DECATUR — Tenants in Macon County facing the trauma of eviction now have a new resource to turn to in the courtroom: independent mediators.
A not-for-profit group called Dispute Resolution Institute Inc., or DRI, has been recruited via an administrative order to provide mediation services in Macon County Circuit Court between landlords and tenants.
A news release from DRI said: “A DRI staff person will be present in-person at eviction court to talk to landlords and tenants, along with local rental assistance providers.”
The mediator will inform tenants about rent assistance on offer in the state and work to hammer out a payment plan for dealing with rent arrears or come up with an agreed move-out date.
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“Mediation is great because it can help repair relationships that have broken down, or give the chance for a dignified exit from situations that aren’t working out,” said Missy Greathouse, the DRI executive director.
The Illinois Supreme Court on Tuesday extended its order limiting judgements in certain eviction cases to Oct. 3 for covered tenants. Those are people who earn less than $99,000 individually or $198,000 in a joint filing household if they’ve experienced financial hardships due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tenants have to certify they’ve done their best to make timely partial payments of as much as they can afford.
As President Joe Biden acknowledged difficulties in selling his economic agenda to a distracted public, the White House enlisted Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday to pitch a plan that includes one idea familiar in Illinois — higher taxes for the wealthy.
The Supreme Court has previously said it wants to allow for more renters to apply for aid through a court-based rental assistance program which is backed by $60 million in federal funding.
Associate Judge Erick F. Hubbard handles eviction cases for the Macon County Circuit Court and said either tenants or landlords can ask for the new mediation service. And if one of the parties agrees to it but the other doesn’t, the court can move to order both sides to enter mediation anyway.
Hubbard welcomed the arrival of the mediators, which he said increased the chances of tenant-landlord cases being resolved in ways amenable to both sides. And he said having a mediation resource available will help deal with an anticipated "surge of evictions" when the moratorium on such cases is finally lifted.
“I don’t think it’s a one-size-fits-all solution to everything, but I certainly think this type of alternative dispute resolution is a great resource to have,” said Hubbard. “And so, for sure, I am pleased it is in place.”
The court-based mediation service is just one local avenue for tenants to get help.
A coalition of social service agencies are encouraging Macon County residents in need of assistance to visit the Multi-Agency Resource Center, a one-stop shop for in-person application submission for assistance paying rent, mortgage, utilities, water, and garbage bills.
The MARC is open from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Decatur Public Library every Thursday through Oct. 28.
Tammy Wilcox, executive director of Dove, Inc., characterized the coordinated effort as "very successful" and "very busy."
The city of Decatur has earmarked about $500,000 in rent, mortgage, utility and other assistance. The program is being distributed by Dove.
Wilcox said there were significant delays in initially getting the money out due to onerous documentation requirements for renters and landlords to receive aid.
The city fixed this problem in August, changing the funding source from Community Development Block Grant funds to less-restrictive American Rescue Plan dollars. As a result, more money is flying out the door faster.
"We spent months trying to spend $74,000 and then in one month (August), spent over $100,000," Wilcox said.
Thus far, Dove has distributed more than $220,000 to 66 families.
"We've tried to simplify this last pot of funding that we've got from the city of Decatur so that it wasn't so hard for our applicants to come up with the documentation that was required with the original money," Wilcox said. "And it's worked a lot better. And that's the goal: to keep people in housing."
Those interested in applying for the city's COVID-19 assistance can find more information at doveinc.org/information/city-decatur-cdbg-cv-funding or call 217-619-9108.
Tenants or landlords who want mediation services can contact DRI at case@dri-inc.org. Free legal assistance can be accessed by going to evictionhelpillinois.org or calling 855-631-0811.
Reporter Brenden Moore contributed to this article.