KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas today wrote to the Honorable J. Dale Youngs, Presiding Judge of the 16th Judicial Circuit, encouraging him to extend the eviction moratorium in Jackson County as a matter of public health—halting all filings, hearings, writs, enforcement, and garnishments, with narrow exceptions—for at least the first six months of 2021.

In September, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a federal eviction moratorium, which expires at the end of this year.

“The COVID-19 crisis hit Jackson County hard,” wrote Mayor Lucas. “Evictions cause serious health and economic crises, exacerbating harms from the pandemic itself. Homelessness and relocation stress add another barrier for the unemployed and working class as they strive to enter the workforce. Further, landlords file evictions at disproportionate rates in Black and Brown neighborhoods, reinforcing decades of racial inequities.”

“Eviction is already a fundamentally traumatic event, both a cause and a condition of poverty,” continued Mayor Lucas. “The pandemic only adds more anguish. Although I speak for all Kansas Citians facing poverty, evictions pose even greater risks to Black Kansas Citians, who are one-third of COVID deaths in the state, but only 11.5 percent of the population. These are among the most important public health and economic interventions our community will ever make. I ask for your consideration.”

“Public health experts and elected officials told us to stay healthy by staying at home, but now court-ordered evictions are forcing us from our homes,” said KC Tenants Leader Jenay Manley. “It doesn't have to be this way. The courts can and should end evictions to save lives.”

Full letter is below and attached:

Dear Presiding Judge Youngs:

Congratulations on your recent selection as the Presiding Judge of the 16th Judicial Circuit.

I write to bring to your attention the continued crisis facing renters due to COVID-19, specifically, in Jackson County, Kansas City, Missouri. Since COVID-19 began, almost 50 percent of all Missouri renters have been unable to pay their rent at one time. That percentage point is higher than the national average.

With the utmost respect for the independence of your position and the Circuit Court, I ask you to consider joining Missouri’s 22nd Judicial Circuit (St. Louis City) and extending an eviction moratorium for at least the first six months of 2021 as a matter of public health. The moratorium would put an end to all filings, hearings, writs, enforcement, and garnishments, with narrow exceptions.  See, e.g., Order 35, 22nd Judicial Circuit, Nov. 6, 2020 (attached).   

The CDC Eviction moratorium, which went into effect in September 4, 2020 is set to expire in just 15 days, during some of the coldest weather in our city. When that moratorium was entered by the CDC in September of 2020, the CDC determined mass evictions would likely increase the interstate spread of COVID-19. Now, some three months later, a newly published study concludes that evictions are tied to an increase in coronavirus cases and deaths.

The COVID crisis hit Jackson County hard. Evictions cause serious health and economic crises, exacerbating harms from the pandemic itself. Homelessness and relocation stress add another barrier for the unemployed and working class as they strive to enter the workforce. Further, landlords file evictions at disproportionate rates in Black and Brown neighborhoods, reinforcing decades of racial inequities. 

Eviction is already a fundamentally traumatic event, both a cause and a condition of poverty. The pandemic only adds more anguish. Although I speak for all Kansas Citians facing poverty, evictions pose even greater risks to Black Kansas Citians, who are one-third of COVID deaths in the state, but only 11.5 percent of the population.

In conclusion, these are among the most important public health and economic interventions our community will ever make. I ask for your consideration.

Very truly yours,

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