Chicago Residential Landlord & Tenant Ordinance
Section 5-12-060 Remedies for improper denial of access
If the tenant refuses to allow lawful access, the landlord may obtain injunctive relief to compel access or terminate the rental agreement pursuant to Section 5-12-130(b) of this chapter. In either case, the landlord may recover damages.
If the landlord makes an unlawful entry or a lawful entry in an unreasonable manner or makes repeated unreasonable demands for entry otherwise lawful, but which have the effect of harassing the tenant, the tenant may obtain injunctive relief to prevent the recurrence of the conduct, or terminate the rental agreement pursuant to the notice provisions of Section 5-12-110(a).
In each case, the tenant may recover an amount equal to not more than one month's rent or twice the damage sustained by him, whichever is greater.
Commentary
This section of the RLTO awards tenants damages in the more common situation where their landlord makes an unlawful entry. What's a lawful entry? See RLTO 050, which outlines in more detail exactly what makes an entry lawful or unlawful. In general, advance notice of two-days is required by a landlord who wants to enter the rented unit for non-emergency purposes.