RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago is the third largest city in the United States, with 237 square miles of land and an estimated 2,695,598 residents; and
WHEREAS, according to Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies' annual report, "The State of the Nation's Housing 2017," American homeownership rate was 63.4% 2016; and
WHEREAS, Chicago's homeownership rate was 63.6% in 2016; and
WHEREAS, owning a home not only provides shelter but is also the most significant investment for most of Americans, essential to building wealth and moving into the middle class; and ,
WHEREAS, homeowners with mortgages must purchase insurance to satisfy the requirements under their contract; and
WHEREAS, even homeowners without mortgages find it financially advantageous to have insurance so that the property can be fixed or replaced in the event of a loss; and
WHEREAS, among many reasons insurance companies use to cancel homeowner policies, one is failure to maintaining a home in proper order; and
WHEREAS, having an overhanging tree that touches the home or the roof of the property is generally regarded as failure to maintain a home; and
WHEREAS, if the tree is on the homeowner's property, the resolution is as simple as having the tree trimmed, however, if the tree is on City-owned property, such as parkways and vacant lots, the homeowner may be in a precarious position of having to wait for the City to respond to his or her request for service; and
WHEREAS, homeowners awaiting City services should not be penalized by having their insurance canceled or not renewed for circumstances that are not in their control, and enforcing such policy provisions under these circumstances is unjust and unfair; and
WHEREAS, the homeowner's insurance industry in Illinois is statutorily regulated by the Illinois Insurance Code, 215 ILCS 5/1 et al., which creates of a Director of the Department of Insurance; and
WHEREAS, under the Illinois Insurance Code, the Director of the Department o...
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