By Glenn Minnis | The Center Square contributor
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Chicago Ald. Byron Sigcho Lopez is pushing for an eviction moratorium while Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents remain in town. A state representative is pushing back.

In voicing his support for the growing movement being led by organizations that include the All-Chicago Tenant Alliance, Sigcho Lopez is also backing calls for rental assistance as a way of helping residents amid federal immigration enforcement efforts.

“We see the pain of people, that workers are not able to go to work,” Sigcho Lopez told The Center Square. “People are not able to go out, and this is creating harm and economic losses for everybody. People who cannot pay rent cannot pay mortgage, and I do think that we need to consider both. We need to help people at least to survive this moment.”

Sigcho Lopez said he’s working to get the issue in front of other elected officials.

“we also should consider, just like in the pandemic, rental assistance,” he said. “That’s what I’ve been urging Gov. [J.B.] Pritzker, you know, or mayors or county representatives to work together.”

As a way of generating rental assistance funding, Sigcho Lopez is calling on lawmakers to more heavily tax the wealthy, something state Rep. Chris Miller, R-Oakland, said would be akin to rewarding those who have already broken the law.

“If you’re abiding by the laws of the United States of America, you have nothing to be fearful about and if you’re afraid, I’m guessing that your conscience is bothering you and reminding you that you’ve done something wrong,” Miller told The Center Square. “The only reason why anybody would be afraid is if they broke our immigration laws, they’re illegal aliens that are here from crossing the borders illegally and living here illegally.”

Beyond the legal debate, Miller said Illinois is in no position to be spending more money in ways that will only make life harder for already stressed-out taxpayers.

The eviction moratorium put in place by lawmakers during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic ended in October 2021 and roughly two-months later the city ordinance put in place around the same time also came to an end.