CHICAGO, Sept. 8, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The John Marshall Law School will honor fair housing law pioneer F. Willis "Bill" Caruso tonight at a dinner in his honor.

Caruso, who retired from John Marshall in January, has been a force in fair housing for nearly 50 years. He was a clinical professor of law and co-executive director of The John Marshall Law School Fair Housing Legal Clinic from 1994 to 2015.  
 
Prior to joining John Marshall, Caruso was the general counsel of the Leadership Council for Metropolitan Open Communities and the general counsel for the Chicago Housing Authority. He has litigated over a thousand fair housing cases including the US Supreme Court cases The Village of Arlington Heights v Metropolitan Housing Development Corp. and Gladstone Realtors v Village of Bellwood. He also has written numerous articles and a textbook on fair housing and lending.
 
In addition to his work in fair housing, Caruso has provided pro bono services in thousands of cases. In 2013, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the Chicago Chapter of the Federal Bar Association honored him with its Excellence in Public Interest Service award. Earlier this year the National Fair Housing Alliance at its annual national conference honored Caruso for his work.
 
The tribute dinner for Caruso will take place during the law school's annual fair housing conference. The conference will also review the 150^th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, the 50^th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's Crusade for Open Housing in Chicago and the passage of the Chicago Fair Housing Ordinance.
 
Caruso's untiring advocacy has steered the city and the country toward more innovative enforcement of fair housing laws.