FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - March 31, 2020 Contacts: Michael Robin, Media Committee Jesse Connor, Media Committee
Chicago Rent Freeze Virtual Town Hall Announced for April 1st Rent Day 45 Organizations & Elected Officials Endorse Canceling Rent & Mortgage Payments Indefinitely WHEN: Wednesday, April 1st | 3 PM WHERE: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_zLowCOVjT9Wrm0CN7-2gZQ WHAT: The Chicago Rent Freeze coalition will host a virtual town hall, broadcast on Facebook Live, featuring Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, Ald. Rossana Rodriguez, and Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Stacy Davis Gates. The town hall will highlight the testimony of tenants affected by the COVID-19 crisis telling in their own words why rent cannot and must not come due on April 1st. CHICAGO -- Last week, Autonomous Tenants Union made the demand that Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Governor JB Pritzker enact a complete freeze on the collection of all rent, mortgage, and utility payments throughout the duration of the COVID-19 crisis, compel landlords to grant automatic lease extensions to tenants unable to move during the crisis, and immediately house people experiencing homelessness; and that Chief Judge of the Cook County Circuit Court Timothy C. Evans close all court filings for evictions and foreclosures for as long as the emergency persists. Since then, a coalition of 45 Chicago-based organizations and elected officials has coalesced behind these demands, including the Chicago Teachers Union, Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, Ald. Rossana Rodriguez, Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, Ald. Andre Vasquez, State Rep. Delia Ramirez, State Rep. Will Guzzardi, the Obama CBA Coalition, the Lift the Ban Coalition, the Chicago Democratic Socialists of America, the Cook County College Teachers Union, and the Chicago chapter of the Black Youth Project 100. In addition to these cosponsors, over 15,000 individuals have signed the petition, which has been covered in the Chicago Tribune, the Associated Press, and Common Dreams. In a city where more than half of renter households are considered “rent-burdened” and over 85,000 people are already homeless, one missed paycheck can mean a choice between groceries or rent, with a looming potential for homelessness. Millions of Americans have already been forced out of work by the stay-at-home social distancing measures necessitated by the COVID-19 outbreak. The comments left by the thousands who have signed on to the Rent Freeze petition paint a stark picture of the fear and desperation they feel over being expected to continue paying rent after their jobs vanished. ATU and their coalition partners have invited the over 15,000 petition signatories to share their experiences during this crisis and their dread at the approach of rent day. Dozens of Chicago renters will give testimony about their personal experience, which will be punctuated with Know Your Rights workshops, live music, and speeches from 33rd Ward Ald. Rossana Rodriguez, 35th Ward Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa and Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Stacy Davis Gates, among others. Those who signed have also been provided a COVID-19 Tenant Organizing Toolkit to aid them in organizing themselves and their neighbors against unjust evictions, and organizers from the coalition have reached out to tenants to connect them with other signatories.
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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