Activists Sound Off In Call For Rent Forgiveness Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
CHICAGO (CBS) -- With tens of thousands of people in Chicago still out of a job because of COVID-19, some renters are sounding off about the need for rent forgiveness.
Dozens of people from the North Spaulding Renters Association held a march Sunday in Logan Square to call attention to the issue.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention halted evictions because of the pandemic, but rent is still adding up.
Residents who have lost jobs fear they will never be able to dig out of that kind of debt.
"A lot of tenants have been out of work for months. They have not been able to pay rent, and now they're behind by hundreds or sometimes thousands of dollars, and those people are at risk of eviction as soon as an eviction moratorium is raised," said Kathleen Roberts of the North Spaulding Renters Association.
Meanwhile, many landlords and property owners said they are sympathetic, but they still have mortgages to pay on their end.