A trio of Chicago alderman is taking on the scourge of bedbugs in the city, suggesting fines for landlords who fail to eradicate the pests.
A proposed ordinance declaring bedbugs "a public nuisance" is set for a hearing Tuesday at a joint meeting of the City Council Health and Housing committees. The measure would make landlords responsible for hiring licensed professionals to get rid of any bedbug infestations. Those who fail to comply would face fines of up to $1,000 a day.
Condominium and co-op boards also would have to prepare pest management plans under the measure proposed by Ald. Ray Suarez, 31st; Harry Osterman, 48th; and Debra Silverstein, 50th.
Landlords, however, are expected to argue that condo and co-op boards also should be held equally responsible for hiring pest-control professionals, an industry representative said. Landlords also want guarantees that they will have enough authority to get into tenants' units to deal with the problem.
Ald. George Cardenas, 12th, said tweaks will have to be made. But even if a vote is delayed Tuesday, the ordinance will get enacted in some form, said Cardenas, the Health Committee chairman.
Osterman said aldermen and Mayor Rahm Emanuel's administration have been working on the issue for months because bedbugs are a growing problem in Chicago. That point was highlighted weeks ago when the Orkin pest control company announced it did more treatments for bedbug infestations in Chicago than in any other major city last year.
"The city has a significant problem that needs to be addressed at a comprehensive level," Osterman said.
The ordinance also would prohibit the renting of units with bedbug infestations. And it would require tenants to notify landlords of suspected infestations of the pests made infamous in a childhood bedtime rhyme.
Furniture, bedding and clothing with bedbugs would have to be enclosed in a plastic bag and labeled as infected before it is placed in a refuse container. And the Health Department would have to post online information about bedbugs and their eradication.
hdardick@tribune.com
Twitter @ReporterHal
Chicago aldermen target bedbugs, landlords of infested units
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