Shirley Johnson

Shirley Johnson - program director, Metropolitan Tenants Organization;

According to Shirley Johnson, program director of MTO, in condo conversions many owners sell their buildings to purchasers who serve tenants with a 30-day notice to leave."Sometimes the notices aren't even legal 30-day notices of termination of tenancy," said Johnson.In some cases tenants actually have 120-190 days to move, depending on whether they have a lease, are disabled and/or a senior citizen."Tenant that don't know the law may move out.It causes a lot of displacement and sometimes leads to homelessness," added Johnson.
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MTO is connecting tenants with their alderman to lobby for passage of the bill, according to MTO member Shirley Johnson.

"This has the potential to cause homelessness," said Shirley Johnson of the Metropolitan Tenants Organization, dedicated to maintaining affordable housing.

Nationwide, at least 70,800 apartment units were sold to condominium developers in 2004, according to Real Capital Analytics, a New York consulting firm.
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Shirley Johnson, of the Metropolitan Tenants Organization, knows the strain this situation puts on renters-especially families."Parents have to take their kids out of school in the middle of the year and try to find a new home, sometimes in just 30 days," she said.Her organization offers relocation assistance.

Landlords must give renters 120 days' notice before eviction, according to Chicago's Condominium Ordinance, but there is a loophole, Johnson said.

SHIRLEY JOHNSONProgram Officer
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SHIRLEY JOHNSON, CII Program Officer

Shirley Johnson came on board at CIC in the spring of 2004 to use her many talents in our Troubled Buildings Initiative.In 1995 she took early retirement from Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) as a facility manager in the Technical Computer Training Department.

After ComEd, Shirley was a contractor for the Chicago Department of Public Health, where she taught basic computer skills to children and parents and developed and coordinated an afterschool program and job training for CHA residents at Robert Taylor and Altgeld Gardens.Later she became a community organizer at the Metropolitan Tenants Organization (MTO), a citywide organization whose goal is to educate, empower and organize tenants to participate in decisions which affect access to and availability of safe, decent and affordable housing in Chicago.At MTO she organized tenant councils and advocated for lead elimination and affordable, accessible and subsidized housing citywide.

Shirley has served on the Chicago Park District's Robert Taylor Advisory Council and currently is a member of the Carver Park Advisory Council in Altgeld Gardens.In 1998 she volunteered with the Computer Learning Center of the Public Housing Section of the Chicago Police Department.She is an active member of the Grand Boulevard Federation, and in her outreach she has collaborated with community organizations in Grand Boulevard, Bronzeville, Rogers Park and Altgeld Gardens.

Shirley JohnsonProgram Director