- About the
Illinois Tenant Union:
In 1976, we first organized in Evanston under the
name Tenants Organization of Evanston.
In
1984, we organized the Tenants Organization of
Illinois to serve tenants who lived in Mount
Prospect and elsewhere.
In 1988, we founded the Illinois Tenants Union and
relocated our office to Chicago with the intention
of directly assisting Chicago tenants as well as
tenants throughout the Chicago metropolitan area.
- Today, about 8,000 tenants a year call us for
information about their rights or for assistance
with problems with their landlords. It is true that
lack of legal knowledge is a major problem. However,
the ITU also found that merely advising tenants
about their rights was not enough. In order for
tenants to be confident of success in solving their
problems, we found it also necessary for a tenants’
organization to actively assist them in exercising
their rights.
 All of the funds used to operate the tenants union
come from the tenants we help. If our services were
not good, tenants would not be supporting us after
all these years.
- Through the years of experience of actually
helping tenants win, ITU has focused its efforts on
four main areas of conflict. We are particularly
concerned with the deteriorating condition of
properties in Chicago, and the injustices
perpetrated against tenants in the eviction court.
- ITU also assists hundreds of tenants each year in
legally terminating their leases, and assists some
tenants in retrieving stolen security deposits
through the courts.
- The ITU is affiliated with the International Code
Council and is a member of the Housing Advocacy
Consortium.
Executive Director Michael
Pensack
Michael Pensack is a licensed Illinois attorney who
specializes in landlord and tenant law. In January,
1980, he began to work full-time for tenants rights.
With an office in Evanston, later in Mount Prospect,
and now in Chicago, he has assisted tens of
thousands of tenants during the past 25 years.
He has helped draft municipal ordinances expanding
the rights of tenants, inspected apartment buildings
for defects and violations, counseled and assisted
tenants in advocating their rights in dealings with
their landlords, and worked with many other
attorneys who were representing tenants in court.
In 1988, Michael Pensack founded the Illinois
Tenants Union, and has since served as its Executive
Director. Among his published writings, he has
authored the chapter entitled “Renting Residential
Property”, appearing in the American Bar
Association’s “Family Legal Guide”, published by
Random House in 2004. He has also been a guest
lecturer on landlord and tenant law at the John
Marshall Law School since 1992.
Associate Director, Douglas
Pensack
Douglas Pensack has worked with the Illinois Tenants
Union since 1989. He provides support services to
ITU members and tenants, and also functions as an
administrator of the ITU.
Assistant Director, John W.
Fry
John W. Fry has worked with the Illinois Tenants
Union since 1999. He was previously a union
organizer for many years with the Hotel Employees
and Restaurant Employees’ Union. He is a licensed
Illinois Home Inspector. He conducts inspections of
apartments and provides other support services to
tenants.
If you have any
questions or would like more information, or to discuss your
rights please contact us (773) 478-1133,
email us, or use our
online
request form.
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