Resources
Local Resources
- City of Chicago Department of Public Health FAQ about bed bugs: The very last topic covered—landlord/tenant compliance—might be very useful.
- City of Chicago Municipal Codes Chapter 5-12: Residential Landlords and Tenants:(PDF) We encourage you to read this document in its entirety because it is critical that both landlords and tenants are aware of their rights and responsibilities as mandated by these codes. Of particular interest are sections 5-12-110 (starting on page 10) and also 5-12-130 (starting on page 17).
- Civic Footprint: Enter your street address to see your alderman and ward number, county commissioner and district number, state senator and district number, state representative and district number, congressman and district number, police precinct and judicial subcircuit number.
- Metropolitan Tenants Organization: This is possibly the best resource for Chicago landlords and tenants we’ve ever seen. Here’s the mission of MTO (we love it!): “To educate, organize and empower tenants to have a voice in the decisions that affect the affordability and availability of decent and safe housing”. And here are all the ways in which they can help you:
- Tenant Hotline (M-F 1-5PM): (773) 292-4988
- Apartment Conditions and Repairs Page: A breakdown, in FAQ format, of landlord responsibilities as set forth by Chicago’s Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance.
- MTO Apartment Conditions and Repairs PDF: Printable version, with helpful phone numbers, of Apartment Conditions and Repairs FAQ web page.
- MTO Apartment Conditions and Repairs PDF en Espanol: Same as above, but en Espanol!
- Tenant Responsibility Page: A breakdown, in FAQ format, of tenant responsibilities as set forth by Chicago’s Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance.
- MTO Tenant Responsibilities PDF: Printable version, with helpful phone numbers, of Tenant Responsibility FAQ web page.
- MTO Tenant Responsibilities PDF en Espanol: Same as above, but en Espanol!
- Laws Page: MTO’s Index to Landlord Tenant Ordinance.
- Attorney Page: Choose either “Private Attorney” or “Free Attorneys” to see a list (with phone numbers and estimated retainer fees, if applicable) of Chicago area lawyers who may be able to help you.
- MTO Repair and Deduct Sample Letter to Landlord PDF: Chicagoans can print and use this sample letter to exercise their repair and deduct rights as set forth by Chicago’s Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance.
- MTO Rent Witholding Sample Letter to Landlord PDF: Chicagoans can print and use this sample letter to exercise their rent witholding rights as set forth by Chicago’s Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance.
- MTO Termination of Tenancy Sample Letter to Landlord PDF: Chicagoans can print and use this sample letter to exercise their termination of tenancy rights as set forth by Chicago’s Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance.
- The Bed Bug Registry: Allows you to register addresses with known bed bug infestations into a mapped database. You can do this anonymously if you want, and you only have to enter your street address, not your apartment number. You can also see recently registered addresses in any location, including your neighborhood and the city of Chicago in general. If you search an address, you can see other registered addresses near the one you searched, too. This is a great tool for travelers—you can search for hotels that have reported bed bug infestations on record.
- The Greater Chicago Pest Management Alliance: Its mission:”To share best practices, further education, representation and professionalism for pest management professionals in Chicago and surrounding urban environments.”
- WGN TV News Medical Watch: Bed Bugs: Scroll through to find this excellent, informative news segment.
- Windy City Mike’s Bedbug Genocide: A good source of information about bed bugs in general and a witty, honest, remarkable account of one Chicagoan’s encounter with bed bugs in a “genocide” journal of sorts. Definitely worth reading, if only to remind yourselves that you are not alone.
Universal Resources
Activism
- New York vs Bed Bugs: See what our friends in New York City are up to!
Bed Bugs– General
- Bedbugger.com: The most comprehensive bed bug resource on the planet.
- Bed Bugs Limited: This website was created and is managed by David Cain, a pest management professional and leading authority on bed bugs in the United Kingdom. David has proven to be an invaluable and generous resource in the world of bed bugs; he is a scientist by study and a dedicated professional by choice. David provides a wealth of information– and some sound advice– on this site.
- The Bed Bug Registry: (yes, you’re seeing it twice– it’s that important): This is a great tool for travelers—you can search for hotels that have reported bed bug infestations on record.
- Tripadvisor: Very useful for travelers. This link leads to a page containing guest reviews of hotels across the United States and the world. You can choose a destination using the drag-down menu, and then you can search with keywords. Useful searches go something like this: Destination= New York, Search= The X Hotel bed bugs (or bedbugs). You might be surprised by the number of results your search produces.
Bed Bugs- Articles/Publications
- World Health Organization Public Health Significance of Urban Pests: You can read a blog post that explains the importance of this document to our mission to advocate policy to regulate the control of bed bug infestations in the City of Chicago here. The “Bedbugs” section of the World Health Organization publication starts on page 73.
Bed Bugs- Best Management Practices
- The Department of Medical Entomology at Westmead Hospital in Australia’s (a joint facility of the University of Sydney and the Institute of Clinical Pathology and Microbiology Laboratory Services) Bed Bug Website, which produced and hosts the following documents:
Bed Bugs: Research
Lawsuits: Landlord/Tenant
- Ludlow Properties v. Young (2004): This link will take you to a page on the website of the attorney for the respondent in the case (the tenant), The De Castro Law Firm. You can view the decision of the case after trial. Pay close attention to the last paragraph.
Lawsuits: Other
- Ramada Plaza Hotel, San Francisco (2005): The hotel settled this lawsuit for $71,000.00.
- Mathias v. Accor Economy Lodging, Inc. and Motel 6 Operating L.P.(2003): In this case, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the ruling of an Illinois court, which awarded two guests of a Chicago Motel 6 $372,000.00 in punitive damages after they were bitten by bed bugs because of the motel’s “willful and wanton conduct”. The plaintiffs alleged– and the courts obviously determined– that motel management knew their hotel room was infested and had not been treated, but checked them in and allowed them to spend the night there, anyway.
Research Tools
- The Armed Forces Pest Management Board, Defense Management Information Analysis Center Literature Retrieval System: Look for scholarly articles and books, current research, historical analysis– heck, just search “bed bugs” and you’ll be amazed at what you can find!
