Illinois Eviction Moratorium Will Be In Effect Until Oct. 3, Gov. JB Pritzker's Office Says

CHICAGO (CBS Chicago/CBS News) -- The Illinois eviction moratorium will be extended until Oct. 3, Gov. JB Pritzker's office told CBS 2 Tuesday.

Governor's office press secretary Jordan Abudayyeh told CBS 2 Investigator Dorothy Tucker that when the current executive order banning evictions ends on Sept. 18, it will be extended to Oct. 3.

"Illinois' eviction moratorium is still winding down in order to give the renters and landlords time to utilize all available resources for relief," Abudayyeh said in a statement. "While the state allowed the eviction process to begin for some individuals in July, the moratorium on enforcement remains in place for protected individuals. Illinois remains a national leader in dispersing rental assistance and will continue to do so as the eviction moratorium comes to an end (on) October 3."

The Governor's office said Illinois has distributed the third highest amount of rental assistance aid of any state, and the state's progress with rental assistance compared with other states is held up as a positive example.

Gov. Pritzker first ordered a moratorium on most evictions in Illinois in March 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic hit, putting many renters at risk of being kicked out of their homes because they were losing income and unable to pay their bills.

The governor amended his executive order in November 2020, providing more protections to landlords, by limiting the moratorium only to renters who have earned no more than $99,000 in annual income -- or $198,000 as joint filers. The updated eviction moratorium also required tenants to submit a declaration form to their landlords, certifying they can't pay rent due to substantial loss of income or increase in out-of-pocket expenses. Renters also were required to make their best efforts to make timely partial payments.

For tenants still struggling to pay rent, the state this summer launched a $500 million Illinois Rental Payment Program. Renters who have suffered financial hardship due to the pandemic, are behind on rent payments, and meet income requirements may receive grants to cover rent for July 2020 through June 2021. They may also be eligible for rental assistance for July, August, and September of 2021. The maximum grant amount is $25,000.

The income limits are based on the area median income in the county where you live. A full list of the program's income limits is available on the Illinois Housing Development Authority website.

But in early August, many Chicagoans reported they were in limbo as to whether they would be receiving rental assistance.

On a national level, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in August issued a new ban on evictions in areas of "substantial and high" levels of COVID-19 transmission that also extended until Oct. 3. At the time, areas with substantial and high transmission covered more than 90 percent of the country.

But last week, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked that latest federal ban, granting a bid from a group of landlords to block the pandemic-related protections for renters facing eviction in most of the country.

In an unsigned opinion with the three liberal justices in dissent, the divided court said that "careful review" of the case "makes clear that the applicants are virtually certain to succeed on the merits of their argument that the CDC has exceeded its authority."

CBS 2 is committing to Working For Chicago, connecting you every day with the information you or a loved one might need about the jobs market, and helping you remove roadblocks to getting back to work.

We'll keep uncovering information every day to help this community get back to work, until the job crisis passes. CBS 2 has several helpful items right here on our website, including a look at specific companies that are hiring, and information from the state about the best way to get through to file for unemployment benefits in the meantime.

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