Ald. David Orr (49th), sponsor of the tenants` rights ordinance that recently passed the Chicago City Council, has suggested changes in the city`s Compliance Board and in Housing Court to keep more housing units in compliance with city codes and to make the agencies more efficient.
Orr, who represents the Rogers Park area, said over the weekend that he wants to give Compliance Board hearing officers the power to decide small cases. Hearing officers have no authority to make judgments now, he said.
Orr said settlements at the Compliance Board level would free Housing Court of many cases and speed the court process, which now may last from a few months to more than a year.
Nilda Soler, an attorney who directs the city corporation counsel`s housing division, said, ”Having an effective Compliance Board might weed out some cases from the Housing Court–particularly the smaller cases.”
Housing Court has about 20,000 active cases before it, and though its six judges settle 750 to 800 cases a month, they also receive about 1,000 new cases every month, she said.
Orr said he also wants Housing Court judges to get tough on slumlords, especially those who appear before the court often, by imposing more fines for housing code violations and collecting fines as they are imposed.
”I want to reform the whole thing–the Housing Court and the Compliance Board,” Orr said. ”Both need to be tougher on the repeat offenders or property owners that are clearly not taking care of their property.
”But at the same time, the court and the city need to be understandably tolerant of `mom and pop` owners and others legitimately trying to remedy problems with their buildings.”
The key to hindering slumlords and helping well-intentioned property owners is timing, Orr said. If Housing Court can get to the owners of buildings beginning to deteriorate, work with cooperative owners and impose fines on those unwilling to make repairs, housing units and neighborhoods will be saved, he said.
More than 100,000 housing units have been lost in 10 years through abandonment, fire and other causes, Orr said. Housing units being replaced are primarily ”luxury” units, he added.
Orr, Ald. Lawrence Bloom (5th) and representatives from the Lawyer`s Committee for Better Housing, the city`s corporation counsel and the city`s Department of Inspectional Services have been working for 18 months on proposals to conserve decent housing available now.
”I think if we do this thing carefully, we`re going to help the owners,” he said.
When a slumlord allows his building to fall into disrepair, property owners adjacent to that building have a difficult time attracting the tenants they want, he said. Legitimate property owners who cannot financially keep up with repairs can be targeted for help by several city agencies, he said.
