It is fair to say that property owners and developers feel increasingly under siege, both in Chicago and across Illinois, with the flood of legislation that has been proposed or passed at all levels of government in recent months.

Same problem. Shared goals. A real solution.

By:

Stacie Young, Preservation Compact Director, Community Investment Corporation
Summer, 2020

My dad’s personal philosophy was based on the premise that people are basically good, and will try to do the right thing if they can. They want to be understood, not defined by stereotypes and misconceptions.

By:

Steve Cain, RPBG Director and Secretary

I don’t usually put my name on the articles I write for RPBG. But this one is different. This one is personal. And this one needs to start with a thank-you.

Verella Osborne, President, Legal Document Management, Inc.

Summer, 2020

Many property owners will be surprised to learn that, with the enactment of the new Chicago COVID-19 Eviction Ordinance that was passed on June 17th, most 5-Day notices (or any demands for unpaid rent) served on Chicago residential tenants after March 21 are now null and void.

Remember restaurants, theaters, going to the movies, book club, poker night, backyard cookouts with the neighbors – da Cubs, da Bears, da Bulls? Remember commuting to work? For that matter (for far too many of us), remember work?

Tough times can bring out the best and the worst in people. Sometimes it can be difficult to distinguish between the two.

By:

Jim Kutill, Integra Realty Resources – Chicago
Spring, 2020

Lenders, owners and buyers are all asking the same question. What is my property worth now that COVID-19 has hit? Right now, honestly, the best answer is – no one really knows.

By:

Mike Glasser, RPBG President
Spring, 2020
(reprinted from Crain’s Chicago Business, April 25, 2020)

By:

Steve Cain
Spring, 2020

It’s still kind of hard to believe how quickly and completely the world has changed, harder still that this change has all occurred in the space of less than two months. We’d been hearing about the mysterious coronavirus that first appeared in Wuhan since the beginning of the year. But, like a lot of news these days, it sounded like something far away and abstract – somebody else’s problem – or so we thought.

By:

Shari Haefner, RPBG Director

Responding to the intense need brought on by the COVID-19 emergency, Rogers Park Builders Group recently donated $5,000 to Northside Community Resources (NCR) to help some of the most vulnerable people in our community. This donation was made under the direction of Carla Price and the Finance Committee. These funds were delivered on March 29th. (RPBG subsequently contributed an additional $3,000 to NCR with individual members contributing an additional $4,000... and counting!)

Verella Osborne, President, Legal Document Management, Inc.

Spring, 2020

Well, the Just Housing Ordinance has been in effect for four months – so how has it affected your application process? Have you decided not to consider an applicant’s criminal history at all? If you have, please note that there is a difference of opinion among attorneys: some believe the JHO only applies if a landlord considers criminal history in renting; other attorneys believe the JHO is not limited in this respect and applies across the board to all residential and commercial rentals and sales. If you don’t want to be the “test case,” I suggest you comply even if you don’t consider criminal records.

Life in Rogers Park is very different today than it was just a short time ago. In many ways, what Rogers Park is currently experiencing is similar to what the rest of Chicago and, for that matter, the world are all experiencing – a radical shift away from whatever previously constituted our “normal lives” as the economy falls to ruins all around us while we shelter in place to slow the virus’ spread.

We mourn the loss of Auxiliary Corporal Mario Araujo of the Chicago Fire Department. Mr. Araujo died Tuesday, April 7 of complications from COVID-19. Mr. Araujo began working for the Fire Department in 2003. For most of that time, and continuing until his death, Mr. Araujo worked out of Engine Company #102 on the 7300 block of North Clark Street on Truck #25. Mr. Araujo was 49 years old.