Action Now welcomes the numbers recently released by Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Alderman Pat Dowell, showing the success of the Vacant Property Ordinance we created and advocated for over the course of two years. According to the Mayor, the city has collected $619,000 in fines from financial institutions in three months, and the number of registrations of vacant properties has risen 56%.
“We hope that the Mayor and Alderman Dowell will continue to support our fight to maintain the integrity and security of our neighborhoods,” says Action Now President Michelle Young.
“While we are positive about the success of the ordinance,” Young continues, “Action Now proposes that the money generated from the ordinance should go to providing watchmen to guard unsecured vacant properties.”
In October of 2011, Bank of America arrested five Action Now members at a protest held to get the bank to maintain and secure their vacant buildings
Action Now has seen a rise of sexual assaults, shootings and dead bodies found in and around vacant buildings. Action Now members experience firsthand the destruction that abandoned buildings cause every day.
Young states: “The increase in the number of registered vacant buildings shows much greater safety measures are needed. Our children should not have to fear for their lives while walking to school. We need watchmen to ensure that our families are protected.”
Press coverage:
CBS 2 News, “Fine Collections Against Banks Way Up Since Ordinance On Vacant Properties” (mentions Bank of America Five arrests)
Huffington Post, “Chicago Vacant Buildings Ordinance Nets $619,000 For City In 3 Months: Report” (mentions Bank of America Five and quoted Action Now leader Gloria Warner)
Chicago Tribune, “Chicago levies $619K in vacant-building fines”
WBEZ 91.5 FM, “Vacant homes policy brings Chicago big cash”
