From Chicago to Champaign, Rockford to Rock Island, landlords are gouging tenants with massive rent hikes, evicting renters without cause and displacing longtime residents from their communities.

The situation is dire. Almost half of all Illinois renters are rent burdened, defined as spending at least 30% of a person's monthly income on housing. A full quarter of Illinois tenants spend half or more of their monthly paycheck on rent.

But local governments' hands are tied. A statewide prohibition on rent control passed in the 1990s means landlords can raise rent by any amount they want and local municipalities are banned from regulating rent increases.

Join the Lift the Ban Coalition in telling lawmakers: Rent control is due!