Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Illinois

Let's first separate the issues:

1. Apartment: You must look at your lease; most leases require the landlord to maintain the "building" while you as tenant maintain the "premises". You are in Chicago and it has a special ordinance requiring landlords of most apartments to be in charge of maintenance (See http://www.chicityclerk.com/tenantsVRSlandlords.php). If your apartment is covered by the ordinance that's good, and even if it is not if the lease attempts to let the landlord off the hook for building maintenance, the ordinance covers the lease anyhow. An authorized copy of a summary of the ordinance should be attached to your lease.\

2. Spiders: Spiders are everywhere and love moisture. But they are controllable within reason. You should ask your landlord to take reasonable steps to control the situation especially with children involved. Do this in a polite letter -- you want a paper trail. If the landlord refuses (in writing or otherwise) look at the ordinance -- you can offset rent to a point if you take it into your own hands after giving the landlord WRITTEN notice and the landlord's failure to do anything. Be careful; it may be easier to buy a non-toxic spider spray (if one exists) because landlords don't like troublemakers either and even though the ordinance says retaliation by not renewing is not allowed, first it sounds like you won't renew if these things aren't addressed and then again who's to prove the landlord did or didn't....But if you decide to hire someone, follow the ordinance including notice to the landlord and when you offset rent to provide a copy of the paid receipt for the work -- it is deductible to the landlord!!!. But you can expect a fight and maybe even an eviction notice if the landlord is that difficult. So try to be polite throughout, whether you mean it or not.....

3. Car: You don't say where it is parked. If you are not renting a parking space on the landlord's property under the lease (or separately) then there is virtually nothing that you can do to about this, unless there is something written into your lease making your landlord responsible for any kind of security for the public parking on the street (which is highly doubtful). If you are renting a parking space on the landlord's property, check the ordinance again. AND the lease -- the lease may have a clause relieving the landlord from "intentional" acts of vandals, etc. But if the landlord knows of these activities and does nothing then the landlord may be breaching its obligation to act reasonably. But without a written obligation even an allegation that it is a "good neighborhood" may not be enough. Bad things happen in "good", even "great" neighborhoods.

4. I caution against doing something called a "constructive eviction" which is where you believe things are so intolerable that you decide you must move. While at a later date a judge may agree with you (especially where there are children, you have a good paper trail of written and picture explanations of the situation AND what efforts you made to avoid the decision to move out, and then you wind up showing receipts for having to pay rent to someone else through January 2011), it will be a fight most likely.

5. PS if it's that bad you might want to report the spiders to the building department but again you may not get action except the landlord's anger, and the car situation to the police to see if they'll patrol a bit more. Your car insurance company may not be pleased, but remember that windshield coverage may have a deductible....

GOOD LUCK!