FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Friday May 4, 2020 Contacts: Michael Robin, Media Committee Jesse Connor, Media Committee
AUTONOMOUS TENANTS UNION ANNOUNCES INDUCTEES TO COVID-19 LANDLORD WALL OF SHAME Signees of Mayor Lightfoot’s “solidarity pledge” and some of the biggest and most well-connected players on the Chicagoland real estate scene among the dishonored CHICAGO -- Nine Chicagoland property management companies, together responsible for at least 94 eviction filings since March 13th, have been selected by Autonomous Tenants Union (ATU) as the inaugural class of the COVID-19 Landlord Wall of Shame: MICHAEL TOLLIVER/DAVID PEZZOLA of Atlas Asset Management/Icarus Properties; STUART HANDLER of TLC Management; ELZIE HIGGINBOTTOM of East Lake Management; AL BELMONTE of Wesley Realty Group; MARTY MAX of MLC Properties and Management; JEFFREY CAGAN of Cagan Management Group; ELI UNGAR of MAC Properties; and ADRIAN TUDOR of Medallion Property Management. (Visit the Wall of Shame at: h ttps://autonomoustenantsunion.org/wall-of-shame)
Today’s inductees include industry leaders and prominent members of the Chicago Apartment Association (CAA), Chicago Association of Realtors (CAR), and Neighborhood Building Owners Alliance (NBOA). Representatives of these three landlord associations appeared last week with Mayor Lightfoot to tout the signing of a “solidarity pledge” that was purported to represent an “effort to provide relief to beleaguered tenants” affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The pledge, which the mayor’s office falsely claimed included the participation of tenants groups, was roundly condemned by leading Chicago tenant organizations as a PR stunt meant to undermine efforts at producing real relief for renters. "The Chicago Housing Solidarity Pledge is about compassion and flexibility," said Department of Housing Commissioner Marisa Novara at the April 29th press event - but notably, it is not about accountability or enforceability. The landlord associations party to the pledge in fact lobbied in concert just days before to kill Ald. Matt Martin’s modest tenant relief bill, an ordinance that would have merely codified into law the extended payment window and negotiation process that are supposed principles of the pledge. Unsurprisingly, its signatories have continued to file evictions with impunity. On Monday, reporters can also look out for Chicago Democratic Socialists of America and Lift the Ban Coalition’s breakdown of the financial ties between city lawmakers and real estate interests, as well as State Rep. Delia Ramirez’s emergency housing legislation.
ATU, in concert with partners in the Lift The Ban and Right to Recovery coalitions, have consistently demanded real tenant relief in the form of rent and mortgage cancellations, a freeze on eviction filings, the housing of houseless Chicagoans, and automatic lease extensions for as long as the COVID-19 crisis endured. A petition articulating these demands garnered over 17,000 signatures. Governor JB Pritzker acceded to one of these demands on April 23rd, issuing an Executive Order making it illegal to “commence a residential eviction action” against tenants who do not pose an imminent public safety 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 | facebook.com/AutonomousTenantsUnion | autonomoustenantsunion.org
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