Updated 01/29/13 3:23 p.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) A City Council committee has concluded a hearing on a plan to get tough on the problem of bed bugs in Chicago, but aldermen admit they still have some fine-tuning to do on an ordinance aimed at minimizing the citys bed bug problem
WBBM Newsradio Political Editor Craig Dellimore reports three aldermen Ray Suarez (31st), Harry Osterman (48th) and Debra Silverstein (50th) have proposed an ordinance that would hold most landlords responsible for calling in professional exterminators when bed bug infestations are reported.
Those who fail to comply would face fines of up to $1,000 a day.
Testifying at a joint committee hearing by the Health & Environmental Protection committee and the Housing & Real Estate committee, Verella Osborne, president of Legal Document Management, said landlords didnt bring the bed bugs into their buildings.
The pest control people have already testified an empty unit real estate property is not the cause of bed bugs. It is individuals, it is their property as they move in that cause the infestation, she said.
But John Bartlett, executive director of the Metropolitan Tenants Organization, said focusing on tenants doesnt solve the problem either.
One of the main issues that we get about bed bugs, is when they report, the landlords first response is to evict the tenant, he said.
Osterman said he and the other sponsors hope to tweak the proposal to accommodate both points of view within the next month.
Officials at the pest control company Orkin said it got more bed bug business in Chicago last year than any other city.
See more here:
Aldermen Take Aim At Fighting Bed Propose $1,000 Fine