Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Illinois

Unless your community has a local ordinance allowing you to terminate your lease, the remedy you have available is under Illinois State law, called the "Residential Tenants Right to Repair Act" (which requires 14 days notice to the landlord of the repair needed and if the landlord fails to repair you may be able to have the repair made and deduct a portion of your rent but not all depending how much the repair is and how much the rent is) but in this situation you may need to call the local building department and register a complaint about lack of heating. Of course the landlord will then turn on the heat by the time the inspectors come out and it will be a mess. So yes, if you try anything and the landlord attempts to evict you for non-payment of rent, Illinois law also says you are entitled to defend on the basis that the rental unit is not habitable, and lack of heating when required by the lease or by local code would be a good indicator of that, but once again without proper legal guidance you may not be able to make your case. I recommend contacting a local attorney who can help you put some proper communications out and do other things that can build your case and, finally, if the landlord attempts to kick you out because she views you as a troublemaker, you also have the defense (by statute) of a "retaliatory eviction" which means the landlord can't kick you out for asserting your legal/lease rights. Unfortunately again without building a proper case, attempting these things on your own could backfire. And an attorney may find other things in your lease that could be helpful......