Chicago tenants demand action over rising rent, maintenance problems

Well, good morning to you guys. Residents here at the Oglesby Towers here in South Shore, they're demanding changes to a billing system that they say makes their monthly rent bills unpredictable. One of the main issues is related to a new billing system that was installed in about 2025. It is RUBS, also known as RUBS. Now, tenants say that this monthly system makes their monthly bills unpredictable. Well, some say that the rent payments have gone up by $300 to $500 a month. residents say that the system was put into place sometime in 2025 but it was never actually explained to them how these bills are calculated and that it is currently a mystery every single month of how much the rent payments will be now there are also maintenance issues in the building includes closed garbage chutes broken elevators and bed bugs the tenant union says these issues are especially difficult for seniors and residents with disabilities because many of them are on fixed incomes that is the case for Antoinette Gray who says she's on the verge of being evicted with no place to go. I'm being pushed out of this building in two weeks because of rents. When I first moved into this building, my rent was only 800 and some dollars a month. How did I end up paying $1,400 to $1,600 a month for rent? Where did the extra money come from what is this money for what why do i owe this money every time we sent the rent in they send a message back saying we still owe more money now it is important to point out that the RUBS billing system is legal in the state of Illinois as long as the landlord follows state requirements the tenants union here says that they've requested to speak with the landlord Stuart Handler, but so far he has not addressed him in any manner. We also got a chance to hear from 5th Ward Alderman Desmond Yancey, who says that Stuart Handler also owns other buildings here in the 4th Ward here in Chicago. There are concerns that he will eventually roll out this RUBS system to those buildings as well. We are working to see if we can get in contact with Handler to see if he will answer to some of these issues raised by the tenants union here at the Oglesby Towers. Reporting live in South Shore this morning, I'm Brian Jackson for Fox Chicago.