Chicago car protest calls for cancellation of rent during COVID-19 crisis

Sunday, April 26, 2020
Coronavirus Chicago: Car protest calls for rent cancellation during COVID-19 crisis
Chicago protesters took to their cars Saturday to call for rent relief and a break from rent and mortgage payments during the COVID-19 pandemic.

CHICAGO -- Chicago protesters took to their cars Saturday to call for rent relief and a break from rent and mortgage payments during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The group "Cancel the Rents" held a car caravan, honking their horns and waving signs as they drove through the Albany Park neighborhood.

The organizers are calling it the "National Day of Car Protests," and they want a national cancellation of all rent for apartments, homes and small businesses.

Protesters said the patchwork of city and state moratoriums on evictions are not enough.

The car caravans also call for a suspension of payment on home mortgages for the duration of the COVID-19 crisis.

Organizers said as a result of the economic crisis caused by the pandemic, at least 30% of renters couldn't pay their April rent.

WLS-TV contributed to this report.