New legislation to combat rent control ban

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - The "Keep Illinois Home Tenant Protection Act" is heading to the Illinois General Assembly in November. If it passes, it will cap annual rent increases at 5%.

"You see historically, periods where inflation goes up and down, and et cetera, but the rent never goes down!" said Diego Morales, a member of Lift the Ban Coalition and organizer of the event. "Rent always goes up, the rent had been going up before the pandemic, the rent had been going up decades before that, we have to start asking fundamental questions about our broken housing system."

Several activists and two of the state representatives behind the bill gathered at the Illinois State Fair today. They said the housing crisis will continue to worsen without new laws.

"I'm telling you, once these federal relief dollars expire in 2024, the floor is going to fall out," said State Senator Christina Pacione-Zayas. "What we see in terms of right now the encampments, the evictions, all of that is only going to get grow exponentially."

She said that a lack of affordable housing will impact every feature of peoples lives and keep companies from having consistent workers.

The new bill would protect renters, including giving tenants access to an attorney when they are facing eviction. The organizers say rent is increasing at rates higher than what anyone can handle.

"In Illinois, a renter would need to earn $22.80 an hour working full time just to keep a two bedroom apartment," said Morales. "And that's not right. That's not right. The state's current minimum wage is $12 an hour. So how are we supposed to survive?"

The state of Illinois has had a rent control ban in place since 1997. Pacione-Zayas says the "Keep Illinois Home Tenant Protection Act" will allow the state to oversee rent rates and ensure large corporations aren't taking advantage of renters.