HUD Union to Gov Pritzker: Take Action on Housing

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 4/9/2020 HUD EMPLOYEES UNION CALLS ON GOV. PRITZKER TO ADDRESS HOUSING CRISIS AMID COVID-19 PANDEMIC UNION SAYS ACTION ON HOUSING IS KEY TO STOPPING VIRUS SPREAD, AND PREVENTING EVICTION EXPLOSION LEGAL MEMO DETAILS GOVERNOR’S POWER TO ENACT RENT MORATORIUM OR ALLOW MUNICIPALITIES TO REGULATE RENT Chicago, IL – AFGE Local 911, which represents housing experts who work for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, is supporting the Lift the Ban Coalition, and its call for Governor J.B. Pritzker to use his emergency authority to take action to address housing in Illinois during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We’re the experts on affordable housing.” Said AFGE Local 911 President Patrick Cano. “Our members know everything there is to know about making housing safe and affordable. And right now, we need the Governor to take these steps to help keep people safe, inside, and to have housing during and after this crisis.”

“Millions of people in Illinois are worried about how they are going to make ends meet while their business is closed, while their work is closed, or since they’ve been laid off. If we don’t take action now, we risk people continuing to spread the virus as they seek income to pay rent or we risk the virus spreading as we face an eventual avalanche of eviction notices when the shelter-in-place order is lifted.”

According to a legal memo being circulated by the Lift the Ban campaign authored by law firm Despres, Schwartz & Geoghegan LTD., Governor Pritzker has the power under his emergency declaration to enact a rent moratorium as well as the power to allow municipalities to regulate rent.

According to Cano, “This would be a step towards responding to the crisis of affordable housing that the crisis of the virus is compounding exponentially.”

AFGE Local 911’s executive board voted to support the Lift the Ban campaign in Spring of 2019 to support efforts at making housing more affordable.

AFGE National Vice-President Dorothy James said, “Pandemics like this show the consequences of not fully investing in housing and other needs. The Trump administration has been more focused on union-busting, and slashing the federal budget while giving tax breaks to the rich, when it should have been listening to doctors and experts to minimize the spread of this virus.”

Press Contact: Patrick Cano President AFGE Local 911 708-560-6536 Press Coordinator: Matt Muchowski 708-232-7346 matt.muchowski@afge.org