News Archive

Professor Fran Quigley, ’87, and IU McKinney 3L Katie Whitley worked with civic organization leaders to write an opinion piece on the eviction crisis in Indiana. The piece was published in the Indianapolis Star on August 30.

The piece, titled Indiana is in crisis. Our governor and mayors need to start acting like it, the op-ed notes the latest numbers from the Indiana Housing and Community Development Association note that only 7.41% of the funds available for rent and utility assistance has been distributed to renters and landlords. Agencies need more workers to help to distribute the money, and they are woefully understaffed.

In addition to Professor Quigley (in the photo above) and Whitley (in the photo at left), who wrote on behalf of the Health and Human Rights Clinic, the piece was co-authored by the Reverend David W. Greene Sr., president of the Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis; Amy Nelson, executive director of the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana; and Adam Mueller, executive director of the Indiana Justice Project.

Professor Quigley and Whitely were among the researchers who released a report titled “How Indiana Courts Can Prevent Evictions: Responding to a Looming Public Health and Economic Crisis.” Over 250,000 Indiana families are at risk of eviction, economic analyses show. Among the report’s findings: many landlords are not taking advantage of tenant assistance funds and government agencies still have tens of millions of dollars available to help; almost two of every three Hoosier renters has to spend more than they can afford on even modest housing; and Indiana laws and court procedures do not yet include eviction prevention measures like mandatory mediation.

Professor Quigley also talked about Indiana’s lack of tenant protections for a story in the Indianapolis Star about deplorable conditions in an Indianapolis multifamily housing project on the north side. “In my opinion, Indiana law should have the right for a tenant to withhold part of their rent on the basis of conditions not being habitable and that be a defense to non-payment of the full amount of rent: that there is a hole in the roof, or the door has been broken down, or it is winter and the heating doesn’t work,” Professor Quigley said in the story. The issue hasn’t been resolved in Indiana law and many judges do not believe tenants have the right to withhold rent over conditions of habitability. The story also published August 30.

Professor Quigley is a clinical professor of law and teaches in the Health and Human Rights Clinic. Clinic students advocate for the rights of the poor, with a focus on individual and systemic barriers to accessing healthcare and the social determinants of health. He is the author of several academic journal articles on social justice and human rights, multiple mass media articles and columns, and four books, including most recently Prescription for the People: An Activist's Guide to Making Medicine Affordable for All (Cornell University Press, 2017). Prior to his work at the law school, he served as the first Chief of Staff for Congresswoman Julia Carson and as the executive director of ACLU of Indiana.  He edits the newsletter Faith in Healthcare and contributes to and helps edit the publications of the Religious Socialism working group of the Democratic Socialists of America.