Pritzker says of BUILD Plan for homes would not cost taxpayers

By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Gov. J.B. Pritzker has ramped up his campaign for new housing in Illinois, and he expects taxpayers to pitch in.

After announcing the Building Up Illinois Developments Plan during his budget address in February, the governor urged support for it Friday at the City Club of Chicago.

Pritzker said the BUILD Plan is ambitious and comprehensive.

“It’s designed to eliminate unnecessary barriers and lower costs for housing construction and renovation, produce a wider range of family-friendly housing types and streamline permitting,” the governor said.

Pritzker said Illinois faces a gap of more than 142,000 housing units and needs to build about 225,000 units over the next five years.

The governor said most of the BUILD Plan would not cost taxpayers anything, but he said there would be an investment.

“The BUILD Plan also includes about $250 million to help spur development of housing and help people to afford housing,” Pritzker said.

The IHDAccess Home program announced last month is part of the plan and would provide new home buyers with 6% of a home’s purchase price, up to $15,000, as a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. The mortgage would only be available to residents who make under specific income thresholds.

Illinois Senate Republican Leader John Curran, R-Downer Grove, told the Illinois Chamber of Commerce last Thursday there is good and bad in the governor’s plan.

“Cutting red tape would be incredibly important, incentivizing first-time home ownership, incredibly important,” Curran said.

Curran said the governor needs to roll back expensive mandates, like requiring electric vehicle plug-in stations in the garage of any new housing unit.

“This is just increasing the cost on homeownership. We need to leave that decision to the developer,” Curran said.

The Illinois Municipal League has expressed concern that the governor’s plan could take zoning control away from local communities and hand it over to the state.

Sean Reed contributed to this story.