Hey, Neighbors!

We didn’t think this post was going to be about (recycled/second hand) AI cats, but it has been a week, and it’s only getting crazier. If you want to weigh in on the timely debate about second-hand AI cats vs Landlords, comment on our post.

This week’s Zoning committee, vice-chaired by 44th Ward Alderman Lawson, was a farce. First, the Lincoln Park parents crushed the downstairs security entry point with their sheer numbers. We got excited for a minute thinking, look at all these well dressed people who are here to yell at the landlords. Spoiler alert. They were there for a different meeting, but between their impressive showing and the suspiciously slow security process, the few people who were there to join the Zoning Committee missed the public comment sign up window.

You know who didn’t miss the window? The landlords and their lobbyists. The landlords lined up to air their grievances. Oh how trying is the life of a landlord, pardonne-moi, “housing provider”. Especially when one person owns two thousand units and has NO CHOICE but to raise the rents.

One after another they stepped to the microphone to introduce themselves as “housing providers”. Very specific language that has been parroted by our Alderman Lawson in his newsletter as well. We can’t say for sure that our alderman is colluding with the landlord lobby, but he kinda told on himself in the zoning committee meeting, when he kept referring to one of the public commenter’s statements about “security and safety of information”, calling it a “data leak”. Except the guy never said “data leak”, and the two commissioners that the alderman was attempting to interrogate had no idea what he was talking about. The existing database doesn’t house ANY private information and as far as future data leaks, they haven’t happened yet. LOL

What else stood about the landlords, beside their atrocious sartorial style choices? The contempt that was dripping from their wrinkled untucked shirts. Here they were, kicking the people’s house doors down, and expecting the city council to do as they’re told. Given how much money they’ve invested into the corporate caucus alders, it’s not surprising at all. They spoke of mistrust toward city government and the Bureau of Rental Housing Services proposed by the PRO. Who will decide how the money is spent, they asked? And who will be hired to work in this office? They didn’t even try to hide their contempt for the city’s administration. Our city. Our government. According to the Landlords, we are to pay and to obey. And with the corporate aldermen caucus in their pockets, we can see where the arrogance is coming from.

Hardly anyone was there to see it but for a handful of activists and the corporate media. And we already know corporate media is not going to help. If anything, they will double down on their Mayor vs the Council narrative, instead of the obvious Corporate Alders vs the People of Chicago.

Ultimately, Alderman Lawson voted to advance unFAIR to the full city council vote next week on September 23rd, even though Zoning Committee chair Alderman Villegas admitted in the same meeting that unFAIR had huge holes in it, including unfunded mandates. Ald. Villegas admitted that the alternative ordinance was hastily written in response to the Mayor’s introduction of PRO, which was carefully crafted over several years, and thanks to the opposition by the corporate block, is being stripped of its most powerful protections, like just cause and relocation assistance (!). This was such an obvious lie at the center of unFAIR. The corporate caucus didn’t care about renters until PRO was issued, and their only goal is to be the spoiler for what they perceive as the Mayor’s agenda. Except their alternative ordinance is junk, just like their alternative budget was last year. It hurts the People of Chicago and it benefits corporate interests. And they are achieving their goal of stripping the most valuable protections from PRO in the process, while calling for “negotiations”.

Which leads to a single conclusion: None of these corporate alders cared about renters until PRO came out, and with it, the political move to “stick it to the Mayor”. Except they are “sticking it” to the 600,000+ renters in the city.

Later on the same day, Ald. Lawson’s office sent out his weekly newsletter, with its typical non-committal word salad, and not a single word about how he voted on the subject of renters’ right during the committee meeting earlier in the same day.

All signs once again are pointing in the same direction as they did with the unbalanced “stick it to the Mayor” alternative budget last year. Ald. Lawson behaved exactly the same way, dodging and weaving from his actual constituents, and ultimately voting with the corporate puppet caucus.

What Can We Do?

Call his office anyway @ (773) 525-6034

You can use our script or just tell him what you think.

The next City Council meeting is on September 23rd. There will be a rally at 9:00am in front of City Hall.

Share the details with your neighbors and come along to this fight with our friends at One Northside.

You can find everything you need to join PRO activations here: 44th-ward.com/actions/renters

Follow the Money

If you are curious about Alderman Lawson’s campaign donors, we recently published an analysis. If you put landlords, developers and realtors together, they certainly top the chart as his biggest fans.