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Summary and audio linked here.
Chicago’s political leadership is floating a pension buyout program as evidence it is seriously addressing the city’s thirty-six-billion-dollar unfunded pension liability, but Mark Glennon, founder of the Illinois policy research organization Wirepoints, said that the proposal moves debt from one column to another rather than reducing it, and that the broader fiscal picture facing the city continues to deteriorate across every measurable dimension. Audio here.
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
The state’s existing buyout program for its own pensions is the precedent for Chicago, which should be a warning: Look out for similar exaggerated claims and shoddy analysis.
Full interview and summary linked here.
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“(c) Upon a finding by a circuit court that a lessor has refused to supply the itemized statement required by this Section, or has supplied such statement in bad faith, and has failed or refused to return the amount of the security deposit due within the time limits provided, the lessor shall be liable for an amount equal to twice the amount of the security deposit due, together with court costs and reasonable attorney's fees." So failing to provide an itemized receipt at the end of the lease, even if you return all the tenant’s deposit, the tenant will sue… Read more »
Debtsor, thank you for pointing this out. Paul Arena of the Illinois Rental Property Owners Assn has said previously that Illinois is anti-landlord and usually just ignores the concerns of small landlords. Going forward, especially after the eviction moratoriums, fewer people want to be landlords. Anti-landlord legislation is sweeping across blue states and taking away property rights. Some places are even banning landlords from doing criminal background checks. My opinion: Being a landlord in states like Illinois and California is ridiculous, unprofitable, and dangerous. Who would want to be a small landlord in Chicago when you have to contend with… Read more »
The anti-landlord legislation does two things. First, it encourages consolidation of landlords into private equity and major investment groups because they have the resources that can automate these legal provision at scale; and two, it encourages deconversion of existing smaller 1-4 unit homes into single family homes. People lament that Lakeview and Lincoln Park used to have tons of cheap vintage apartments for college grads. These days not so much, as smaller individual landlords decided over the years that it was cheaper to sell to developers than continue being a landlord.
The word AND is very important.
Not providing an itemized statement or one in bad faith but returning the deposit wouldn’t meet the criteria that you’ve outlined.
within the time limits provided I personally know a guy who returned a security deposit in full, but several days late under the current Chicago law, and it cost him $15,000 judgment in attorney’s fees to tenant’s lawyer, plus the double rent. And I can vouch this actually happened, not just some ‘my half-brother’s uncle’s nephew said’ kind of thing. That being said, I read the statute to mean that failing to supply a receipt at all; or giving a bad faith receipt and failing to return the entire deposit, makes you pay da $$$$. Regardless, looks very anti-landlord to… Read more »
which makes sense, the law wants you to give a receipt AND the money. Give a bad faith receipt and only some of the money and you gotta pay the $$$$$
Or give the money and no receipt, and you still gotta pay the $$$$$$
The only way to not get screwed is to pay the money and give the receipt. Doing one is not enough.
In my opinion, Illinois laws for landlords excessively punish the landlord. The more common scenario is that tenants will trash a place and there are no consequences. Even if the landlord sues and wins, trying to collect from an irresponsible tenant is often difficult to impossible.
The real winners are the lawyers. Aren’t there enough lawsuits in Illinois?
That’s not what the law states. The law you have provided shows that lessor is responsible if they don’t provide an itemized receipt AND they didn’t return the deposit. You need to do both things to be in violation not just one.
You don’t need to convince me, you need to convince the judge.