The Swedish economist Gunnar Myrdal wrote “Rent control has in certain Western countries constituted, maybe, the worst example of poor planning by Governments lacking courage and vision.”
Well, the people trying to “lift the ban” on rent control are back at it
Oppose Rent Control Landlords who are not in favor of the repeal of the law prohibiting the imposition of rent control by local governmental bodies should file yet another witness slip in opposition to HB116 – House Committee Amendment 1. Even if you submitted a witness slip against the original bill, a witness slip against … Read more
Illinois Landlords – Act FastWhat could be better for Illinois landlords than a year-long eviction moratorium after a global pandemic? Rent Control! That’s right. Representative Will Guzzardi is back AGAIN with House Bill 116 – attempting to repeal the Rent Control Preemption Act. If passed,
UPDATE: the City has released the official text of the ordinance
The Mayor asked you landlords to give tenants some grace. She is now imposing grace upon you. So much for your housing solidarity pledge. Apparently, you landlords can’t be trusted to give grace voluntarily. The City of Chicago Housing Committee met this afternoon (6/15/2020) and after about three hours of debate, passed the Mayor’s Covid-19 “Eviction Protection Ordinance” on to the full City Council for a vote on Wednesday, June 17, 2020 at 10am. This is a new Chicago ordinance that will apply to residential (not commercial) properties. We have what we think is an early copy of the law. So, based on that, let’s take a dive into what is likely to pass into law on Wednesday (6/17/2020).
Covid-19 Legislation stallsThis was a hard-fought battle. The tenants’ rights advocates are blaming the money paid to state representatives by the real estate industry, but just as likely was in-fighting between City and suburban legislators about how much relief money would go to Chicagoans versus others throughout the state. The end result is that
Rep. Delia Ramirez has filed another amendment to the proposed SB3066 “COVID-19 Emergency and Economic Recovery Renter and Homeowner Protection Act”. I am hearing that this was done to resolve some of the complaints about the law. I am also hearing that this is likely to go to a vote tonight.
What’s Wrong Here?Obviously, there is quite a bit of activity going on today (5/22/20) regarding SB3066. This law has it all – rent cancellation, government control of landlords, eviction moratorium, and eviction sealing. This is going to HURT housing providers. What if the State of Illinois passed a law allowing people to just take what they want from the 7-11 store because of Covid-19 hardship? That’s what they are proposing here. Government sponsored theft.
Let’s take a look at some of the key points:
Somehow, Representative Delia Ramirez has filed an amendment (HFA2) to a SENATE bill known as SB3066. We had been waiting for Senator Robert Peters to file this. So, what happened? Yesterday’s hearing on the house bill probably didn’t go so well, so they’ve amended a senate bill and are looking to try again in the … Read more
UPDATE: THIS LINKED CALL TO ACTION IS MORE IMPORTANT ON 5/22/20 This morning (5/21/20) at 10am, the State House of Representatives Executive Committee is going to be voting on the very anti-landlord House Bill 5574 Amendment 1 sponsored by Rep. Delia C. Ramirez that will CANCEL the obligation of tenants to pay rent due to … Read more
Big week for new legislation at City Hall?We’ve heard that in addition to the Covid-inspired rent forgiveness statute proposed by Rep. Ramirez (and a similar provision likely to be proposed in the Illinois Senate), it is likely that there will be a bit more movement in the City Council this week. One of the complaints of city aldermen about the Chicago Housing Solidarity Pledge is that the pledge is… voluntary. We can’t just have landlords being nice all on their own, can we? Instead,