A Chicago judge has ordered a local landlord and his wife to pay more than $80,000 to former tenants after threatening them to report them to immigration authorities during a dispute.
The ruling marks the first judgment under Illinois' Immigrant Tenant Protection Act, enacted in 2019, which prohibits landlords from evicting tenants or using immigration status as a means of intimidation or retaliation. Illinois became the second state to enact such a law, following California in 2017, with similar legislation being passed in Colorado in 2021.
The tenants declined to speak directly with the media but released a statement through their attorney, saying that they chose to take legal action because they believed no one should be threatened or mistreated by a landlord. "We decided not to stay silent because our landlords threatened us with calling immigration, and we do not believe that anyone has a right to threaten us," they said, as per the outlet.
The dispute began in 2017 when the couple rented a basement apartment in the Ashburn neighborhood under a verbal agreement for $600 per month, including utilities. In 2020, the landlords asked the couple to sign a written contract to demonstrate rental income for a loan application. The contract changed the rent due date, required the tenants to pay utilities separately, and increased the security deposit, the Chicago Tribune reported. The couple was not given a copy of the contract either.
Two months later, the landlords informed the tenants that rent would increase to $800 per month. When the tenants said they could not afford the increase, the landlords agreed to maintain the original rent for three additional months. In June 2020, the tenants were told they would need to vacate by August due to the planned sale of the property. No written notice was provided.
Later that month, the landlords entered the basement apartment and demanded that rent be paid early. When the tenants requested a prorated amount since they were preparing to move, Marco Contreras allegedly threatened to contact federal immigration authorities. The lawsuit contended that this threat constituted unlawful coercion under state law.
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