Pilsen residents demand rent controls at Town Hall meeting

Business, General Interest, Politics/National Security, Public Affairs, Social Justice, Winter 2018

Pilsen residents demand rent controls at Town Hall meeting

February 21, 2018

Nathan Ouellette
Medill Reports

Demands for rent control and affordable housing took center stage, Monday, in the St. Pius V Church basement, as residents of Pilsen and Little Village rose one by one to voice concerns at Pilsen’s Community Town Hall on Rent Control and Property Taxes.

The Town Hall, conducted both in Spanish and English, focused on lifting the statewide ban on rent controls as residents fight to stay in their homes. The presence of State Senator and gubernatorial candidate Daniel Biss (D-9) and State Representative Theresa Mah (D-2), co-sponsors of SB2310, Repeals the Rent Control Preemptive Act bill, gave community members the opportunity to meet with their elected officials.

Community members wait — Pilsen and Little Village community members line up before the Town Hall meeting that focused on lifting the rent control ban. (Nathan Ouellette/MEDILL)

Residents of Pilsen and Little Village take their seats. — Rosa Esquivel, a Pilsen Alliance Board Member, welcomed the crowd.(Nathan Ouellette/MEDILL)

Abdelnasser Rashid of Our Revolution, Illinois — “One of the reasons that working and middle class families are being priced out of their homes is because the assessments of those properties are unfair,” Abdelnasser Rashid, of Our Revolution Illinois, said. “The homes of working and middle class families are being overvalued – some people pay more than they should, some people pay less than they should. It’s unprofessional and it is going beyond industry standards.” (Nathan Ouellette/MEDILL)

“We can bring rent control to this city. we can bring a policy that’s been passed in cities across this country that is working to keep families in their homes,” said Jawanza Malone of the Lift the Ban Coalition, igniting a room full of cheers and applause. (Nathan Ouellette/MEDILL)

State Senator Daniel Biss, D-9, speaks at the podium — “I introduced the [Lift the Ban Bill] and I looked at my watch,” State Senator Daniel Biss said. “It wasn’t long before I got a phone call from the head lobbyist from the realtors. And he sounded nervous. He said, ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ and I said, ‘Oh, yes. Oh, I’m sure.'” (Nathan Ouellette/MEDILL)

“I’ve been working really hard to come up with other pieces of legislation that are immigrant friendly and tenant friendly,” said State Representative Theresa Mah (D-2). “One of the bills that I just filed last Friday is an immigrant tenant protection act, which will prevent landlords from using information about anyone’s citizenship status against them. I hope that will move through the legislature this session.” (Nathan Ouellette/MEDILL)

A round of applause — Town Hall attendees applaud commuinity member testimonials and Lift the Ban Bill support from State Senator Daniel Biss and State Representative Theresa Mah. (Nathan Ouellette/MEDILL)

Rebecca and Isaac — Rebecca Kim and Isaac Carrasco, from DePaul University, laid out the impact of gentrification and proposed solutions in a presentation at the Town Hall forum. “With the power of organizing, we can be heard,” Kim said. (Nathan Ouellette/MEDILL)

Al DiFranko addresses Theresa Mah — Resident Al DiFranco addresses his concerns about property tax increases in Chinatown, Bridgeport, Canaryville and Pilsen. (Nathan Ouellette/MEDILL)

Simone Alexander, Little Village — Simone Alexander, a resident of Little Village explains how rent control legislation can ultimately support long-standing property and homeowners despite rising property taxes. (Nathan Ouellette/MEDILL)

“When a powerful, wealthy industry like [the Realty Industry] says, ‘no,’ initially people in politics are too quick to listen,” Biss said. “We don’t have the votes right now to pass that bill, but there’s one thing that [politicians] will listen to more than powerful industries, special interest groups and campaign contributions – and that is people, that is votes, that is movement.”

In September, the Pilsen Alliance, in conjunction with the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization, Lugenia Burns Hope Center and Northside Action for Justice, formed the Lift the Ban Coalition. The coalition began circulating petitions citywide to repeal the statewide Rent Control Preemption Act of 1997, so that Chicago may have the ability to establish rent control for city residents.

“We know that because your rent is too high, sometimes it gets a little hard at the beginning of the month to come up with the money to pay it,” said Jawanza Malone of the Lift the Ban Coalition. “But regardless of how hard you work and sacrifice and make sure that you’re able to pay that rent…you have property owners who are making boatloads of money. …The reason why is they’re charging us way more than what we should be paying in rent.”

Numerous hands rose in the affirmative to the sound of applause as Malone asked, “Anybody here think your rent is too high?”

On December 18, the Chicago Board of Elections received approximately 3,000 signatures, with 1,300 from the Southwest Side, calling for a referendum on the rent controls ban. The ban repeal will appear on ballots in nine wards in Chicago on March 20. The referendum is only advisory, but the votes it receives will be an indication of constituency demand. Wards on the South, Southwest and North sides will vote on the referendum.

“We’ve been seeing the same problem happen over, and over, and [lifting the ban] is something we want to do,” Rebecca Kim, a student from DePaul University said.

Earlier, at the Town Hall, Kim and Isaac Carrasco gave a presentation on the impact of gentrification on the Pilsen and Little Village communities.

“I have friends, I have neighbors who have had to leave [Pilsen], Parishioners have had to move out to the suburbs for more affordable housing, so that’s why I’m here,” Alex Garcia, a resident from Pilsen, said. “I’ve been fortunate enough that [lack of rent control] hasn’t affected me, yet, but I have seen people around me being affected.”

The Town Hall also provided an open venue for attendees to discuss community benefits agreements, emergency funds for affordable housing and community-driven zoning.

Photo at top: “I introduced the [Lift the Ban Bill] and I looked at my watch,” State Senator Daniel Biss said. “It wasn’t long before I got a phone call from the head lobbyist from the realtors. And he sounded nervous. He said, ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ and I said, ‘Oh yes. Oh I’m sure.'” (Nathan Ouellette/MEDILL)