Rally to push new Protecting Renters Ordinance held in Chicago's Edgewater

Lights out, no running water, broken A/C and bug infestations.

Stories of landlord and rental woes were shared this weekend at a rally in Edgewater to push for new renters' rights, which have remained unchanged for 40 years.

Tenant organizers, progressive aldermen and the Chicago DSA advocated for the passing of PRO, or the Protecting Renters Ordinance, which is considered to be a "comprehensive modernization" of the laws in place from 1986.

The ordinance would impact approximately 54% of Chicagoans who are renters.

The rally was held in the grassy area of Kathy Osterman Beach, with a precautionary tent for rain. 

25th ward alderman Byron Sigcho Lopez, who is the chair of City Council's Committee on Housing, began the rally. 

"40 years. Many things have changed," said Sigcho-Lopez. "But one thing hasn't changed: corporations and big developers don't want to pay their fair share, don't want to pay the first share," he said. 

Sigcho-Lopez was joined by 33rd Ward Alderwoman Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez and 35th Ward Alderman Anthony Quezada.

The PRO modernizations include the creation of a bill of rights, going after "junk fees," requiring annual registration of all rental units, and creating a new city office to handle complaints and enforcement. 

The PRO would also require landlords to provide a "just cause" for eviction or non-renewal, and include codifying legal representation for people facing eviction. 

"Evictions are violent," Sigcho-Lopez said, and called housing a human right. 

According to the Law Center for Better Housing, between 2010 and 2019, nearly every 1 in 25 renters and their families faced eviction every year. 

The landlords weren't the alders' only target. They did not shy away from pointing fingers at City Council. 

"Let's send a clear message to City Hall: We will not roll back tenant protections. We will not accept displacement as the price of living in Chicago," said Alderman Quezada. He called himself a lifelong renter and said that a majority of his constituents also rent.

CBS News Chicago has reported that some landlords have argued that, ultimately, the city can't make housing more affordable by making it more expensive to provide housing. 

Alderman Quezada fought back on that idea, saying, "Protecting tenants and building more housing are not competing goals. We can do both." 

PRO was first introduced by Mayor Brandon Johnson to City Council on June 29, who also spoke at the rally.
"We are building on decades of tireless advocacy by tenant organizers for housing justice," he said. 

Organizers from the Chaney Braggs Apartments tenant union, Belden Tenants Association and One Northside all spoke in support of PRO, including their own personal issues with renting. 

"Us as the tenants were going out, purchasing lights, plugging lamps in, leaving them in the hallways. We had LED stick lights at the top, battery-operated lights," Collins said, who helped form the Chaney Braggs tenant union. 

"There was no contact to management, no property management, no owner to discuss this with," said Collins.
She formed the Chaney Braggs tenant union with the help of Metropolitan Tenants Organization and Southside Together. 

In addition to landlord opposition, CBS News Chicago heard from critics who contend that the per-unit fee would make apartments less affordable and worry that just-cause eviction requirements could force landlords to renew leases for problem tenants. 

"$20 [per unit] is not going to break the Realtors Association. $20 is not going to do that," Sigcho-Lopez said. 

Canvassing the neighborhood followed, organized by the Chicago chapter of the DSA.

"This battle fits into a larger one being waged across our city and country. Their are two sides: the teachers, the baristas on one side, and the landlords on the other," Elena Gormley, co-chair, explained. "It is the working class against the bosses," Gormley said.

PRO is directly up against a counter ordinance, called FAIR, Fair and Accountable Illinois Rental Ordinance. It was proposed by the Budget Accountability Coalition and would directly scale back relocation fees for tenants and a "just cause" requirement for evictions and other lease terminations.