September 14 ,2016 Chicago City Council Referred to HOUSING AND REAL ESTATE COMMITTEE
Ordinance
Amending the Housing and Economic Development Ordinance to Promote Greater
Participation in the Electoral Process
• WHEREAS, any body politic, including that of the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois, benefits from greater participation in the electoral process on the part of residents and taxpayers; now, therefore,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO that Chapter 5-12 of the Municipal Code is hereby amended by added the underscored text and deleting the struck-through text as follows:
5-12-170 Summary of ordinance, voter registration information attached to rental agreement.
The commissioner of the department of planning and development shall prepare a summary ofthis chapter, describing the respective rights, obligations and remedies of landlords and tenants hereunder, and shall make such summary available for public inspection and copying. The commissioner shall also, after the city comptroller has announced the rate of interest on security deposits on the first business day of the year, prepare a separate summary describing the respective rights, obligations and remedies of landlords and tenants with respect to security deposits, including the new interest rate as well as the rate for each ofthe prior two years. The commissioner shall also distribute the new rate of security deposit interest, as well as the rate for each of the prior two years, through public service announcements to all radio and television outlets broadcasting in the city. A copy of such summary shall be attached to each written rental agreement when any such agreement is initially offered to any tenant or prospective tenant by or on behalf of a landlord and whether such agreement is for a new rental or a renewal thereof. Where there is an oral agreement, the landlord shall give to the tenant a copy ofthe summary.
The summary shall include the following language:
"The porch or deck of this building should be designed for a live load of up to 100 pounds, per square foot and is safe only for its intended use. Protect your safety. Do not overload the porch or deck. If you have questions about porch or deck safety, call the City of Chicago non-emergency number, 3-1-1."
If the landlord acts in violation of this subsection, the tenant may terminate the rental agreement by written notice. The written notice shall specify the date of termination no later than 30 days from the date of the written notice. If a tenant in a civil legal proceeding against his landlord establishes that a violation of this section has occurred, he shall be entitled to recover $ 100.00 in damages.
No later than October 15, 2016, the department of human rights shall prepare a one-page summary of information that succinctly and impartially explains the time and manner in
September 14 , 2016 Chicago City Council Referred to HOUSING AND REAL ESTATE COMMITTEE
which a person may register to vote in the state, and no later than November 15, 2016, the department shall post such summary in a printable form on its website. The summary shall be written in English, as well as Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Arabic, Polish, and other languages identified by the department. Each Landlord shall attach a printed summary to each written residential lease agreement that the Landlord enters into on or after January 1, 2017, or, in the event the lease agreement is oral, tender the summary to the Tenant or Tenants who are party to the oral lease agreement. In all instances, the summary tendered by the Landlord shall be in the language utilized by the relevant Tenant or Tenants, or in English if no suitable translation is available on the department's website. As from time to time needed or advisable, the department of human rights shall update the summary, taking into account revisions to applicable law and other variable factors.
Gilbert Villegas Alderman, 36th Ward
September 14 , 2016 Chicago City Council Referred to HOUSING AND REAL ESTATE COMMITTEE
Type: Ordinance
Title: Amending the Chicago Housing and Economic Development Ordinance with regards to voter registration.