If you're reading this, you're probably a college student that pays rent. And in order to pay that rent, you're also probably trying to juggle classes with a long work schedule that helps you pay such rent. Moreover, it's also probably the case that you live in an up-and-coming area of the town where your college is located.

Cities across the country are experiencing this phenomenon. Some neighborhoods are continually being seen as trendy, and thus leads to an influx of insanely high costs of living. Here in Chicago, it's impacted the North Side like the plague. Neighborhoods known for their tight-knit communities, such as Logan Square, Rogers Park, Uptown, and Lincoln Park, are slowly evolving into bastions of high-rises, abandoned two-story buildings that once housed staples of the communities, and outrageous costs of living that effectively drive out local residents that lived in the area for decades.

And thus comes a solution that can help alleviate this crisis: rent control.

Rent control is exactly what it sounds like: regulation on the amounts being charged for rent. And with the majority of Chicagoans living by paying rent, and with half of those renters considered "rent-burdened" (paying over 30% of their income to rent and are at risk of being evicted), rent control helps dispel anxieties of tenants that fear displacement because of a small hike in rent. It gives them more opportunity in the communities they call home and contribute more to their local communities, economies, and schools.

All of this sounds great, but it leaves the question why isn't rent control a reality in such a progressive city like Chicago? It's because Illinois made it illegal in 1997, so as of now, Chicago cannot pass anything that will legalize it exclusively in the city. But Governor-elect JB Pritzker has promised to repeal the act in office, and this past November three Chicago wards have overwhelmingly supported a non-binding referendum in favor of rent control.

And not only does state law prohibit rent control, there is push from the real estate lobby to maintain the ban. Opponents contend that rent control will destabilize the housing market and will hurt small landlords and homeowners. But the reality is that rent control does the opposite, in helping them. Rent control helps tenants manage their finances so that they have more time and money to invest in their communities. The character that we so love about each city's neighborhoods will sustain if its residents stay there, not the real estate developers that only move in neighborhoods just to make a profit. And to add to that, developers are making unprecedented profits, while falling behind on requests for repairs by their tenants.

So it leaves the question of this: What's better for the economy: money in a landlord's pocket or money in a tenant's one? Rent control can help answer with the latter choice by setting ethical standards so tenants can get by. The term "up-and-coming" gets thrown around in heavily gentrifying neighborhoods. But if it's the character and history that make these communities "up-and-coming", why are they so afraid of the local residents that define that title?

So if you pay rent and you think you're paying way too much, you're probably not exaggerating. If you're in Chicago, consider volunteering with the Lift the Ban coalition that fights for this very issue. Otherwise, research to see if your local city has rent control and what you can do if it doesn't.

Will rent control eradicate the housing crisis we see in Chicago and elsewhere in the country? Of course not, but it is most certainly a good first step in saying that housing is a human right.