Category: Latest News
Tenants Union in Uptown Wins $40,000 from Corporate Landlord!
After years of affordable rents under a small independent landlord, tenants at the corner of W. Montrose and N. Dayton received a horrifying holiday surprise. Right after Christmas, tenants received a notice from Rockwell Property (representing the building’s new ownership group, Montrose Investment Partners II LLC) that they had approximately 120 days to vacate their homes so their new landlord could renovate the building.
Many tenants had lived in the building for decades. Rockwell Property offered tenants a paltry $500 on the way out and a $500 credit if they moved back into the building when the renovations were done, and rents would inevitably be unaffordable for most tenants.
Fearful that they would not be able to afford to move and angry that they could be displaced so suddenly, the tenants sprang into action and formed the Mon-Day Tenants Association (MDTA) with one simple demand: if you want us to move, pay us to do so!
The demand was far from unreasonable. If the proposed Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance were law in Chicago, the landlord would have to give tenants, displaced through no fault of their own, substantial relocation assistance.
For the first month of the campaign, building ownership refused to negotiate with the MDTA. But with the help of organizers from MTO and ONE Northside, the MDTA gathered community support, escalated public pressure, and forced the owners to the table.
After weeks of intense negotiations, the MDTA approved an agreement in which the landlord waived last month’s rent and gave each unit $2,000 upon return of their keys at move-out.
MTO is proud to congratulate the MDTA on its victory. Organizing works!
“Just Cause” Ordinance Introduced in City Council
On Wednesday, May 21, numerous supporters descended on Chicago’s City Council Meeting to support the introduction of the Just Cause Eviction Ordinance. The law requires landlords to have a just cause to evict a tenant. It would ban evictions due to retaliation. MTO supports passage of the just cause ordinance as a means of balancing power between landlords and tenants. If Just Cause passes, it would mean landlords would no longer have the power to threaten tenants with eviction for requesting repairs or organizing.
Under the proposed law, landlords must state one of seven reasons why they are evicting a tenant. Reasons include: failure to pay rent, follow the lease rules, refusal to sign a lease, the landlord wishes to no longer rent the unit or rent it to a relative, major rehab of the unit, or convert it to condominiums. If the landlord is terminating the lease for a reason in which the tenant is not at fault, then the tenant would be entitled to relocation assistance. So while the law does not end gentrification, it does begin to move the costs of gentrification to the property owners and developers, as they are the ones who benefit. Finally, the bill would create a registry of landlords and require people who own more than 20% of the building to disclose their interest.
Upon introduction, Alderman Ray Lopez asked that the bill be sent to the rules committee. His goal is to try and bury the tenants’ rights legislation. The Chicago Housing Justice Coalition is working with Council member Desmon Yancy to get the bill out of rules and into the housing committee for a hearing.
Our New Location
In case you missed it, our new location is 601 S California at the Westside Justice Center
Invisible Hazards At Home: Lead Poisoning
Story By LiMei Vera
When the Bolin family moved into their Lincoln Square apartment in the 47th Ward, they believed they had found the perfect place for their young family. The apartment was affordable and offered a place to grow their roots. They registered their lively two-year-old son for local art and swim classes and prepared to welcome their daughter.
Warning Signs
However, after a year in the apartment, their son began experiencing health problems: he abruptly lost his appetite, had trouble sleeping, and started displaying seemingly inexplicable behavioral changes.
A visit to the doctor gave the Bolin family an unexpected answer: their son had elevated blood lead levels. For children his age, lead attacks the brain and central nervous system. It can cause irreversible damage, contributing to long-term developmental delays and complex behavioral disorders.
For John Bolin, the news was terrifying:
“We’re his parents and are supposed to keep our children safe. Finding out that it’s in your house, and that the one place that should be the safest place for them to be is actually the worst place for them to be, is incredibly upsetting and scary.”
A city inspector confirmed that the Bolin family’s apartment contained dangerous lead levels in the windows, door casings, doors, stairwells, and walls. No amount of lead exposure is considered safe for children under the age of six, but the Bolins’ home contains 58 times the allowable limit.
While this story is haunting, it is all too common in a city that does not mandate proactive inspections of rental units. In Chicago, units are not typically tested for lead until after a child has already been poisoned. Buildings constructed before 1978 commonly contain lead, yet Chicago has no proactive inspection program.
The Bolin family has made significant adjustments to protect their son, who recently celebrated his third birthday, and their daughter, who is just beginning to crawl. The Bolin family spend “all day cleaning the floors so we aren’t tracking lead all over the apartment.” They have set up a playpen and foam mats for their daughter to protect her from dust containing lead on the floor. They refrain from running the AC units, because the inspector noted that the units may pull lead dust from the windows. And everyday,
Rachel Bolin answers questions from her son. He asks why he feels different, why he can’t go to sleep at night, and why he gets so angry – all symptoms associated with lead exposure.
For Rachel, this has been heartbreaking.
“Our children deserve to live normal lives.”
With the help of MTO, the Bolins terminated their lease, and plan to move. Amidst ongoing visits to the doctor’s office, they also face other challenges, such as finding housing on a limited budget on a short timeline. A quick move is costly, and currently after much pressure, the landlords have offered less than a month’s rent of assistance.
Despite these challenges, the Bolins’ first priority is to get their child into safe and healthy housing. This priority needs to inform our city’s policies, too.
Tenants Fight a Roach Infestation with FWP
Story by Tulsi McDaniels
In September 2024, tenants Simone and Andrew moved into a building managed by First Western, only to discover a severe roach infestation. They sought help from MTO, who guided them in drafting a formal termination letter to end their lease early.
However, their experience with First Western quickly became a nightmare. As Simone explained,
“Our experience with First Western was one of the most stressful we’ve ever faced. They completely pulled the rug out from under us once we sent them money. We never even got official keys. They are just a half step away from being a complete scam… leaving us without habitable housing. An experience I wish on no one.”
First Western initially denied their request and demanded an additional two months’ rent to terminate the lease. With MTO’s support, Simone and Andrew stood firm, highlighting the building’s failure to meet health and safety standards. Their persistence paid off when First Western agreed to release them from the lease without extra charges, allowing them to move to a safer home.
Their experience demonstrated the importance of tenant rights and the power of advocacy in the face of predatory property management.
Tenant Lockouts Are Illegal
Story by Tulsi McDaniels
Only A Judge Can Evict You
In July, MTO counselors jumped into action when tenant Harold D. faced an illegal eviction by his landlord.
The landlord changed the locks. Harold called the police. As often happens, the police declined to act or even to file an official report of the incident.
Despite the police refusing to do their job, Harold and the MTO counselor persisted.
With the help of the Metropolitan Tenants Organization, an advocate engaged with the landlord, informing him of the potential for jail and daily fines for continuing the lockout. This threat of escalating penalties prompted the landlord to restore Harold’s access within the hour.
Thanks to the effective advocacy and Harold’s persistence, he successfully reclaimed his home and upheld his rights as a tenant.
MTO is currently planning to pilot a lockout project to demonstrate an alternative to relying on the police to enforce the law. Stay tuned and don’t let landlords bully you out of your apartment.
Organizing Works – Past Campaigns By Ward
Organizing around tenant rights is about winning through building community and collaboration. We are proud of our work in helping tenants win our consistent victories in the city of Chicago. Check out several of our recent tenant organizing successes in this ever-growing list.
2025
- N Dayton (46th Ward) – Building tenants faced forced relocation due to the landlord’s desire to renovate the building. After forming a tenant union, residents gained rent forgiveness and other benefits.
- More efforts forthcoming!
2024
- S. Stony Island (8th Ward) – Tenants expressed concerns about management and security and wanted to form a tenant association. Tenants organized to form an association and, through direct action, ensured that new security measures were implemented.
- N. Sheridan (48th Ward) – Building tenants faced various safety issues, including fire prevention, bedbugs, and poor building management. Tenants mobilized and formed a union, presenting management with their demands. Results included repairing fire escapes and the building’s elevator and mitigating a severe outbreak of bedbugs.
- S. Daniel Drive (9th Ward) – Tenants organized around the landlord’s reluctance to make necessary repairs. Despite landlord retaliation, tenants organized around holding the landlord accountable. Not only were repairs made, but tenants formed an association to continue efforts to ensure building quality and safety.
- S. Drexel (20th Ward) – Tenants organized to focus on issues of poor property management. After establishing a union, tenants forced landlords to improve security and ensure further cooperation.
- W. Cermak Rd (20th Ward) – After receiving significant rent increases without remediation for healthy home issues, tenants organized to assert their rights. After securing legal counsel and withholding rent, tenants received significant repairs (including windows and floors) and improved pest control efforts.
- S. Champlain (4th Ward) – Tenants organized around health and welfare issues caused by 3500 pounds of sanitary waste and other debris. Results included inspection, engagement of the alderman, and negotiations.
2023
- W 103rd (19th Ward) – New property management company provided no-cause lease terminations for over 100 residents across six buildings. Tenants organized and received rent forgiveness, rental reimbursement, and some received lease extensions for one year.
- E. 79th (6th Ward) – Landlord attempted to intimidate tenants by charging for refrigerators, visiting the property with armed security, and threatening eviction. Thanks to tenant organizing, landlord was forced to make changes including security screen doors, tuck pointing, heat, installing a new stove, and tenant rent forgiveness
- S. Burley (10th Ward) – Tenants organized around issues concerning lack of repairs and the resulting landlord harassment and retaliation. Efforts around organizing resulted in hiring an extermination company, improving security, and increased tenant input on renovation priorities.
- E. 41st St (3rd Ward) – Organizing around efforts to reopen the building’s community room, tenants formed an association to address this and other issues, including smoking in units, ventilation issues, and disrespectful management.
- E. 38th Street (3rd Ward) – Tenants organized around a series of maintenance issues including broken washers and dryers, bedbug infestations, and a flooded community room. Despite landlord harassment and intimidation, tenants successfully organized and had washers and dryers fixed, bedbugs exterminated, and an improved community room with increased attendance.
- N. Hudson (27th Ward) – Forming a union to counter management harassment and security issues, tenants were able to have needed repairs made and improve security.
HUD Tenants Form Association, Win Big
HUD tenants recently had concerns about bed bugs, issues with re-certification, retaliation by management, and the use of their community room in their building. Management at first did nothing to resolve the complaints. Tenants called MTO and building organizer David Wilson went to the building and informed them of their rights. Tenants in the Park Shore East building located at 6250 S. Harper then formed an association.
Tenants know that while committed individuals can make change, collective efforts are far stronger than the actions of individuals. The tenants association requested a meeting with management. Building management told the tenants they heard their issues and that they would be taken into consideration. At the next tenants’ association meeting, the leadership announced that the management brought in specially trained dogs to check for bed bugs and management agreed to extended time for the community room. It takes a tenants association to assert your rights, and organizing get the goods!
If you want to form a tenants association, call 773-292-4988 and request to speak with a community organizer.
Chicago Needs Proactive Rental Inspections to Protect People’s Health
Last December, as the temperature outside plummeted, the heat in Ms. Payan’s apartment stopped working. In addition to the lack of heat, Ms. Payan also experienced flooding in her apartment. Multiple conversations with the landlord yielded no improvements. In fact, the landlord threatened Ms. Payan that she would have to pay for the repairs. Ms. Payan contacted MTO’s Healthy Homes Organizer, Angelica Ugarte, for help.
Angelica helped Ms. Payan to use Chicago’s tenants’ ordinance to terminate the lease and avoid paying rent for the last month so that Ms. Payan could have the money to relocate. The results of this story are rare. Far too many tenants experience retaliation from their landlord and face eviction when they request repairs or take the necessary steps to assert their rights under the law. Tenants are educated and empowered by MTO to understand the process and challenge abusive practices in their building. There is little accountability for slum landlords to follow building codes or ensure that apartments are in habitable condition throughout the tenancy.
The only way to hold slum landlords accountable is through regular inspections. Inspections should not wait until a crisis occurs such as the one faced by Ms. Payan. Chicago needs an inspection program that promotes regular maintenance. We encourage you to support the proactive inspection program, CHIPP (Chicago Proactive Inspection Program) which is calling for legislation to mandate routine inspection of all Chicago’s rental apartments. If you or someone you know would like to join our efforts to promote CHIPP, please call (773) 292-4980.