Tag: city council

Vacant Property Ordinance Passes Unanimously

Posted on by ltargos

Foreclosure is a nationwide epidemic that crosses color lines, socio-economic status and affects all communities.  Often, when it comes to the foreclosure discourse, it is a common misconception that homeowners are solely affected; however, according to a report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, renters make up close to half of foreclosure cases on a national level.  This crisis is one that destroys communities and doesn’t discriminate between renters and homeowners.

The Metropolitan Tenants Organization (MTO) is at the forefront of addressing this housing crisis. Currently, MTO works in the East Garfield Park area with a focus on tenants who live in buildings that are going through the foreclosure process.  Our primary goal is to inform tenants of their rights and responsibilities concerning the foreclosure process.  In addition, MTO is part of a citywide Foreclosure Convening Committee that strives to shape public policy that will alleviate the negative affects of foreclosure on our communities.

On July 28th, the Chicago City Council unanimously passed an amendment to the Vacant Property Ordinance. For the past year, the Foreclosure Convening Committee has stressed the importance of holding banks accountable for maintaining properties in the foreclosure process.  This amendment, supported by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, holds banks responsible to preserve and maintain these vacant properties. This is a huge victory and something communities throughout Chicago should celebrate. As the Mayor mentioned after the vote, “Now the real work begins, and conversations with the banks must start.” This statement is encouraging because it hints at the most important next step – enforcement.

Enforcing the Vacant Property Ordinance is vital to the sustainability of our neighborhoods throughout Chicago.  According to a study by the Homeownership Preservation Foundation, each vacant property costs taxpayers between $19,000 and $34,000 in security and maintenance expenses. Taxpayers can no longer foot the bill, and our city can no longer shoulder the socio-economic burden of vacant properties. On July 20th MTO tenant leader, Ms. Patricia Hightower, gave impassioned testimony at a City Council Committee hearing on the Vacant Property Ordinance. Her testimony provided a clear perspective of how vacant properties affect her neighborhood.

Click here to read her testimony.

Click here to read the Vacant Property Ordinance.

Ms. Hightower testifies in support of the Vacant Property Ordinance: TEXT

Posted on by ltargos

Good morning, my name is Ms. Patricia Hightower.  I am a resident of Chicago, Illinois, and I live in a senior building on the southeast side of Chicago.  I am also a member of the Metropolitan Tenants Organization.

I am very concerned about the number of vacant properties that are in our neighborhoods.  These properties are not only eyesores but are emotionally disturbing to citizens who are already overwhelmed with the high cost of living, crime, utility and medical bills.

In addition to being an eyesore, these properties are a breeding ground for drugs, gangs, illegal activities and prostitution.  Hard working law-abiding citizens should not have to walk by vacant properties occupied by gangs.  These are the same gangs that use vacant properties to stash their drugs and run illegal activity.

Oftentimes, the vacant properties I see in my community are not maintained.  The grass is not cut, garbage is everywhere, mice and rats roam freely and drug paraphernalia is visible.  The Vacant Property Ordinance Bill is significant because it gives concerned citizens the ability to hold banks accountable when they can’t find the owner of properties that are not maintained properly.

As a concerned citizen, I value my community and feel strongly that vacant properties devalue the economics and social fabric of my community.

I strongly urge the committee to pass the Vacant Property Ordinance and demonstrate to the citizens of Chicago that they value all communities.

I would like to thank the committee’s for allowing me to express my concerns and views on vacant properties and their affect on my community.

I am encouraged that we are headed in the right direction to change this epidemic that plagues too many communities.

Again, thank you.

[Link here to previous related article.]

Chicago votes to oppose cuts to HUD

Posted on by ltargos

On July 28th, families, disabled citizens, and the elderly throughout Chicago celebrated the unanimous passage of a City Council Resolution authored by tenants, organizers, and allies with the Chicago Housing Initiative (CHI) opposing any cuts to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Led by Alderman Suarez, Chairman of the Committee on Housing and Real Estate, forty-seven aldermen signed on to the Resolution, which urged IL Senators Durbin and Kirk to preserve desperately needed HUD funding for Chicago and the nation. In recent years, Congress has cut HUD funding to dangerously low levels and, this year, is threatening once again to decimate programs that help those most in need.

In Chicago alone, HUD funding provides more than $250 million in Public Housing Capital and Operating dollars and helps to house an estimated 185,562 low-income families and seniors.  Additionally, HUD’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME programs provide an enormous range of affordable housing, economic development, and social service programs for the residents of Chicago.  In fact, a number of wards in Chicago benefit from over $1 million in CDBG funding.  These services help Chicagoans avoid foreclosure, hunger, and homelessness. In these difficult economic times, Chicagoans simply can’t risk losing any more of the services HUD funds.

As the debt crisis winds down, and the battle for the budget begins, residents throughout Chicago are sounding the alarm about what a loss of federal funds would mean for Chicago neighborhoods. Passing this City Council Resolution was an important first step, but there is more work to be done. Wilma Pittman Gibson, a community leader with ONE and CHI says she hopes that the City Council “will go one step further and hold a Hearing where we can tell the stories of what these cuts will really mean for our communities.”

Tenants and Condo Purchasers Win Protections

Posted on by ltargos
WBEZ/AP M. Spencer Green

CITY COUNCIL PASSES CONDO CONVERSION ORDINANCE

With Mayor Daley overseeing his final Chicago City Council meeting, the aldermen unanimously passed a condo conversion ordinance.  The ordinance represents five years of struggle on the part of tenants, condominium buyers, community organizations and advocates.  This legislation will protect tenants and condominium buyers caught in the instability created by the conversion of rental buildings to condominium buildings.

The roots of this ordinance are found in the condo craze of 2005 to 2007, which ultimately contributed to the mortgage crisis and related foreclosure crisis.  In 2006, renters were being ejected from their homes with minimal to no notice and left those purchasing converted units with few protections against what was often a speedy and poorly implemented conversion process.  Quickly, those victimized in the process, along with their advocates, recognized the need for protections to be put in place.  This outcry resulted in Mayor Daley appointing Alderman Ray Suarez to lead the Condo Conversion Task Force.  The Task Force’s work spanned almost four years and ultimately led to an ordinance that provides renters and condo buyers with critical protections including:

  • Changing the notification period from 120 days to 180 days.  For seniors and those with disabilities, notification would change from 180 to 210 days.
  • Low and moderate income renters receive relocation assistance.  The assistance equals the larger of one month’s rent or $1,500 (up to a maximum of $2,500).
  • Consumer protections for condo buyers.

According to Zakiyyah S. Muhammad, a victim of condo conversion, “I enjoyed fighting for protections for families who rent so that they can avoid the devastation that I encountered.  This ordinance has been a long time coming; when you fight you win!”  MTO celebrates the victory for tenants’ rights and the clear demonstration that tenants, working together, have the power to create change to protect their rights to safe, decent and affordable rental housing.

In another victory for affordable housing advocates, the City Council passed the Sweet Home Chicago Ordinance which allows TIF funds to be used for maintaining affordable housing.

The full text of the Condo Conversion Ordinance can be found here.

Condo Conversion: Action Update

Posted on by ltargos

RENTERS’ RIGHTS IN CONDO CONVERSIONS – AN UPDATE

On Tuesday, April 19th, the Mayor’s Condo Conversion Task Force met to discuss proposed changes to their report in the latest episode in the now five-year long battle for an ordinance to protect renters and condo buyers during condo conversions.

The Task Force is proposing to change the notification period from 120 days to 180 days.  For seniors and those people with disabilities, notification would change from 180 to 210 days.  The Task Force also recommends that low and moderate income renters receive relocation assistance.  The assistance equals the larger of one month’s rent or $1,500 up to a maximum of $2,500.  City officials are still discussing how they will identify renters who qualify for this assistance.

The bill has been close to passing before and we are hopeful it will pass on Mayor Daley’s final City Council meeting.  Significant progress has been made; however, there are still obstacles ahead.  The next hurdle to clear is for the Housing Committee of the City Council to approve the bill.  The Housing Committee’s meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 3rd, at 10:30am in room 200. MTO is encouraging all renters who have experienced displacement due to condo conversion to attend and testify.

MTO has been working on condo conversion since 2006.  In 2006, renters marched through the Hyde Park neighborhood demanding justice for those being displaced by rampant condo conversion.  In response, the Mayor convened the Condo Conversion Task Force; however, it failed to meet for a year.  Following another demonstration led by MTO, this time at City Hall, the Committee held its first meeting.  MTO was able to win a seat for a renter on the committee and has continued to monitor its work.

While there have been many ups and downs, a hopeful conclusion to years of struggle is close at hand.  All those interested in attending the meeting of the Housing Committee on May 3rd to testify about their experiences should contact Shirley Johnson at 773.292.4980 ext. 224.

Condo Conversion Ordinance Hits Snag in City Council

Posted on by John Bartlett

Condo Conversion Ordinance Passes Housing Committee on Way to Becoming Law

Update from the Chicago Tribune:

Mayor Richard Daley today angrily rebuked real estate groups that he said helped stop his plan to protect renters whose buildings are converted to condominiums.

Daley’s renter protection proposal failed to get a vote from the City Council, which sent the package back to committee for further consideration.

Read more at the Chicago Tribune’s Clout Street

After years of advocating for changes renters and condo buyers are on the verge of winning significant rights when an apartment building is converted to condominiums.

MTO tenant leaders have played an important part in getting the ordinance before the city council.  MTO began its condo conversion campaign in 2005 when large number of tenants began calling the Hotline.  Many tenants were receiving 30-day notices of termination of tenancy in violation of the Chicago Condo Ordinance requiring a 120-day notification when a landlord is converting a building.  Unscrupulous developers take advantage of loopholes in state and city laws to do “stealth” condo conversions.

MTO brought tenants and community residents together to confront the problem.  A  march and rally was held on September 30th , 2006. A demand was made for public officials to address the dilemma renters are put in when developers attempt stealth conversion. Ald. Preckwinkle and Ald. Hairston attended the rally. The rally caused the Mayor to convene the Mayor’s Condominium Conversion Task Force on October 23rd 2006 to address the issue. Although the Task Force was formed they would not hold a meeting for almost a year.

In September 2007 MTO along with tenants and organizations from across the City held an action in front of City Hall to demand that the Mayor’s Task Force on Condo Conversion meet. The action led the Task Force to begin holding regular meetings.  MTO leaders attended every meeting and testified to the need for a renter to be appointed to the Task Force.  After months of work, tenant leader, Elizabeth Todd, was asked to join the Task Force to address the needs of renters. The new ordinance is a result of their recommendations of the Mayors Task Force on Condo Conversion and the input of tenant leaders from across the city working with MTO.

The ordinance increases the time of tenants to be notified from 4 to 9 months. It requires relocation assistance of $1,500 to renters being displaced. The ordinance also establishes a Condominium Registration Program for new and converted condos.

We at MTO would like to thank the Mayor, Task Force chairman, Alderman Ray Suarez, all the members of the Task Force and the hundreds of tenants who worked hard to pass this ordinance.

City Council Takes Aim at Slumlords

Posted on by John Bartlett
from flickr user alex_ford

At MTO’s 2007 Citywide Tenants Congress, tenants identified poor building conditions and slumlords as one of its three key issues. Tenants proposed several ways to increase landlord accountability. One way was to hit landlords where it counts in their pocket book.
The Chicago City Council at its January 2010 meeting took an important step in affirming tenants’ rights to safe and decent housing by passing the Building Code Scofflaw.  Alderman Leslie Hairston introduced the ordinance, in May 2007.  The bill targets landlords who have uncorrected code violations that are habitual, extensive or serious.  These landlords are the worst of the worst and fit the term slumlord.  This ordinance would prohibit slumlords from doing any business with the City of Chicago.

MTO tenant leaders visited and secured the support of majority of the City’s alderman. Now that the bill has passed tenants leaders are hoping to expand the bill to include bad management companies.  According to MTO board member and tenant leader, Herman Bonner, “This bill has many possibilities.  As a subsidized tenant I believe that the federal government should adopt a similar law.  There are too many owners receiving federal money who are slumlords.”

While it is unknown how many owners this bill will impact.  It does send a message to owners that if you own property and want the City’s business you will have to keep your buildings up to code.

Plan Would Deny Slumlords City Loans Or Contracts

Posted on by ltargos
Hyde Park tenant Melissa Michaels hopes a proposed ordinance will induce property owners to be better landlords.

The city of Chicago has a message for slumlords: You will not be rewarded with city loans or contracts.

CBS 2’s Jim Williams reports the city council is close to passing a law that would put pressure on bad landlords to fix their property.

Read the full story here: http://cbs2chicago.com/local/slum.ordinance.Alderman.2.1429795.html

Watch the video here: http://cbs2chicago.com/video/?id=66557@wbbm.dayport.com