FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - June 18th, 2020 Contacts: Antonio Gutierrez, Tenant Organizer
COOK COUNTY COMMISSIONER ALMA ANAYA FILES RESOLUTION IN OPPOSITION TO EVICTION FILINGS IN COOK COUNTY DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC Chicago, IL – Today, the Cook County Board of Commissioners will consider a Proposed Resolution #20-2891 introduced by Cook County Commissioner Alma E. Anaya (7th-D) that urges the Circuit Court of Cook County and the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois to dismiss and seal eviction filings that have been initiated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Proposed Resolution was prompted after 400 eviction filings - and counting - have been initiated in Cook County, even after Governor J.B. Pritzker issued Illinois Executive Order 2020-30 on April 23, 2020 which prohibits the commencement of residential evictions pursuant to 735 ILCS 5/9-101 et seq. Furthermore, the Proposed Resolution urges the Circuit Court of Cook County and the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois to require property owners who commence eviction filings to affirm filings have been initiated based on the exemptions laid out in the Executive Order, as a way to deter property owners from evicting tenants based solely on their inability to pay. “The COVID-19 pandemic has increased housing insecurity for countless residents in Cook County,” states Commissioner Anaya. “Rent already comprises a large proportion of tenants’ financial burdens, and this has become even more pronounced now as people have lost their jobs. It is unjust that our constituents need to be fearful of losing their home, on top of the concerns and uncertainty we are facing as a society due to the pandemic. It is urgent that these eviction filings be dismissed before they are able to proceed in court needlessly.” “The hundreds of evictions filed in Cook County alone demonstrate that landlords are carrying on with ‘business as usual’ in the midst of a pandemic. We need systems of accountability that protect tenants during the pandemic, and sealing these eviction cases will only be the first step. In Cook County, once a tenant is filed against at the start of the eviction process it remains on their credit record, which can prevent them from finding future housing ” says Antonio Gutierrez, Tenant Organizer from the Autonomous Tenants Union, a Chicago-based community organization that worked with Commissioner Anaya to draft the resolution. “We urge the Board to join ATU in asking the courts to fully enforce Illinois’ COVID eviction moratorium, so renters can focus on staying healthy instead of struggling to stay in their homes.” Commissioner Alma E. Anaya worked in collaboration with the Autonomous Tenant’s Union in the development of this proposed resolution. Autonomous Tenants Union (ATU) is committed to organizing for housing justice from below and to the left. As an independent collective based in Chicago, we strategize together to defend and enforce our right to dignified housing. We believe that housing is a human right, not a commodity! We fight for an end to all evictions, and for community control of housing through the building of popular power. housing.atu@gmail.com | f acebook.com/AutonomousTenantsUnion | autonomoustenantsunion.org