Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker desires to see statewide zoning reforms to assist encourage the development of extra properties.
Pritzker unveiled a brand new initiative, “Constructing Up IL Developments” or BUILD, as he unveiled a brand new $56 billion state funds. That plan requires modernizing constructing codes statewide to make it simpler to construct workforce housing.
“The issue is obvious, lease is simply too excessive and homeownership is simply too far out of attain,” Pritzker stated. “The trigger is obvious, too. We aren’t constructing sufficient properties quick sufficient.”
Particularly, Pritzker desires to legalize extra housing varieties, like duplexes, triplexes, four-flats, and accent dwelling items, or ADUs. The initiative additionally seeks to chop parking mandates, which regularly drive up prices with area necessities for brand new construct, even the place road parking and public transit can be found.
Workforce housing targets
A 2025 report from the Mission for Center Class Renewal on the College of Illinois discovered the state must construct 227,000 properties by 2030 to maintain up with demand. The state is already 142,000 items brief, and must construct 45,000 items per yr, per the report.
The state-by-state housing affordability report card from Realtor.com® offers Illinois a C.
Pritzker blamed native laws that make it harder, including some date again to redlining.
“Usually the issue is the failure to modernize and sustain with the altering occasions that we dwell in,” he stated. “All of it provides as much as bureaucratic purple tape that unnecessarily will increase prices, delays building, and ceaselessly kills initiatives altogether.”
The state additionally desires to standardize timelines and scale back native authorities allow evaluations, permitting some third events to log off on permits, and standardize influence charges. At the least 11 different states have proposed comparable reforms, leading to a mixture of assist and pushback over their impact on native governance.
Pritzker stated the plan may scale back the influence of improvement on anyone neighborhood. “Somewhat extra housing in every space can considerably advance our housing inventory,” he stated.
The Illinois Realtors® applauded the transfer. CEO Jeff Baker stated the group has been pushing to broaden choices for ADUs and “lacking center” housing since 2020. A whole lot of that got here from assembly with native officers, however momentum has been rising since 2024 when Pritzker convened a committee on the difficulty.
“Whereas we’ve got been proposing these measures for years, having the governor’s assist is a major turning level,” Illinois Realtors Board President Jeff Kolbus stated.
Bigger traction
Pritzker stated the zoning reforms are half of a bigger effort to handle housing affordability. It follows a 2024 government order through which Pritzker created a brand new director of housing options director position to assist implement housing legal guidelines. The state is concentrating on rising housing for folks incomes 80% to 140% of their space median revenue.
Additionally within the invoice is a brand new $100 million lacking center housing infrastructure grant program that might be run out of the Illinois Division of Commerce and Financial Alternative.
One other $100 million would go to the Illinois Housing Improvement Authority for lacking center and inexpensive housing packages. And, Pritzker proposed $50 million for IHDA for down fee help packages.
Illinois Republicans criticized the speech and known as for much less spending. Their assertion did not point out the housing proposal.
However Pritzker additionally known as out the state’s main power grid operators—PJM Interconnection and Midcontinent Impartial System Operator Inc.—saying they wanted to compel giant power customers like information facilities to pay for his or her larger capability utilization.
That will tamp down rising power prices householders face. The governor has additionally signed an government order to construct extra nuclear energy to ship 2 gigawatts of nuclear energy, sufficient to energy 2 million properties.
And he known as on the state’s legislature to advance a invoice that requires dwelling insurance coverage corporations to offer justification for main will increase in premiums. About 1.5 million householders may see insurance coverage elevated by a median of $750 this yr.
