Happy Friday Neighbors!
It’s been a busy week in the Ward! On Monday, severe thunderstorms resulted in downed trees, power lines, and even a downed traffic light around the ward. We spent the majority of Monday and Tuesday surveying for damage, and are working with departments now to get our neighborhoods back to normal as soon as possible. If you experienced damage from the storm, please fill out the Illinois Residential Self-Assessment Survey, to help the Office of Emergency Management and Communications get an understanding of the damage and determine what resources might be available to help neighbors.
On the city front, yesterday the Chicago Board of Education voted on a budget that should concern everyone in the city.
In it, a majority of the board moved forward a budget amendment, with barely a few days of sharing it, that counts on hundreds of millions of dollars that have not materialized and aren’t guaranteed. They count on $285M in TIF funds from the city and $150M in funds from the State to close an over $700M gap.
I believe the TIF funds are likely to materialize as state law mandates that when the city needs to surplus TIF funds to cover its own budget, CPS gets twice the amount. The city however, would need to pass its budget, which as we have seen last year, is no easy feat.
The more challenging amount is the $150M from the state. In order for that to pass, a majority of the state legislators, which includes those not from Chicago and conservatives, would have to support that effort.
If that revenue doesn’t materialize, CPS will be forced to make cuts or borrow money. In the first option, that leads to working class folks being laid off. In the second option, our kids and grandkids get stuck with the immense interest payments and deficits caused by borrowing with no plan for payment.
Yet, in spite of these realities, school board members decided to take the politically expedient route and voted to pass a budget, on the assumption that by doing so, it would force Springfield to have to fill the gap. It is beyond risky to gamble with the budget, it is irresponsible. I urge all of our neighbors to find out how your school board member voted. Here is the story covering the budget vote.
Now let’s talk housing affordability, renters rights, and ordinances that are being discussed before the city council.
A month ago, Mayor Johnson introduced the Protecting Renters Ordinance, which seeks to accomplish a number of things: establishing a rental registry, an office of rental housing with legal services, a tenants bill of rights that includes Just Cause Eviction (a set of criteria and justification needed in order for an eviction to move forward); eliminating extra fees that landlords place on tenants when they enter into rental agreements; and requiring that landlords pay relocation assistance fees when their leases aren’t renewed or when landlords require the tenants to move for a number of reasons.
There are a number of good and important things in the ordinance that I believe help renters and good landlords, while holding negligent ones accountable. When the ordinance was first presented, however, a number of us expressed concerns regarding the fact that it felt rushed to present it and socialize it with council members in just a couple of weeks, when we had a whole term to really engage colleagues and find larger consensus. To me, it appeared as though the Mayor was presenting this to score political points, whether or not it has a chance of passing.
Since then, a group of moderate and conservative alders that have established themselves as being opposition to the Mayor have introduced the FAIR ordinance. This ordinance actually claws back existing protections and exempts landlords who own properties of 12 units or less, whether or not they live in the properties. This ordinance is concerning for a number of reasons, but this exemption is of particular concern. We should absolutely consider smaller landlords who live in the properties they rent out, but these aren’t that. These are corporations and LLCs that own multiple properties, some of whom are extremely negligent and don’t have to face the consequences of that negligence because they don’t live onsite.
I fear that we are at a point now where the council has become polarized. Mayor Johnson is willing to risk these fights so he can champion progressive policies for working people––but all while knowing that the legislation won’t pass. At the same time, the conservative bloc opposes everything it can in order to make a Mayor look ineffective. This back and forth doesn’t provide solutions for Chicagoans who need it.
To break it down further, I’ll explain the vote counts and why I see this as a problem.
In order for Mayor Johnson to pass the ordinance he introduced, he needs 26 votes. In order for the conservative bloc to pass its version, it needs 34 votes to override a Mayoral veto.
Currently, the FAIR ordinance has 21 co-sponsors, so it has a greater chance of getting to 26 than the Mayor’s version. If it does get to 26, that’s still short of 34 they need. In that scenario, the Mayor will likely get to veto it and claim he’s a champion for working people––but Chicago renters will still be left without solutions to the problems of rising rents and insufficient tenant protections.
Welcome to politics, yall.
Now where do I stand?
I think there is a solution that protects renters and avoids penalizing landlords that are not the problem that could be negotiated and passed through council if EITHER SIDE had actually engaged in good faith and took the time to find out what could get a larger consensus. That solution should include a rental registry, a bureau of rental housing, a tenants bill of rights, and relocation assistance that takes into account the smaller landlords––those who own 6 or fewer units and live onsite.
There is still a chance for some solutions to pass, but that chance is slim. My hope is that we can all be adults and find where we agree, without the brinksmanship, rhetoric, and talking past each other that keeps that from happening. I do believe it’s possible, but it is a real challenge.
We need affordable housing, we need to protect renters from getting bilked by corporations and the LLCs they hide behind, and we need property owners who live onsite to be able to also sustain as the costs to maintain their properties––especially as their property taxes have continued to increase, despite the fact that City Council has not increased the property tax levy in the past several years.
I have hope that we can figure it out, but I think it is crucial that we keep our neighbors informed so that they can see past the campaigning and hold us all accountable.
I’ll remain committed to keeping you informed, because ultimately we all rise and fall together as a city. I have faith that we will have better days ahead if we work together to make that a reality.
Lastly, I wanted to let you know about two neighbors that need our help. One of our neighbors, Josue Pire Hidalgo, was detained by ICE at what was supposed to be a standard immigration appointment, along with his wife and two children. While his wife and children were released after five hours, Josue has been separated from his family and is now being held in Indiana. Josue is a member of the Lincoln Square community, and a CPS worker. If you’d like to support his family as they raise money for his legal support and keep up with their bills after their sudden loss of income, you can give to their GoFundMe.
Another one of neighbors was seriously injured in what appears to have been an intentional a hit and run yesterday at Peterson and Ravenswood. The police have so far not been able to locate the person responsible. You can find out more about that in the Public Safety section––if you have any information that might help, we encourage you to report it!
Yours in Service and Community,
Andre Vasquez, 40th Ward Alder
According to witnesses, at approximately 6:20pm on Sunday, July 26th at Peterson and Ravenswood, a driver in a black hatchback intentionally hit a pedestrian after verbal altercation over the driver's failure to yield to the crosswalk. The pedestrian was knocked unconscious and the driver fled the scene northbound on Ravenswood as witnesses called 911. The pedestrian was hospitalized with serious injuries. Detectives are currently investigating.
