[Peace-discuss] Organizing for a Rent Freeze in CU and Illinois

Wed Apr 15 22:33:44 UTC 2020

Organizing for a Rent Freeze in CU and Illinois

Posted on
<http://publici.ucimc.org/2020/04/organizing-for-a-rent-freeze-in-cu-and-ill
inois/> April 2020 by  <http://publici.ucimc.org/author/aminamalik/> Amina
Malik and Heather Aubry 

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http://publici.ucimc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/rentfreeze-1024x681.jpg

Why is a rent freeze necessary?

The global pandemic which resulted from COVID-19 drastically affects the
employment status of millions of workers in the United States and the wider
world. As advised by the Center for Disease Control and The World Health
Organization, it is necessary to physically distance oneself from the
public. Specifically in Champaign-Urbana, these orders, which are important
to adhere to, have led to the increase in unemployment status for residents.
Meaning, their employers are no longer able to support them in the looming
recession. Residents who are not receiving hazard pay, or do not have the
option to work remotely, are faced with the financial burden of making rent.

Currently, any sort of rent control is impossible because of the 1997 Rent
Control Preemption Act that bans rent control in Illinois. Making a rent
freeze impossible without it being repealed.

On April 7th however, Lift the Ban Coalition, a coalition based in Chicago
that is advocating for economic well-being and stability for Illinois'
families released a 7 page breaking memo from the Law Offices of Despres,
Schwartz, and Geoghegan. The memo stated, "Governor Pritzker's powers under
the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act and other laws grant him
sufficient power to provide relief, including by either mitigating the cost
of rent during the crisis directly or by empowering municipalities to do
so." Link to the memo and the Lift the Ban announcement can be found in the
Legal section of our website, rentfreezenow.weebly.com.

We are now demanding Governor Pritzker to use his emergency powers to issue
a freeze on rent indefinitely for all people in Illinois until the threat
from COVID-19 has passed. This means suspending Illinoisans' responsibility
towards rent until people are safely able to return to work and until they
are able to make up the financial loss faced during this pandemic. To
provide a clearer timeline, this means a complete suspension of rent
payments until the stay at home order is lifted and for at least 2 months
after to allow people time to get back on their feet.

Our demands are as follows:

*	The repeal of the 1997 Rent Control Preemption Act and the
utilization of emergency powers by Governor Pritzker. This will allow for
municipalities to enact, maintain or enforce measures that control the
amount of rent charged for leasing a residential property, facilitating a
freeze in rents.
*	We demand the suspension of all rental, mortgage, utility bills,
court fines, civic fees, and property tax payments in the Champaign-Urbana
area until the crisis has passed. This must be applicable to all individuals
and small businesses. That does not mean a deferment or payment plan. It
means cancellation of all aforementioned debts incurred throughout the
crisis.
*	Immediate stoppage and abolition of Immigrations and Customs
Enforcement and youth detention programs. Release of at-risk prisoners
detained in city and state jails and prisons. Not having the money to afford
bail is only worsened in times such as these along with these centers
harboring COVID-19 cases. The funds currently spent on those programs should
be re-allocated towards creating a more comprehensive relief program FOR THE
PEOPLE NOT CORPORATIONS.

Resources

Since this crisis is affecting thousands of people residing in the
Champaign-Urbana community, such as students, researchers, service workers
and all those who lost jobs due to the crisis, it only makes sense to gather
collectively to demand a freeze on rent.

One way to support is to sign our Champaign-Urbana Rent Freeze petition,
which can be found on our website,  <https://rentfreezenow.weebly.com/>
https://rentfreezenow.weebly.com/. Our website has the option to connect
with fellow tenants, information for virtual meetings, and our Organizer
Interest Forms, and is open to all. In addition, our website includes our
sample letters tenants can send to landlords, sample letters to fellow
tenants, and instruction on applying for relief funds, which include the
United Way COVID-19 Relief Fund, the NAWC Immigrant Relief Fund, and the One
Fair Emergency Relief Fund.

Many people are also wary of the legal repercussions of not paying rent
during this time. The current moratorium on evictions in Champaign County
makes it so landlords can still file for eviction, the case will just not go
through until the moratorium is passed. It is, however, illegal for your
landlord to lock you out. The full eviction court process is listed below,
courtesy of the Autonomous Tenants Union in Chicago.

*	The full Eviction Court process, from the filing to the Sheriff
changing your locks, can take anywhere between 2-8 months. You can take
steps to lengthen it. The landlord cannot accept rent during the full court
process, or they have to start over.
*	Court dates are typically scheduled at least two weeks after the
filing of the lawsuit, sometimes more. The
<http://www.cookcountycourt.org/Portals/0/Chief%20Judge/General%20Administra
tive%20Order%20No_%202020-01.pdf?ver=2020-03-14-082153-053> order from the
Chief Judge will probably delay this timeline.
*	A Sheriff will come to your door to serve you court papers (the
summons to court, court date, and the lawsuit's complaint). Don't freak out
if they come knocking forcefully, they're just there to serve you papers,
not evict you! If they can't put the court papers in your hand, they have to
reschedule another court date another 2 weeks out, and try to re-serve you.
*	At your first court date, you can show up yourself and ask for a
continuance to find an attorney, typically getting another week.
*	After this, we highly recommend you get a lawyer (ATU and other orgs
may be able to help). The court process will likely come to a conclusion
much sooner if you don't have a lawyer. If you have a lawyer, the process
could go on for months more.
*	You can also, on your own, file for a Jury Demand & usually get a
Fee Waiver, typically getting another 3 weeks (more resources will be
provided here soon).
*	The court process ends in an "Order of Possession" which the
landlord can take to the Sheriff to officially evict you. The Sheriff's job
is to remove you from your home and change the locks.

By organizing with your neighbors and support networks to reach an agreement
with the landlord, you can better ensure that you won't get to this point in
the process. Reach out to our Instagram or email so we can try to get you
connected with fellow tenants. 

Organize with us! 

One of the best ways to get involved is to gather together fellow tenants to
strike collectively. Information regarding organizing tenants can be found
on our website, and we also encourage you to reach out to our email
<mailto:curentfreeze at gmail.com> curentfreeze at gmail.com. Reaching out opens
up the opportunity to match you up with more tenants underneath the same
Landlord.

Following us on our instagram, @cu_rentfreeze is a good way to get quick
updates and see what we're doing day-to-day to organize. Helpful information
from other rent strikes is also shared to our instagram.

One of the best ways to participate is by getting involved in our phone
zaps. These zaps are 3 hour segments intended to create a surge of phone
calls into the elected officials office that has the power to make change.
It is a way to create noise around an issue we want changed. Phone Zaps will
be occurring from 11am to 3pm Monday - Friday for the rest of April to put
pressure on Governor Pritzker and our local representatives to use their
emergency powers to put a freeze on rents. A script and phone numbers can be
found below.

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.jpg

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Information and a Script to use to Contact State Representative Carol Ammons
about the issue

 <http://publici.ucimc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/unnamed.jpg>
http://publici.ucimc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/unnamed-1024x754.jpg

Phone Zapping script for calling Governor Pritzker's Office

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