Category: politics

CHICAGO URBAN DAILY

Mayor Johnson’s Renter Protection Plan Wins First Round — Fight Far From Over

CHICAGO (CHICAGO URBAN DAILY)— Mayor Brandon Johnson scored an early — and narrow — victory this week in the battle over Chicago’s renter protections, a fight that touches the lives of the city’s 600,000 renters.

The City Council’s Housing Committee, chaired by one of the mayor’s closest allies, voted 12-9 to approve Johnson’s revised Protecting Renters Ordinance. The vote came only after the mayor made a key concession: dropping the “just cause” provision that would have required landlords to make relocation payments to tenants evicted through no fault of their own. He had already exempted owner-occupied buildings of six units or fewer, and an earlier draft provision on unconscionable rent increases was stripped out.

The opposition isn’t backing down. Zoning Committee Chair Gilbert Villegas (36th) is pushing an alternative — the Fair and Accountable Rental Ordinance, or FAIR — favored by many of the same real estate interests that spent millions to defeat Johnson’s “Bring Chicago Home” referendum. “This is going to raise rents,” Villegas told the Chicago Sun-Times. The full City Council will now choose between the dueling ordinances, merge them, or keep talking.

Passage of either plan would mark the first major update to Chicago’s renter protections in more than four decades.

The same Council week saw Johnson introduce a 12-month moratorium on new data center construction — “open for business, but not for sale,” the mayor said — plus new safety standards for workers exposed to extreme heat and cold.

Stay tuned to Chicago Urban Daily for continuing coverage from City Hall.

Reported by Chicago Urban Daily News. Visit chicagourbandailynews.com for updates.

CHICAGO URBAN DAILY

CHICAGO (CHICAGO URBAN DAILY)— Mayor Brandon Johnson scored a narrow but real victory in his push to protect Chicago’s renters, as the City Council’s Housing Committee voted 12-9 to advance his revised Protecting Renters Ordinance.

The win came only after Johnson made big concessions. The mayor dropped the controversial “just cause” provision that would have forced landlords to pay relocation money to tenants evicted through no fault of their own. He also exempted owner-occupied buildings of six units or less, and scrapped an early proposal for $10,000 payouts to tenants facing what the draft called “unconscionable rent increases” — a provision critics warned was a back door to rent control.

What survived: a citywide rental registry with a $20-per-unit annual fee expected to raise about $22 million a year, a new Bureau of Rental Housing Services, a permanent tenant-counsel program, a Renters Bill of Rights, and a ban on junk fees like move-in charges.

But the opposition is not backing down. Zoning Committee Chair Gilbert Villegas pushed a rival plan through his committee the very next day. His version skips the registry fee and the new bureau, using existing staff instead — and calls for cutting red tape on housing permits.

Now both measures head toward the full City Council, where Johnson will need 26 votes to pass his version.

Stay tuned to Chicago Urban Daily as this fight moves to the Council floor.

Reported by Chicago Urban Daily News. Visit chicagourbandailynews.com for updates.

CHICAGO URBAN DAILY

By Chicago Urban Daily Staff

CHICAGO (CHICAGO URBAN DAILY)— Wednesday was a showdown day at City Hall, and renters were at the center of it.

CHICAGO URBAN DAILY

By Chicago Urban Daily Staff

Mayor Brandon Johnson won an early round in the fight over Chicago’s 600,000 renters when the City Council’s Housing Committee voted 12-9 to advance his revised Protecting Renters Ordinance. The mayor dropped the controversial “just cause” provision — which would have forced landlords to pay relocation costs to no-fault evicted tenants — to get it through. Earlier drafts also axed a $10,000 payout for tenants pushed out by steep rent hikes, after critics called it a backdoor to rent control.

But nothing is settled. Ald. Gilbert Villegas is pushing a competing plan, the Fair and Accountable Rental Ordinance, backed by some of the same real estate interests that killed the “Bring Chicago Home” referendum. Villegas calls Johnson’s plan “a rent tariff” that will get passed straight to renters. Full-council action on both measures is now deferred to a later meeting this fall. If one passes, it would be the first major update to Chicago renter protections in more than four decades.

Meanwhile, a second brawl broke out over the city’s credit card. Retiring Ald. Marty Quinn is pushing to require 30 votes instead of 26 to approve future borrowing — because 40% of Chicago’s operating budget is already eaten by pension and debt payments. The Finance Committee backed the reform 21-9 on Monday, but the mayor’s closest ally, Budget Chair Jason Ervin, used a parliamentary move to stall the final vote at Wednesday’s council meeting.

Stay tuned to Chicago Urban Daily for updates on this developing story.

Reported by Chicago Urban Daily News. Visit chicagourbandailynews.com for updates.

By Chicago Urban Daily Staff

CHICAGO URBAN DAILY

CHICAGO (CHICAGO URBAN DAILY)—Mayor Brandon Johnson is asking Chicago to pump the brakes on data centers. On Wednesday, he and three alderpeople introduced a 12-month moratorium ordinance that would pause new data center construction and block major expansions of existing facilities while the city writes long-term rules for the booming industry.

“Chicago is open for business, but we are not for sale,” Johnson said in a statement. “We welcome innovation, investment and the jobs and opportunities that come with it, but growth must be done responsibly and in a way that protects the health, safety and quality of life of Chicago residents.”

The ordinance is cosponsored by Ald. Maria Hadden (49th), Ald. Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48th), and Ald. Lamont J. Robinson (4th). It gives the city’s Data Centers Task Force — created by Johnson’s executive order last month — a full year to build a regulatory framework around clean air, clean water, energy use, and neighborhood impact.

The same day, the council passed a separate measure requiring Chicago’s 39 existing data centers to disclose their energy and water consumption. The industry is pushing back: the Data Center Coalition warns the moratorium could signal the city is “closed for business,” and Ald. Bill Conway (34th) is offering an alternative based on zoning requirements and environmental reviews instead of a freeze. The moratorium now heads to committee for its first vote.

Stay tuned to Chicago Urban Daily as the ordinance moves through City Council.

Reported by Chicago Urban Daily News. Visit chicagourbandailynews.com for updates.