A town hall meeting was held Thursday night at Monroe St. Christian Church.

The meeting was sponsored by the Faith Coalition for the Common Good and the topic under discussion was rent controls, specifically their support of Let the People Lift the Ban Act  (HB4104).

Currently Illinois has a statewide ban on rent controls, but the coalition feels that this allows for price gouging by often out-of-state landlords.

They also say the new legislation would hold landlords to greater accountability for maintenance and repair of their rental properties.

Rod Wilson, executive director of the Eugena Burns Hope Center, came down from Chicago to talk to the assembled about his work in organizing rent control initiatives. He says many major cities have enacted rent control successfully.  He says they are not looking for post-WW2, New York style rent controls, which some say unfairly locked landlords into unbreakable leases for decades. Rather he would like to see sensible and fair policies which protect landlords and tenents alike.

Margaritta Fultz, FCCG Transformational Justice Leader, FCCG (pictured) was the moderator of the event.