STUN's website tracks the length of the Right to Counsel ordinance's limbo in the Community Involvement Committee. Screenshot taken from springfieldtenantsunite.org on 10/30/2026
STUN began the process of bringing Right to Counsel to Springfield in October of 2023, submitting our first policy brief to the Springfield City Council. Then in August 2024, STUN joined a sprint program with national coalition partners helping to refine our policy and envision what RTC could look like for Springfield. By February of the following year, STUN was ready to submit our final ordinance to the City Council. Later that month, major progress was made when the tenant RTC ordinance was introduced.
However, it ran into a roadblock the night it was introduced, as it was referred to the Community Involvement Committee now overseen by Callie Carroll. The legislation has been stalled for 1 year, 8 months, and counting (A live count can be viewed on the Springfield Tenants Unite webpage), but STUN has not stopped fighting for Springfieldians. As Right to Counsel nears a vote, we would like to take a moment to look at some of the ways the union has continued to fight to protect Springfield tenants while the Community Involvement Committee has allowed RTC to languish.
In November of 2025, STUN secured the first rental licensing and inspection program in Springfield history. It is currently running as an 18 month pilot program focusing on the West Central area, an area of Springfield that has a high volume of older houses with numerous maintenance and nuisance complaints. As of July 7, 2026, only 100 rental properties of the roughly 1,500 in the area have been inspected. With over 73% of the homes in this area failing their inspections so far, the program is already making a difference by holding landlords accountable when they decide to rent out uninhabitable properties.
In March of 2026, STUN was recognized as national leaders in the housing justice movement at the HouseUS Tenant Power + Policy Conference in NYC for work educating our community. With STUN leaders Sarah Barnts and Rex Ybañez getting the opportunity to convene with other nationally recognized housing justice leaders in the fight for safe, stable homes.
When Springfield once again proposed a tax to subsidize a new convention center, STUN pushed back and got out knocking on doors through canvassing efforts telling our neighbors how the proposal would take resources from public services.
Not content to accept the stories of the lawyers and landlords responsible for evictions, STUN decided to collect real data on those who face eviction. In May of 2026, we launched an eviction court watch program. With only 10% or less of Springfield tenants able to access legal representation, it’s time we shared the real stories of those facing evictions instead of trusting the words of those with a financial interest in keeping the status quo.
In August of 2026, one of STUN’s longest running battles saw some good news when Rosewood Estates and Cedarwood Terrace received an emergency injunction in their union's fight against eviction. When new owners acquired the two affordable housing units, they began pushing to evict the residents, many of whom are disabled, young families, or seniors. Their ultimate plan was to convert these properties once reserved for vulnerable populations to luxury apartments. However with the help of STUN the two blocks were able to unionize and fight back. By organizing together with our neighbors, they are for now able to keep their homes for at minimum the remainder of the trial, and know that they are not alone.
And finally in October of 2026 - over three years since STUN began the formal process with City Council - we are once again putting the fire under the feet of our council members. Calling on Springfieldians to participate in an email blast campaign in response to a letter from the Springfield Apartments and Housing Association, which advocated for the council to rule against RTC. With emails targeted towards council members Callie Carroll, Abe McGull, Derek Lee, and Heather Hardinger tenants shared their stories and asked the Council to stand up for the citizens they are supposed to represent.
Even while RTC legislation has been held up, tenants have refused to back down. We know that communities flourish when every citizen has access to safe, stable, and affordable housing. All of us at STUN will continue working everyday to reach that goal!