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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
PROVIDING A SUMMARY OF THE RESIDENTIAL TENANT LANDLORD ORDINANCE
WHEREAS, the Residential Tenant Landlord Ordinance unanimously passed the Cook County Board on January 28, 2021, extending basic, fair, and long overdue protections to renters and landlords in more than 245,000 suburban households; and
WHEREAS, the Residential Tenant Landlord Ordinance creates consistent Countywide rules with common sense lease termination notices, basic habitability guidelines, and legal safeguards for landlords and tenants; and
WHEREAS, the Residential Tenant Landlord Ordinance offers critical protections against lockouts, excessive move-in and late fees, and exorbitant interest rates; and
WHEREAS, prior to the passage of the Residential Tenant Landlord Ordinance, suburban renters lived without the same basic protections guaranteed to Chicago, Evanston, and Mount Prospect tenants for decades; and
WHEREAS, when Mayor Harold Washington ushered the Chicago tenants' rights ordinance in 1986, he said the legislation was aimed at "bringing fairness to this city," and the Residential Tenant Landlord Ordinance extends that fairness to suburban Cook County; and
WHEREAS, the Residential Tenant Landlord Ordinance was crafted in a spirit of cooperation and collaboration; and
WHEREAS, renter lockouts are now illegal, and all other provisions go into effect June 1, 2021; and
WHEREAS, it is important that all impacted suburban residents can understand their new rights, protections, and responsibilities; and
WHEREAS, the Residential Tenant Landlord Ordinance calls for an approved plain-language summary of the Ordinance to be shared with each new lease; and
WHEREAS, the Cook County Department of Human Rights and Ethics will publish the approved summary of the Residential Tenant Landlord Ordinance in multiple languages on their website; and
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, the Cook County Board of Commissioners, by way of the Zoning and Building Committee, does hereby approve this summary of the Residential Tenant Landlord Ordinance.
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