CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A South Shore tenant advocate with the community group "Not Me, We" said a fight over conditions at one South Side apartment building is part of a larger issue.
Dixon Romeo is an organizer with "Not Me, We." He told WBBM the landlord at an apartment building at 66th Street and Kenwood Avenue is filing retaliatory eviction notices against 18 tenants who have withheld their rent since August over what they say are deplorable conditions in the building.
"Mold, mice, [and] rats," Romeo said.
He said the tenant protest is part of a landscape in which landlords have more resources and legal firepower than tenants.
That dynamic, he added, has contributed to the city's affordable housing crisis.
"There are different things that incentivize landlords to abuse their power as opposed to being an actual housing provider and providing affordable housing," Romeo said.
Romeo called on the city to tip the balance in favor of tenants.
"The City needs to have the ability to take legal action against bad actors but also do things to … support tenants before they end up in situations where they might be in eviction court," he said.
Without those greater protections, Romeo said tenants are forced to come together and organize — or risk being pushed out of their neighborhoods.
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