Tag: Organizing

From Crisis to Compensation: Organizing Works!

Posted on by Gordon Dymowski

In May 2025, our team responded to an urgent call from a tenant who had just received a devastating notice: their building had been declared uninhabitable by the Department of Buildings, and all residents were required to vacate within two days.

MTO mobilized immediately. That same day, MTO Building Organizer, David Wilson, went on-site to meet with tenants, explain their rights, and walk them through what to expect when a building is shut down due to landlord negligence. By Wednesday, the situation had escalated, and Chicago police and a court-appointed receiver arrived to clear the building, using methods that felt coercive and dehumanizing, with tenants treated more like criminals than residents.

Despite the urgency and uncertainty, MTO, in partnership with Law Center for Better Housing (LCBH), remained on the ground, working closely with the Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) and the Red Cross to secure emergency shelter for displaced residents. At the same time, staff began advocating for tenants to receive compensation for the hardship they were facing.

Out of the 72-unit building, we were able to connect directly with 22 tenants. Many others had already left, unwilling to endure the deteriorating conditions.

MTO and LCBH negotiated with the receiver, who initially offered tenants between $650 and $800 in compensation. Recognizing that this was insufficient given the circumstances, our team pushed back. Through persistent advocacy and negotiation, we secured a revised offer of $2,000 per tenant, an outcome that tenants felt was far more fair.

This case is a powerful example of how rapid response, community collaboration, and organizing can make a meaningful difference.

Organizing Works – Past Campaigns By Ward

Posted on by Gordon Dymowski

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.