wilson co-authored an op-ed for the News-Gazette, based on the findings that were published in their recent report on race and eviction during the pandemic. An excerpt follows:

How smooth or rough the next few months prove to be for renters in financial difficulty will depend on multiple factors. Our surveys clearly reflected the effects of national and state moratoriums on court processing of most eviction cases, in effect through much of 2020 and 2021. Now that these moratoriums have ended, there is a backlog of cases.

Most states have seen a sharp rise in eviction filings in 2022, but the patterns are far from uniform, and there is variation from city to city within states.

Whether a deep housing crisis emerges will depend, in part, on whether core inflation rises further, levels off or falls. One point of debate at present is how much the pandemic and moratoriums caused the supply of rental units to fall, adding another source of stress. We think that further issues about court operations are important but underappreciated.

Read the full op-ed at news-gazette.com. 

Note: The views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Illinois College of Law.