The Chicago ordinance is more biased towards tenants than the State law. The Chicago Ordinance places certain duties upon a landlord. However, the landlord may deduct any unpaid rent or any amounts needed to repair any damage to the premises. It should be noted that a willful violation on the part of a landlord is the key to recovering the penalty available at law. The penalties imposed by these law for failure to comply are severe and serious in many cases.
Landlords sometimes take advantage of tenants.
Sometimes, however, they may just not understand the laws, may be moving slowly, or may have forgotten. As such, the best solution to getting your security deposit back is to ask. Send a letter via certified mail requesting the deposit back. If the landlord does not respond, you may be ready to take some further action. In most cases, I begin the security deposit recovery process with an attorney's letter to the landlord.