Skokie has changed! This used to be a wonderful community! But then people from bad areas started moving here and bringing their cousins and friends with them. you cannot deny that there is more crime near multi unit homes than residental side streets!

Im all for this! Commit a crime? Get the hell out! Nice work Village! As for the landlords, NOT MY PROBLEM. I'd rather have a safe community than protecting freeloading leeches that are runing my hometownn!

What happens if the landlord goes through the eviction process (which could cost thousands of dollars) and the court denies the landlords request to evict?

Maybe the tenant should be licensed and not the landlord. If the tenant has his license revoked then he must move out or face the fines and penalties that Skokie applies. This puts the burden of enforcement back on Skokie who is planning to hire an enforcement officer for this any way, instead of a landlord who may very well be the next crime victim of the angry tenant who we know has already been deemed a criminal.

On the lighter side……..

It sounds like an old western movie. “Get out of town by sundown. We don’t want your kind around here.”

I'm troubled by the possible "unintended" consequences of landlords trying to proactively avoid a law-breaking tenant, only to break that other national law of racial discrimination. Let's get this issue into the open and talk about that, too.

I understand. There is also a law that states I cannot kill someone. That law does not bother me because that is something I would never do.

If I was a landlord, since it is my property, don't I get to choose who I rent to? Don't I get to clean up afterwards if they trash the place? Don't I get to pay down my mortgage (if I have one) with the money from good tenants?

I agree with the village. It is the landlords problem. Like every business in the US and every person, we get to choose where we want to do business. We get to choose where we want to live. If I don't like the laws in Florida, I probably won't move to Florida, even if they don't have an income tax.

Landlords should be responsible people. If they are responsible people this law will not impact them just like other laws in which they abide will not impact them. You don't pay a fine for filing your income taxes after the deadline if you file on time.

This is not about race. This is not about anything else. This is simply about safety and helping those landlords who do not have a good business sense to get one or get out. Nothing wrong with that.

Companies leave Illinois every day because they don't like the laws or the tax structure. They get to choose where they do business. Landlords get to choose where they operate as well.

As a life long Skokie resident and a landlord for the last 20 years, I can assure you that I extensively screen prospective tenants, along with requiring a large security deposit. Most my tenants are with me 10 years or more. I definitely don't want bad renters in my buiding. (What landlord would? It makes no sense even for an absentee landlord to prefer a tenant who doesn't pay and/or causes trouble.) But that doesn't stop me from ending up with the occassional problem tenant. If you want to make landlords responsible, give them the ability to evict. You would be surprised how long and difficult the process is and what very limited rights the landlord has. Further penalizing the landlord only makes the situation worse, because it doesn't get out the bad tenent, it only chases away good property owners. You think the landlord is the cause of the problem? Wait until they walk away from their properties because of Skokie's disregard & abuse of landlords - the very people who have the greatest personal interest in maintaining and improving their community. Then all you're left with is bad tenants squating in rundown buildings. Is that what you want next door? Skokie has definitely gone down hill in the last several years and if this ordinance passes, you can say good bye to this 40 year resident and property owner.

I think that everyone needs to understand what makes good neighborhoods. Property owners and tenants alike. Tenants sometimes live in fear for what other tenants do in the property or around it. They don't want repercussions directed towards them by bad tenants. They feel like no body is listening to their needs to live in safe, secure and well kept environment. I think landlords should have an intranet. They should be alerted to those multi family owners who don't care about what goes on in their property, or don't take care of their property. or rent to criminals or those who have checkered pasts. Those good landlords will know not to rent to those bad tenants who have been causing problems in other buildings. I also think all tenants should provide a criminal background check with their rental application. If they don't want to, don't rent to them. It doesn't cost much to get one, but it costs plenty to evict someone. The proposed ordinance does not conflict with state law. Make sure you read it. Make sure you and your tenants know about it. This is the only way there will be consistency of standards for multi-family INCOME producing properties. They are a business, lets be truthful about it. I only hope that this ordinance can be inclusive of single family houses and attached single family properties too. Again, consistency of standards and expectations of income producing properties will help everyone, tenants included. .

This entire matter is simply because the police will not or can not do their job.

If the offender is a tenant and indeed a criminal why does he need to be evicted when he should actually be in jail?

What if the offender is a property owner and not a renter? Are we supposed to believe that only renters commit crimes?

Why ask the landlord to do law enforcement? The citizens of Skokie complained when the owner of a liquor store recently took the law into his own hands to protect his property, and now we are looking an ordnance requiring landlords to do just that.

Did anyone ever think that the criminal tenant would get extremely belligerent when the eviction process is started? The eviction process may take months giving him ample time to take revenge. How does the landlord protect himself and his property during this period? When police are called because of disturbances caused by this how do these incidents reflect on the landlord? Before you say it’s the landlords problem ask yourself how you would handle this situation.

Mr. Handler,
I am not saying that the new Skokie ordinance does not conflict with state laws. What is missed here is that the people of Skokie are fed up with the increase in crime. They are fed up with the muggings, the purse snatching, the drug dealing, the stolen bicycles, the burglaries....etc....they want that to stop in the worst way...
Their frustration levels are extremely high....so much so that it appears they are willing to support a law that goes counter to the state law...That doesn't scream the people who support the Skokie eviction law are idiots...it screams that they are fed up and concerned for their safety and their property values...

Can you blame them for that?

Gregg, I agree that residents are fed up, but does that only include single family homeowners? The city itself ignored this problem for a number of years. They looked the other way when multifamily owners complained that we need to make changes in policing, enforcement, and recognition. Now that its been forced on their desk, they just pass the buck onto the landlords. Most landlords investment in their properties is a lot greater than the single family homeowners I see. As a landlord, I would like to see nothing more than the city improve. Instead of bragging about not increasing property taxes in umpteen years, with gravel alleys, high voltage lines going right through downtown, etc.. perhaps the city should have invested more in keeping the city competitive with other neighboring towns.

There is a link to the state law, but not to the proposed ordinance. I would like to read it for myself.

OK…..

Let me see if I have this right.

The citizens of Skokie are fed up with only the crimes committed by renters.

Crimes committed by home owners and anyone who lives outside of Skokie are acceptable even if they are the same types of crimes committed by renters. So there is no plan in place to stop this.

After a renter is evicted he may move into the apartment across the street or down the block until he again commits a crime and has to move again. This keeps the police from knowing where repeat offenders live. Remember it is the landlord who is licensed not the tenant.

So we pass an ordnance protecting us from these renters instead of something that would actually reduce crime in the entire village. Then after this passes Skokie can toot their horn and praise themselves on the measures they took to reduce crime and most likely take no further action. Problem solved.

The burden has to be on tenant and a speedy eviction that doesn't cost thousands of dollars especially when the tenant is a criminal. For example, the guy that did the shooting on Oakton lives with his girlfriend's mother. Not a wise choice on her part and ALL would be evicted but with the current law they can rent again on the same block if they want to because the other landowners are none the wiser. The only solution is to put offenders in jail instead of a slap on the wrist like our little shooter - who has an arsonist in the family no less - and some evicted tenants take revenge. A landlord can rent to whomever they like but when they allow a criminal to live with a leaseholder or be the tenant they should be fined by the Village of Skokie at least $1000 as a deterence.

UPDATE:

Thank you to all who provided constructive, thoughtful comments. A number of organizations, including the North Shore - Barrington Assoc. of REALTORS, the Skokie Independent Landlord Association, the Interfaith Housing Center of the Northern Suburbs, the Sargent Shriver Center on National Poverty Law, and Housing Action Illinois have weighed-in on this proposal.

I am happy to report that the Village has listened and substantively addressed the primary concern addressed in this blog article. The proposal now is substantially more compliant with state law -- and a thank you is extended to the Village.

That is not to say this proposal does much of anything to address crime or add enforcement tools -- it doesn't -- it is window dressing. Furthermore, the draft ordinance is in need of further modifications. However, if the intent is to pass an ordinance such as this, its important it is reasonable, rational, and balanced.

Once again this proves we get the government we deserve. Thank God we don't get all the government for which we pay.

Perhaps the real estate institute would be willing to help craft stronger law enforcement ideas to reduce crime because that will make people want to move to Skokie which can only benefit property values, taxes, etc. Everyone wins when crime goes away.

Nice of the village to finally publish the ordinance... over the holiday weekend, with no notice, two days before they plan to vote on it. They also suggest creating a citizens panel to discuss the ordinance - AFTER IT IS APPROVED. Does this whole thing sound fishy to anyone else?

I thought the constitution reads innocent until proven guilty. It could be expensive for Skokie if someone brings a suit on that basis. Same as Chicago and Evanston have to pay out settlements for use of excessive force: a municipality can be held liable for unconstitutional actions.

Get the facts. Read the Village's draft of the ordinace (more than 30 pages, containing strike-outs, revisions & corrections) only available online. Also visit www.SkokieLandlord.org to get some highlights and concerns about the ordinance.
Then decide if this is an ordinance you want to support.