Today, the Chicago City Council is considering two competing rental housing proposals, and the votes on these measures could have major repercussions for the city’s housing affordability crisis. The Council now needs to choose between the mayor’s dangerous Protecting Renters Ordinance (PRO) or the more pragmatic Fair and Accountable Illinois Rental (FAIR) Ordinance.

Even with recent amendments, PRO poses a greater threat to housing affordability and supply than FAIR. While both ordinances carry additional costs and requirements, PRO imposes more expansive mandates, greater legal exposure, and more bureaucracy on housing providers. Those measures have real costs that will drive rent prices up and worsen the housing shortage.