A Senate Special Committee on Housing hearing on rent control is scheduled for this Thursday, September 27, at 9:00 AM in Room C600 at the Michael A. Bilandic Building – 160 N. LaSalle St., Chicago.
This hearing is open to the public, but seating will be limited and early indications are that the room will be filled to capacity. This is one of several statewide scheduled to get feedback on establishing a statewide rent control policy. Chicago REALTORS® will be represented at the hearing, which is scheduled to take as much as two and a half hours.
The hearing is highly structured and only a few pre-arranged speaking slots are available. Working with Illinois REALTORS®, we have ensured our members are represented, and will be joined by other groups speaking out against this proposal. This shows a united front among property rights groups about the dangers of implementing rent control.
This is a subject matter hearing, which means there will be no vote or policy made at the meeting. The hearing’s purpose is simply to let senators hear the various viewpoints on the issue.
It is expected that specific rent control legislation will be introduced in January in the General Assembly. Our lobbyists are hard at work to make sure we best protect members and consumers from this bad policy.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
We encourage you to submit a witness slip in OPPOSITION – be sure to click the box as “Record of Appearance Only” as there will (probably) not be opportunity for public comment.- Click the link to the hearing.
- Click “Create a Witness Slip.”
- In Section 3, Position, click “OPPOSED.” – Please note: the box says rent control ban, which is causing some confusion. We have confirmed with Senate staff that we should mark “opponent” for the purpose of this hearing.
- In Section 4, Testimony, click “RECORD OF APPEARANCE ONLY.”
- Then click, Create Slip.