Rents in Chicago are growing faster than the country’s average, and the research consensus says that adding more homes slows down how fast rents increase; in some cases more housing can decrease the rents compared to the present day. A decoy ordinance was recently introduced by Ald. Quinn; if adopted it would block homeowners from building new ADUs or allowing the rental of their pre-ADU (finished basements with separate entrances common in bungalows) to a neighbor.
The housing shortage is a citywide problem that requires a citywide solution, but the decoy ordinance will severely curtail ADUs' benefits for families and communities by adding costs and barriers that Chicagoans of color will be unable to overcome.
| Ald. Lawson's Ordinance | Ald. Quinn's “Decoy” Ordinance | |
|---|---|---|
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Costs for Homeowners 1 |
Lower costs Homeowners will have the freedom to choose from any of licensed contractors who meet their needs, ensuring they can select the lowest cost and most qualified bid. |
Higher costs Homeowners will be restricted to finding and choosing only those contractors which participate in a Registered Apprenticeship Program, decreasing choice, adding red tape, and increasing construction costs. Alderpersons cannot opt out of this. |
|
Labor Requirements 2 |
Same as any other house Like building any single-family house, two-flat, or other construction, homeowners and other property owners can choose from any contractor and subcontractor licensed in the City of Chicago. |
Digresses from typical construction Regarding the Registered Apprenticeship Programs requirement, there is no publicly accessible list of construction companies that are participating. These programs are also not inclusive nor representative. Statistics of apprenticeship participants in the Illinois construction industry, according to the U.S. Department of Labor: 76% are White, 11% are Black, and less than 1% are Asian; 24% identified as Latino (of any race). Only 11% are women. |
|
Additional Standards 3 |
Minimal and predictable standards 1 permit per block per year allowed in RS-1 zoning districts.2 permits per block per year allowed in RS-2 zoning districts.3 permits per block per year allowed in RS-3 zoning districts.Owner occupancy required for owners of detached houses. |
Unbounded standards may be imposed Each eligible area would be allowed to have "any reasonable conditions [emphasis added] for the allowance of conversion units, including, but not limited [emphasis added] to the number of conversion units, and, if applicable, coach houses, may be established within such area generally, or that may be established per block within such area." Eligible areas will also have to have owner occupancy requirements defined. |
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Impact on Lessening the Housing Shortage 4 |
Will ease housing shortage Simple rules that are based on zoning district and freedom to hire any licensed contractor will make it easy for homeowners and other property owners to build new ADUs at a higher rate than during the pilot areas. |
Will not ease housing shortage Complex rules that vary block by block within the city and which require the hiring of a small number of special contractors will suppress the number of new ADUs built. |
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Eligibility Areas 5 |
Easy to remember and understand All R (RS, RT, and RM), B, and C zoning districts will allow ADUs. Citywide expansion per national best practices for cities large and small, and the recommendation from the Chicago Department of Housing in 2024, is achieved. |
Difficult to understand All RT, RM, B, and C zoning districts will allow ADUs but within RS zoning districts homeowners will have to look up – on a city platform that would have to be created – whether an ordinance was passed that allows ADUs on the block where they live. |
|
Conversion (Interior) Units 6 |
Simple eligibility All R, B, and C zoning districts will allow conversion units. |
Complex eligibility Eligible areas may or may not allow conversion units, depending on whether the alderperson has allowed them. Moreover, each eligibility area may have different additional standards imposed (see item 3). |
|
Coach Houses 7 |
Simple eligibility All R, B, and C zoning districts will allow coach houses. |
Complex eligibility Eligible areas may or may not allow coach houses, depending on whether the alderperson has allowed them. Moreover, each eligibility area may have different additional standards imposed (see item 3). |
|
Access; Ease of Owner Participation and Development to Build an ADU 8 |
Fair and easy to participate Rules will be consistently applied for all properties based on the house's zoning district, regardless of where it is in the city. An easier to understand law means an easier time for homeowners, designers, and builders to know what and how they can actually build. |
Unfair and difficult to participate In addition to eligibility being determined potentially block-to-block, each eligibility area may have different rules than the next eligibility area. Sifting through all of the various rules will discourage many homeowners and make it cumbersome for architects and contractors to verify feasibility. ADU designers and builders will get caught up in a permit application review based on an obscure rule they easily overlooked because of the varied complexity this ordinance allows. |
|
City Budget 9 |
No cost City staff will not have to spend any extra time administering this ordinance. Zoning maps and databases will remain as they are. Permit reviewers will apply rules consistently based on the zoning district, regardless of where the project is in the city. |
Higher cost City staff will spend many extra hours working to expand the zoning maps and databases to track the eligibility areas and the different rules for each eligibility area. Reviewers will also spend more time looking over and validating each building permit application for adherence to rules that are different based on each eligibility area. These greater bureaucracy requirements will increase city costs. |
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Coverage Area At Passage 10 |
Majority of city Upon passage, homeowners and other property owners in 61% of the city (measured by area) will be eligible to apply for a building permit. |
Small percentage of the city Upon passage, homeowners and other property owners in only 20% of the city (measured by area) will be eligible to apply for a building permit. |
Notes and sources
- Apprentices by State Dashboard, U.S. Department of Labor. Accessed September 9, 2025, Dashboard data was current through January 31, 2025.
- Compared to the general population of construction laborers in Illinois: 51% are White alone, 6% are Black alone, 39% are Latino, and 1% are Asian. U.S. Census Bureau, 2014-2018 EEO Tables. Data for Chicago is not available; note that licensed Chicago contractors can be based on other cities.
- When "C" zoning districts are mentioned, note that residential uses and ADUs are not allowed in the "C3" zoning districts.
- Coverage area: For simplicity of calculation, the area denominator is inclusive of all zoned land, which includes Planned Developments, PMDs, and M districts. The numerator is all of the zoning districts that each ordinance includes as “P” in the use tables.