30-Mar-18 – Advised that it will protect the privacy of condominium unit owners, the Chicago City Council voted to reverse a new state law allowing access by owners to contact information of their neighbors.

The ordinance – sponsored by 2nd Ward Alderman Brian Hopkins, 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly, and 43rd Ward Alderman Michele Smith – makes names, addresses, email addresses, telephone numbers, and weighted vote of each owner exempt from records a condo association must make available to an owner within ten business days of a written request.

The ordinance passed the City Council 46-2 on Wednesday, with 17th Ward Alderman David Moore and 18th Ward Alderman Derrick Curtis voting against it.

Reilly says he “believes that the Illinois State Legislature had good intentions when enacting this section of the Illinois Condominium Property Act, which sought to connect unit owners. Unfortunately, as written, the legislation mandates the release of personal contact information to unit owners and creates significant privacy concerns.”

(Left) Alderman Hopkins (center) speaks at a meeting on March 26 of the City Council’s Committee on Housing and Real Estate, at which the ordinance was unanimously approved. Alderman Reilly at left and 49th Ward Alderman Joe Moore at right.

Opponents of the ordinance said the state law, which went into effect on January 1, was needed to help owners communicate with each other about issues of their condo association. They pointed out that an association could have imposed a fine if contact information was misused.

“This ordinance, if passed by you today, is going to be a horrible precedent for all condo owners in the City of Chicago,” Farideh Harandi, a lawyer and unit owner on Lake Shore Drive, told the council prior to the vote. She said the state law was needed so that unit owners at a condominium could keep each offer informed of the affairs of the association and discuss issues such as assessment increases.

In a letter to Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Harandi said the concern about privacy is “laughable.”

“We all know that the real property ownership is a matter of public record,” Harandi (right) told Emanuel. “However, it may take hours to search those public records and examine real estate tax bills of every unit owner in a condo building. In this day and age, all of our private info is on the internet as soon as we buy an item online, so the privacy argument is a scare tactic used by corrupt board members.”

A condo association can opt out of the restriction by a two-thirds-majority vote. Otherwise, only members of an association’s board of directors would have access to unit owner contact information.

According to Alderman Smith, the ordinance would not hinder a public directory to which unit owners voluntarily provide their contact information.

The ordinance takes effect on April 18.