Category: Latest News

MTO hosted its Annual Bowl-a-thon on Saturday, August 17, 2019 at Diversey River Bowl. More than 75 people participated in donating, bowling, and sharing their talents to ensure “fun” was key to MTO’s fundraiser. Thank you tenant leaders, contributors, supporters, staff, board, and volunteers for rolling a strike with us. So far, MTO raised $7,789 to support our Tenant Stabilization programs that prevent homelessness and displacement. We are only $211 from goal. If you missed the event or your opportunity to give, it’s not too late to take a turn with us as we prepare to roll a spare next! No gift is too small or too large in building the movement for housing justice, so if you can donate here or contact Aisha @aisha@tenants-rights.org.

MTO’s Annual BOWL-A-THON is around the corner and teams or filling up. Join a team, make a pledge, and just come out hang with fellow housing justice organizers, advocates, and tenant leaders.

At MTO we believe you and everyday people are the leaders of change within community and our society. We are all reflections of the positive change our communities and systems need, in order to listen, feel, act, and meet the needs of those most impacted by inequity. Thanks to all MTO supporters and contributors for investing in change with your time, energy, money, and talent to preserve access to affordable housing.

It costs $20 to answer a caller seeking information about their rights via MTO’s Tenants’ Rights Hotline. It costs $250 to assist a renting family through MTO’s Eviction and Displacement Prevention program. Eviction can costs a family over $2,000 to secure new housing; the cost is extends to student success, employee performance, and an entire’s family wellness and peace of mind. Therefore, no donation is too small or too large because change requires investment, and we are grateful for every penny shared.

If you haven’t had the opportunity (or wish to give a little more) to move and shake the needle for housing equity and stability for Cook County renters with MTO- now is your chance. Click here to donate today. We are $2,500 away from our end of fiscal year individual giving goal of $35,000. Help us reach this goal by June 30.

On, May 8th MTO held its Annual Spring Fundraiser “Champions of Freedom & Fairness”. This years’ theme paid homage to community groups and advocates working to advance housing justice. Awardees included, the National Public Housing Museum, Casa Maravilla Tenants Association, Kandyse McCoy-Cunningham, and Lifetime Housing Champion, Taft West. With the support of sponsors, donors, and members MTO raised $20,000 to support Chicago area renters seeking support and increase tenant stability to prevent homelessness. There is still time and opportunity for you to support tenant organizing and renter stability if you couldn’t join us last month at Masada Restaurant- click here for more information

Thank You to ALL our 2019 Sponsors

Diamond Sponsor- Related Midwest Gold Sponsors- West Town Law Offices; Faith & Mark Spencer; Chicago Community Loan Fund
Silver Sponsors– Community Investment Corporation (CIC); Elevate Energy; Joan Fenstersmaker Attorney at Law; Law Offices of Hall; Adams; Loevy & Loevy, Civil Rights, Law Firm; People’s Law Office;Viatorian Community of the Province of Chicago; Joseph Vitu, Attorney at Law; Think Inc.; Network-It-Easy ; Everywhere Wireless; Everywhere Wireless, Law Offices of Berton N. Ring, P.C Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing, Michelle Liffick 
Bronze Sponsors– Law Office of David S. Morris;; Irene Dymkar, Civil Rights Attorney
Supportive Sponsor- Masada’s Restaurant

When tenants organize, great things happen! Their power gained and their power leveraged empowers them to affect qualitative housing change in their lives.
In the beginning of May, the tenants living on Drexel Boulevard contacted MTO about an invalid demolition notice posted on their doors. The notice essentially said that they had to move in 15 days and vacate because demolition work would start at the end of May-typical gentrification scare tactic. At the time of the call to MTO, there was stagnant sewage water in the basement and the lobby, the building’s elevator was in disrepair and rodents and roaches reportedly thrived in the units. A couple of ceilings were caving in and to top it off, tenants were not able to receive their mail because the front door was inaccessible-and some of these tenants needed medical supplies for serious health conditions. Providing little or no maintenance to buildings is another tactic some property owners use to push tenants out of their buildings.  
MTO and the Lawyers Committee for Better Housing was immediately involved and tenants received a workshop on their housing rights. Two weeks later, tenants organized a tenant association and change was already happening.As indicated on their demolition notice the management company (312 Properties LLC) sent a crew to start demolition at the building. The front lobby was demolished; they got rid of garbage bins, and tore out laundry room washers and dryers. The back porch stairwells were full of garbage and rats.
Tenants who at first were afraid just to meet and talk about their housing issues, were now indignant and outraged. They had gotten no notice from the work crew, there were no city issued work permits posted anywhere on the building. Tenants took immediate action! They flooded 311 and the management company with calls for two straight days. They got inspection reference numbers and most importantly got the city to stop the work at the building. The city posted a bright orange stop work sticker at the main entrance of the building. Illegal demolition has now ceased and the management company had created a lockout situation in violation of the Chicago Landlord and Residents Ordinance. The management company had no choice but to come out a meet with new tenant association and hear their demands. While problems persist, the building is now clean, the sewage problem is gone, the mail delivery issue is being solved, demolished walls now have plastic covers and the porches are now clean.  The association is currently negotiating relocation funds and a move-out timetable. The alderwomen got an urgent request for a meeting and they are prepared to go to the media with their housing issues. The tenants are prepared to fight back!From fear to courage, the organizing of tenants in Bronzeville is an example of tenant power against housing adversity. Chicago needs more tenants fighting back against inhumane property owners and their enforcement management companies.

Getting their security deposit back was supposed to be a simple task. All they needed to do is tell their old landlord where to send the check. But for this immigrant couple, a routine housing transaction soon became a life-changing nightmare.

The northwest-side couple had just moved from their apartment, leaving it clean and tidy, and requested that their landlord return their security deposit. Instead of doing what is right, the landlord became irate and refused to return their money. The landlord even threatened to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on the husband, an undocumented immigrant.

Much to their shock and horror, he followed through on his threat. ICE came out and arrested the husband, who has been in their custody ever since. Now, a Chicago woman stands to lose much more than her security deposit. “This isn’t the first time we’ve received calls from renters whose landlords are threatening to call ICE on them”, said Javier Ruiz, a Hotline Counselor at MTO. This type of blatant, racist retaliation cannot and should not be tolerated in Chicago, a town that takes pride in its reputation as a sanctuary city. In 2018, A federal judge sided with Chicago, ruling that Trump does not have the authority to withhold federal funding just because it is a sanctuary city.

Today, we must resist policies like HUD’s proposed new rule that would prevent undocumented immigrants from receiving federal housing assistance. We must strengthen protections for undocumented Chicagoans. No human is “illegal”; landlords cannot be allowed to uproot families by reporting them to ICE! We must do all we can to ensure that no one is denied housing, public services, or resources based on their immigration status.