Latest / WIXN AM 1460 - Shaw Local Radio / Talk-Line: Brandon Clark on Sterling City Council and landlords

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Talk-Line: Brandon Clark on Sterling City Council and landlords · WIXN AM 1460 - Shaw Local Radio

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  Speaker 1: Time for our report this week from Shaw Local News
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  Speaker 1: and our guest today is reporter Brandon Clark from Shaw
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  Speaker 1: Local News. He's live with us in studio this morning
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  Speaker 1: here at AM fourteen sixteen FM ninety five one.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning sir, Good morning.
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  Speaker 1: Good to have you back with us. Thanks for joining us.
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  Speaker 2: Always a pleasure.
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  Speaker 1: Well, it's always a busy time for Shaw Local News.
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  Speaker 1: It's always a busy time that we as we cover
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  Speaker 1: the bases, as we cover the stories through Shaw Local
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  Speaker 1: News and get a really good insight into happenings across
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  Speaker 1: our Stock Valley arena, especially with Brandon's territory. We're gonna,
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  Speaker 1: you know, cover Sterling.
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  Speaker 2: You know, this is your Yeah, no, that's my big
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  Speaker 2: b Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: So that's what we're the cover the this morning because
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  Speaker 1: there are some important stories that we want to share
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  Speaker 1: with you from the Sterling area today and that's going
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  Speaker 1: to be our focal point of our report today. And
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  Speaker 1: we're going to start with a story that we featured
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  Speaker 1: yesterday from the latest Dick's Sterling City Council meeting where
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  Speaker 1: it got to be very interesting. A presentation was made
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  Speaker 1: and I guess, you know, some backing and forth you know,
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  Speaker 1: with entities and the let's highlight go back to the beginning, Brandon,
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  Speaker 1: start from the beginning to bring us up to data.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely. So the Sterlings proposed rental housing Code and Inspection
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  Speaker 2: program isn't new. They've been trying to do this for
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  Speaker 2: about sixteen years. This is the third attempt and over
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  Speaker 2: and over sixteen years that they're trying to get this passed.
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  Speaker 2: And what the crux of this is is it's supposed
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  Speaker 2: to be a way to bring negligent landlords and tenants
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  Speaker 2: to heal by enforcing minimal standards. So this city currently
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  Speaker 2: doesn't have a registry of rental properties, so they don't
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  Speaker 2: know how many rental properties are out there, a list
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  Speaker 2: of contact information for owners, and so a lot of
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  Speaker 2: the way that currently works is and if they can
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  Speaker 2: see clear violations, they can, you know, seek to get
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  Speaker 2: administrative warrants and and do inspections. Owners could invite them
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  Speaker 2: in or tenants could invite them in. One of the
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  Speaker 2: big things that is constantly said through there is that
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  Speaker 2: tenants living in poor conditions that are landlords responsibilities are
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  Speaker 2: often afraid to report those in fear of retaliation. So
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  Speaker 2: they often don't have a good way to get in
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  Speaker 2: these uh. Now, on the flip side of that, rental
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  Speaker 2: property owners and of their advocates say that, you know,
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  Speaker 2: this is something that that emburdens uh, you know, good
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  Speaker 2: landlords with you know, font with registration fees and a
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  Speaker 2: lot of what they've argued is vague and ambiguous language
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  Speaker 2: when it comes to what constitutes substandard living conditions, uh,
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  Speaker 2: you know, which which they feel could unfairly open them
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  Speaker 2: up to a lot of costly enforcement that could hurt
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  Speaker 2: what is what is their business? Uh And and so
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  Speaker 2: this is a you know, really hard issued to kind
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  Speaker 2: of nail because there are points on both sides. We
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  Speaker 2: don't want people living in terrible living conditions. And when
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  Speaker 2: we say terrible, you know, that's not mis mismatched shingles.
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  Speaker 2: That's you know, very extreme examples where there's been free
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  Speaker 2: flowing sewage coming from one upper unit you know, into
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  Speaker 2: the other in other examples that have been given. So
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  Speaker 2: the most recent time, this third time they've been bringing
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  Speaker 2: this to the forefront, happened last October where they first
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  Speaker 2: got thoughts and put out an initial draft proposal as
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  Speaker 2: to what this could look like. Rock Falls Mayor Rod Kleckler,
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  Speaker 2: who's also president of the Sauk Valley Landlords Association, you know,
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  Speaker 2: spoke against that and shared his concerns, as well as
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  Speaker 2: Neeli Erickson from the Illinois Reelers Association, who said they've
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  Speaker 2: been reaching out since twenty eighteen to try to work
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  Speaker 2: with the city to more clearly define if if they're
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  Speaker 2: going to do this. They haven't said they necessarily opposed
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  Speaker 2: to some kind of program, but they definitely argue that
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  Speaker 2: the language is too vague, and in some instances they
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  Speaker 2: feel that this uh extends the city's authority because it's
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  Speaker 2: it's basically to their argument, is creating a licensing system
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  Speaker 2: for for being a rental property owner and that that's
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  Speaker 2: that that exceeds the city's authority. Uh. You know, the
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  Speaker 2: most recent revision that was shared here at Monday's City
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  Speaker 2: Council had a little clear language in there. It did
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  Speaker 2: address some of those things, uh, such as what is
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  Speaker 2: inadequate heating and electricity in those concerns, but yeah, you know,
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  Speaker 2: you know, Neli Erickson, Rod Kleckler and other Landwards still
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  Speaker 2: felt that there was still too vague language that this.
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  Speaker 2: You know, Rod, I really don't think once this at all.
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  Speaker 2: He seemed, you know, pretty put off to that. I
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  Speaker 2: had additional talks with Neely and it's definitely a lot
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  Speaker 2: of it comes down to a lot of vague language
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  Speaker 2: do where they feel it it just you know, they
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  Speaker 2: don't think it's ready. Another big point is that in
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  Speaker 2: the draft proposal of the actual legal document that isn't
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  Speaker 2: signed yet, no action was taken. Okay, I should preface
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  Speaker 2: with that no action has been taking it. These have
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  Speaker 2: all been discussions, right, and those documents are just draft
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  Speaker 2: up so that people can you know, they post them
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  Speaker 2: on the city's website so people can see what they're
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  Speaker 2: actually putting. So so one of the why I bring
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  Speaker 2: that up is because one of the ways substandard living
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  Speaker 2: conditions are deemed in there is that it says these
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  Speaker 2: buildings need to meet twenty twenty one international building codes. Now,
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  Speaker 2: the last time this was put before the council in
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  Speaker 2: last October, one of the things that was pointed out
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  Speaker 2: is that over half of Sterling's housing style would not
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  Speaker 2: meet those codes because they were built before nineteen eighty.
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  Speaker 2: It would just it just doesn't go by it. I've
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  Speaker 2: had talks with the city and they said what they're
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  Speaker 2: looking to do is to create an inspection checklist and
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  Speaker 2: use those building codes to create what they're looking for.
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  Speaker 2: They're not going to look for every single part of
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  Speaker 2: those codes, because I understand there's quite a bit, but
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  Speaker 2: they'd be using their use those codes to make an
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  Speaker 2: inspection checklist. That checklist would be sent ahead to landlords,
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  Speaker 2: so they would know exactly not only what the city
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  Speaker 2: is looking for, but you know, maybe they could address
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  Speaker 2: these problems ahead of time. I don't want to. I
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  Speaker 2: don't know if saying the problem is. But what the
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  Speaker 2: opposers have with that is that if the legal document
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  Speaker 2: says it has to meet twenty twenty one international building codes,
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  Speaker 2: it still gives the city authority to to find and
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  Speaker 2: impose violations not found on their checklist. City says they're
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  Speaker 2: not doing that, and I'm sure everybody wants to accept
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  Speaker 2: that in good faith. But for rental property owners, that's
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  Speaker 2: you know, that's not enough. They would like this clearly
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  Speaker 2: defined as to what you're going to look for and
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  Speaker 2: what you you would hold me to, so I know
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  Speaker 2: what you know. I might wonder, it's it's a it's
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  Speaker 2: it's it's a sad state affair. It really is, because
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  Speaker 2: you're you're.
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  Speaker 1: It's between a rock and a hard place, I guess
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  Speaker 1: in certain areas of this random and uh. And you
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  Speaker 1: don't want to see squalid living conditions. You don't want
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  Speaker 1: to see that at all. You don't want to see it.
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  Speaker 1: But there has to be a guy. There has to be,
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  Speaker 1: you know, some kind of middle ground. Uh, you know,
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  Speaker 1: because like you just pointed out, there are those that
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  Speaker 1: treat their properties you know, tremo.
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  Speaker 2: Yes or exactly, and we don't want to hurt them either.
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  Speaker 3: There there are just there are and there can't be
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  Speaker 3: a lot, but I'm sure there are, you know, at
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  Speaker 3: least a few that don't treat them that way and
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  Speaker 3: let them deteriorate.
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  Speaker 1: To this point, I understand that there were some pictures
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  Speaker 1: that were kind of eye opening.
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  Speaker 2: Oh yeah, there were some pictures that were absolutely horrendous,
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  Speaker 2: and you know, it's kind of hard thinking.
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  Speaker 1: You know.
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  Speaker 2: Rod Klecklaar had made some great points at the city
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  Speaker 2: council meeting that some of those pictures showed, you know,
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  Speaker 2: what you could tell is years of accumulation of garbage
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  Speaker 2: and whatnot. And to his point, like that is a
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  Speaker 2: tenant issue doing that to the city's point, like to
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  Speaker 2: what degree is the landlord going in there and trying
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  Speaker 2: to get them out. You know. Responses to that have
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  Speaker 2: been that there's problems with you know, getting court orders
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  Speaker 2: to evict them. They often stop paying. At that point,
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  Speaker 2: advocacy groups start to get involved, really coming up the process. Meanwhile,
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  Speaker 2: the rental property owners are you know, still in the
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  Speaker 2: hook for not only repairing what damage happens if they
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  Speaker 2: win and if they finally get these people out, but
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  Speaker 2: but the loss of that that income that they you
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  Speaker 2: know oftentimes stop paying. Uh you know, to the city's point,
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  Speaker 2: they're they're looking for another tool to be able to
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  Speaker 2: get into some of these places because unfortunately, even if
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  Speaker 2: this passes from what I can currently see, it still
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  Speaker 2: doesn't solve the problem of if you have an honest
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  Speaker 2: tenant living in terrible conditions under a under a bad
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  Speaker 2: landlord who for whatever reason is you know, renting these
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  Speaker 2: type of units out, these tenants are scared to report them,
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  Speaker 2: so you're you don't find them right and even if
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  Speaker 2: we impose a registry, there's probably going to be some
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  Speaker 2: of these people who already aren't known and aren't going
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  Speaker 2: to come forward. Uh So until somebody does, and it's
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  Speaker 2: probably not going to be the tenant h you can't
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  Speaker 2: find them.
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  Speaker 1: This is it's it's and it's not it's not a
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  Speaker 1: concentrated effort or a concentrated look at one community. This
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  Speaker 1: is all over, this is I mean, I'm sure this
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  Speaker 1: is rampant. This is all over. This is not just Sterling,
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  Speaker 1: but it is highlighted because of the city Council and
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  Speaker 1: because of the you know, you know, the moves that
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  Speaker 1: you know are trying to be made, you know, to
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  Speaker 1: rectify at least in this one municipality, this certain situation.
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  Speaker 3: It's tough.
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  Speaker 1: This is I said, this is a tough, tough issue.
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  Speaker 2: Uh yeah, I I you know, I I sympathize with
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  Speaker 2: both sides. Yes, I you know, I know. I'm sure
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  Speaker 2: both sides you know, see the point in the other.
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  Speaker 2: And the city just really wants a tool, but for
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  Speaker 2: you know, rental property owners, they don't. If you're going
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  Speaker 2: to have a tool, they wanted to be sharp and defined.
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  Speaker 1: So yeah, yeah, and you know you're trying to go
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  Speaker 1: by guidelines maybe that are are being instituted by other cities,
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  Speaker 1: by other and this you could go all the way
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  Speaker 1: up the ladder to the Metropolitan and you could go
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  Speaker 1: all the way up because this is a this is
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  Speaker 1: a it's a national issue, it really is, but it's
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  Speaker 1: being focal pointed in Sterling at their most recent Sterling
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  Speaker 1: City Council meeting. And I'm sorry, I know that we
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  Speaker 1: had a couple of other spots. That's okay, but again
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  Speaker 1: it's important. This is an important story. This is very
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  Speaker 1: important that we get this information out and you know,
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  Speaker 1: take a look at you know, we need to open
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  Speaker 1: our eyes to this situation because it is not just
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  Speaker 1: a Sterling situation. This is a regional it's a national
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  Speaker 1: situation involving this type of living in this type of thing.
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  Speaker 2: And I want people to know this is tentatively scheduled
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  Speaker 2: for action at the next Sterling City Council meeting to
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  Speaker 2: be voted on Monday, March seventeenth. So there is still
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  Speaker 2: time for this to be refined, maybe they move that item,
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  Speaker 2: but right now it's looking to be put to to
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  Speaker 2: a vote.
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  Speaker 1: And that is again the latest from that issue, an
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  Speaker 1: important issue that we discussed with Brandon Clark today from
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  Speaker 1: Shaw Local News right here on AM fourteen sixteen FM
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  Speaker 1: ninety five one. Yeah, we did have a couple more issues,
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  Speaker 1: but we're going to put those on the back border
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  Speaker 1: for now and thank you so very much for joining
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  Speaker 1: us to bring this to light here.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you always, Blessing.
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  Speaker 1: Brandon and Clark are our Shaw local media representative here
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  Speaker 1: at AM fourteen sixteen FM ninety five want sports first.
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  Speaker 3: Next attention choppers.
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  Speaker 1: For eighty amazing years Caniz and our sterling Ashley have
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  Speaker 1: been turning houses into homes with quality