Back in May, the Illinois House passed SB 1563, know simply as the "squatters bill." The vote to pass it was unanimous, 106-0. As you'll see in this ABC 7 news report, the sponsor behind this bill credited ABC 7 in particular for making squatting an issue that no one wanted to vote against.
ABC 7 really did have an impact here. They have done stories about squatting for years, but in May, just weeks before this bill passed, one story in particular went viral because it was so outrageous. The hook here is that a homeowner was unable to get squatters out of his house so he (and his wife and a few friends) moved in with them. As you'll see in the clip below, it didn't entirely work. The owner still had to pay the squatters more than $4,000 to get them to leave without dragging him through the courts for months. They held his property hostage and got rewarded for it thanks to Illinois law. This video has been viewed 1.7 million times, which is many times more than most of the ABC 7 squatter videos.
But the passage of SB 1563 in May wasn't the end of the story. The bill then went to the desk of Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker who proceeded to do exactly nothing for the past two months. He didn't veto it but as recently as last week his spokesperson said he had no plans to sign it either. The bill was just in limbo.
Enter ABC 7 once again. Last Friday the station ran another story about a squatter who moved into a house and changed the locks. The twist this time was that the squatter had settled next door to one of the state lawmakers who had voted for the squatters bill in May. State Rep. Marcus Evans did not miss the dark humor in the situation but also said he'd be calling the governor later that day. Stick to the end of this clip where the spokesperson says (as of last Friday) that signing the bill wasn't on the governor's agenda yet.
Maybe the humiliation finally got to Gov. Pritzker because by Monday, three days after the clip above aired, he'd completely changed his mind and signed the bill.
Gov. JB Pritzker has officially signed the Illinois "Squatter Bill" into law on Monday...
"This outdated eviction law has treated squatters the same as tenants, leaving property owners in limbo and tying the hands of law enforcement," Pritzker said...
"I want to thank the bill sponsors, Sen. Lakesia Collins and Rep. Jawaharial Williams, for their leadership in spearheading this important legislation. This bill delivers long-overdue clarity, closes dangerous legal loopholes, and ensures that trespassers can no longer manipulate the system to delay removal from properties they never had any right to occupy in the first place," Pritzker said.
What an absolute embarrassment Gov. Pritzker is. After sitting on this for two months for no reason, he was shamed into signing the bill because he got called out on camera. If not for ABC 7's report I have no doubt Pritzker's corpulent ass would still be squatting on the squatters bill.
Kudos to ABC 7 for making this an issue people couldn't ignore and ultimately making it one even the governor couldn't ignore. The squatters bill is going to make life less miserable for a lot of homeowners once it takes effect next January 1st.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member