Now state Rep. Hoan Huynh, whose 13th District includes north lakefront neighborhoods heavily populated by renters, is pushing to allow municipalities to lift the ban within their own boundaries.

HB 4104, also known as the Let the People Lift the Ban Act, is Huynh’s proposal, introduced in the Illinois House on June 6. If passed, it would allow local governments to adopt rent control provisions if a majority of voters in the locality have supported a pro-rent control referendum.

Huynh has not responded to Crain’s requests for comment on the proposal, but in an Aug. 15 press release was quoted saying, “Our bill would put power in the hands of everyday Illinois residents who have been disenfranchised to lift the ban on rent control.”

Wherever it’s been put on the ballot, rent control has received support. In 2018 and 2019, more than 60% of voters approved in all three advisory referenda put before several precincts of wards with a high proportion of renters.

The push to reintroduce rent control simmered down during the COVID pandemic, when Illinois provided millions of dollars in assistance to renters using federal funds from the CARES Act. With those forms of aid now largely gone, the drive for rent control is reviving.

While statewide efforts to lift the ban move slowly, “it makes a lot of sense to empower local communities to make the decision themselves if they should opt out of the current ban on rent control,” said state Sen. Mike Simmons, whose 7th District covers the lakefront from Rogers Park to Wrigley Field.

Simmons is a co-sponsor of the legislation.

“There is definitely growing unrest with folks who are renters all across the state who feel like they’re being gouged by double-digit rent increases,” Simmons said. “They’re seniors on fixed incomes, middle-aged adults who are empty nesters or younger employees who can’t afford the rent increases.”

Opponents of rent control, including property-owners groups, contend that imposing a cap on rent increases will stifle landlords’ investment in improving their properties and ultimately lead to lower-quality rental housing.

If Huynh’s legislation passes, the route to rent control would likely still entail at least two steps: first, a municipal referendum gauging local support of rent control, then the creation of a rent control program. The legislation does not provide for a swift single step where a local government opts out of the ban and directly into rent control. 

Simmons said the aim of the proposed legislation is local control over the question. “It’s a common-sense proposition to let local communities opt out of a ban that’s been in place for almost 30 years,” he said. “It’s a good democratic step forward.”

Huynh introduced the legislation after the General Assembly adjourned in late May and it has not yet been assigned to a committee for work in the fall session.