Chicago Aldermen Seek Exemption from Anti-Gentrification Zone

Two Chicago aldermen are having second thoughts about the anti-gentrification ordinance they helped push through the City Council.

Aldermen Felix Cardona Jr. and Gilbert Villegas are calling for their wards to be removed from the new ordinance, citing legal headaches and unintended market disruptions for property owners, Crain’s reported.

They introduced an amendment Wednesday to pull portions of their Northwest Side wards from the Northwest Side Preservation Ordinance.

The measure, which took effect this spring, granted tenants a “right of first refusal” to buy multi-unit buildings before landlords can sell to outside investors. It also raised demolition fees and aimed to quell displacement in hot neighborhoods like Logan Square, Avondale, West Town and Humboldt Park.

Cardona and Villegas voted for the ordinance when it passed last year but now say it’s causing more problems than it solves.

“It’s not working,” Cardona said, noting the ordinance has created delays around property sales. At least four Avondale property owners have complained that the tenant-first rules slow their ability to retire or cash out of their appreciated properties, he said. “You’re messing with their retirement,” he said.

Villegas raised concerns about legal ambiguity in the ordinance’s language and said snags it created for mortgages and title insurance suggest city attorneys didn’t fully vet the measure before its rollout. “It did not get enough attention,” he said.

The full ordinance applies to roughly 6 square miles; about 20 percent of that falls in the two aldermen’s wards. They say the implementation challenges in their neighborhoods point to a larger flaw.

Some provisions took effect last fall, but the tenant opportunity to purchase rule — the ordinance’s most controversial piece — wasn’t implemented until March. Even after late revisions requiring tenants to show mortgage preapproval or financing letters, real estate industry critics argued it injected too much friction into dealmaking.

Supporters, including former Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, argue the ordinance is a necessary check on investor speculation.

— Judah Duke