Reflection #1

I believe that I have a solid plan for my research and project this semester. I will focus primarily on renter’s rights specifically in the Cahokia area. Renter’s rights in Cahokia are very relevant to the current situation in Cahokia because a big portion of the residents in Cahokia Heights do not own their homes. Homes in Cahokia are often damaged from water related issues and as a lessee (someone who rents a home) you should be aware of your responsibilities when it comes to maintaining your home as well as the owner’s responsibilities.

First, I planned on conducting my own background research on Illinois renter’s rights law codes so I could be well versed in my topic. I collected a handful of sources that I found credible and scanned them for what I think the most important codes are to know for a lessee. I found the sources that came from the Illinois Attorney General’s office to be the most helpful. The websites provided information on renter’s rights and responsibilities, landlords’ rights and responsibilities, security deposits, rent increases, lease termination, discrimination, the eviction process, and eviction defenses. The five codes that I will choose to highlight for my final presentation will most likely be: 

  •  A landlord is required to keep the rental unit in compliance with state and local health and housing codes 
  • A landlord must make all necessary repairs to a home 
  • the Illinois Retaliatory Eviction Act prohibits your landlord from evicting you for complaining to any governmental authority 
  • if your landlord fails to pay a bill for which they are responsible, you may pay the bill and deduct the payment from your rent. 
  • A landlord must file a lawsuit to properly evict you; they cannot make you move by turning off utilities or removing private property. 

These five codes/laws were chosen because I feel that Cahokia home lessees can be more likely to encounter these issues with renting homes while living in an area where flooding and water damage to homes are so common. Because Cahokia is generally a lower income area and the current issues pertaining to water systems there, landlords could feel like they can get away with illegal actions against tenants. 

My next step will most likely be to develop and send out surveys to Cahokia lessees and potentially even people who rent out their homes in Cahokia. I want to ask questions about their experiences of renting a home in Cahokia and if they have ever had issues with the renters’ codes previously stated. I also hope that I am able to conduct at least one oral history interview this semester. The oral history interview I conducted with Arianna from the Cahokia Public Library last semester was very helpful in getting a deep insight of what is going on in the area and I feel another interview would be useful for this project as well. The biggest obstacle that I can see for this project is just getting participants for surveys and interviews. I’ve previously seen that it can be difficult to get participants for studies, especially when there isn’t really much that can be offered to benefit them.