A tenant union representing 150 residents throughout 4 buildings in Rogers Park has accepted a hire strike to start Saturday after a brand new proprietor introduced a spike of a number of hundred {dollars} in month-to-month charges.
Threatened with eviction, the residents — largely Hispanic and Latino households which have lived within the North Aspect buildings for many years — have additionally joined calls from tenant unions for Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to ascertain a blanket eviction moratorium within the metropolis as immigration enforcement actions ramp up beneath the Trump administration. The state applied a comparable measure in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020 to October 2021.
“This combat is going on in a second of deep disaster,” stated Juan Reyes, an organizer with the All-Chicago Tenant Alliance, at a Sunday information convention. “Households are dealing with the specter of eviction and deportation on the similar time.”
In preparation for the gathering, Mexican get together bunting in pink, inexperienced and white adorned the courtyard of one of many buildings. The odor of mole and tamales hung within the air from an impromptu potluck between neighbors.
“These guys have lived right here for 40 years, 30 years. Households have grown up right here,” stated Danny Rosa, additionally an organizer with the tenant alliance.
Residents of the 4 buildings shaped a union in August beneath the title Fuerzas Activas de la Damen after the brand new proprietor, developer Imran Khan of Ark Administration Options, introduced shortly after buying the properties in April that hire will increase would kick in at the start of September, which some tenants stated would double their present charges.
Khan couldn’t be instantly reached for remark Sunday.
A number of tenants have reported their hire is beneath $1,000. Relying on the unit, month-to-month prices are between $700 and $900, they stated Sunday. However they’re now being requested to pay a median 60% improve, anyplace between $500 and $800.
Most tenants have paid their October hire at their common charge, after not agreeing to signal the brand new contract with the spike, solely to obtain emails alerting them to an impressive steadiness of their account. They hope to succeed in a deal for a smaller month-to-month hike of $100 earlier than the strike Saturday.
“With these excessive hire prices, you’re hurting all of the sincere and hardworking folks, who’ve needed to cease shopping for drugs for his or her family members who’re sick at residence,” José Rentería, a longtime resident of the neighborhood, stated in Spanish on the information convention. “Queremos dignidad y justicia. We would like dignity and justice.”
Residents say they’ve been threatened with eviction in the event that they refuse the brand new costs. Whereas some residents have stopped going to work, fearing arrest, and others nonetheless head outdoors with dread, organizers stated this and different working-class immigrant communities want entry to secure housing.
On Sunday, a number of residents of the Rogers Park buildings expressed hopes for a good negotiation and contract. Additionally they expressed frustrations about their present residing situations.
Underneath the brand new possession, upkeep wants within the 4 buildings have additionally gone unmet, in keeping with residents, who’ve complained about ceiling leaks, unsealed doorways and home windows, and pests comparable to rats, bedbugs and cockroaches. The Tribune reviewed a number of images from tenants, together with photos of moldy water harm and traps filled with bugs.
Some have chosen to maneuver out because of the rising prices. Analía Miranda, a resident for 23 years, stated three of her siblings who lived there have left in latest months.
“He’s going to win,” she recalled them saying. “He has cash.”
“OK, however we’ve got dignity,” Miranda stated she informed her siblings. “If we lose, we’ll lose with dignity.”
Based on the All-Chicago Tenant Alliance, one other Hispanic tenant union within the metropolis is experiencing an identical problem: Members of Buena Park’s Fuerzas Inquilinos de Broadway y Cuyler are presently dealing with off with landlord Drew Millard in eviction court docket.
Outdoors the constructing the place the information convention was held Sunday, a pair of volunteers with the Shield Rogers Park speedy response workforce stood watch on the entryway, ready to alert attendees and residents in case federal immigration brokers confirmed up.
“This combat right here right this moment is a part of a a lot greater wrestle. It’s extra than simply hire,” Reyes stated. “It’s a combat for dignity, for justice and for group, for all tenants throughout town.”
