Introducing Chicago Tenants Movement

ATU is proud to stand as a charter member of Chicago Tenants Movement, Chicago Tenants Movement a citywide coalition of North, West, and South Side community organizations. Learn more, and access the citywide tenant hotline, at the CTM website here.

Chicago Tenants Movement vision and values

Housing is a human right

All people deserve stable and dignified homes, built and maintained to meet the needs of communities — not to create enormous profit for the wealthy. Recognizing the structural roots of the housing crisis, we strive to replace the current housing system with one of collective ownership and self-management.

People power and direct democracy

We build new organizations capable of putting power back into the hands of the people. Fundamental to these new institutions is the belief that tenants have the right to control their housing and the power to manage their own struggles. This means placing decision-making power in the hands of those most affected, and trusting in the transformative power of collective action and direct solutions.

Solidarity and mutual aid

We help and support one another where no other institution will. By caring for one another, we are less isolated and more secure; by defending the most vulnerable among us, we build collective power to defend our communities. Recognizing the realities of racial-patriarchal capitalism, we strive to build a movement inclusive of people of every race, nationality, language, gender, sexuality, occupation, and ability.

Liberation and self-determination

We fight for a future where communities are free from oppression and domination of all kinds, where people have meaningful control over their homes, living conditions, environment, and futures. We will not stop until we are all free: free from the commodification of housing, free from racist displacement, free from the violence we often face at home, free from occupying police, and free from capitalist domination over our lives.