Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) leaders are targeting the offices of Democratic state Rep. Curtis Tarver (D-Chicago) for protest after he recently voted against removing the ban on rent control in Illinois.
DSA organizers and supporters of House Bill 255 are now planning a demonstration outside of Tarver’s south side headquarters in the 25th District on the evening of April 10.
“He voted along with Republicans to uphold this unjust, ALEC-sponsored ban,” DSA officials posted on the organization’s website. “We demand that he reconsider his vote and support HB255. He must be held accountable to the struggling renters in his district, not the real estate lobby.”
Illinois state House Rep Will Guzzardi (D-Chicago) on the House floor
| repguzzardi.com
Sponsored by Rep. Will Guzzardi (D-Chicago), HB 255 recently failed to advance out of the Commercial Law Subcommittee of the Civil Judiciary Committee, meaning that the more than two decades-old Rent Control Preemption Act still stands as law in Illinois.
In the aftermath, Guzzardi tried to play down the setback while vowing to fight another day.
“The real estate lobby is very powerful,” he said. “It is going to take a long, hard slog to beat these guys.”
At least two other bills committed to the issue of rent control also now appear to be on life-support in the General Assembly. Introduced by state Rep. Mary Flowers (D-Chicago), HB 2192 would repel the Preemption Act along with creating six elected rent-control boards that would regulate rent prices and oversee a tax credits system for landlords across the state.
Freshman state Rep. Aaron Ortiz (D-Chicago) has also introduced a bill that would carry out many of the same objectives.
“We will gather outside of his Hyde Park district office at 6:00 p.m., making some noise, engaging passers-by with flyers and posting flyers up and down 53rd Street,” DSA officials said on its website of the protest planned for outside Tarver’s office.