Joys of Illinois renting, from illegal evictions to security deposit snafus

Nearly one in 11 Illinois renters surveyed (of which, almost half made less than $10,000 per year – thanks Joe) was threatened by a landlord with having his or her utilities shut off; one in 12 was illegally evicted, returning home to find the door padlocked or furnishings removed; and 57 percent of Illinois renters had some problem with their security deposit. You can find these and other startling statistics in Insecure in Your Own Home: What it Means to Rent in Illinois, a study of Illinois renters by The Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing, a Chicago nonprofit. The group surveyed nearly 400 households, from Chicago tenants to downstate renters, and many of the results are alarming. Not surprisingly, those living in Chicago, where there’s a strong Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance in place, generally fared better than those living elsewhere in Illinois.