Pritzker pushes housing plan described as ‘all stick,’ no carrot

By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Gov. J.B. Pritzker is pushing to prevent local communities from restricting housing development, but local leaders say state preemption of local control may not address high housing costs.

The governor discussed his Building Up Illinois Developments plan during an AARP Illinois tele-town hall on Monday and said the high cost of housing burdens one in three older households.

Pritzker said said the state’s home listings have dropped 64%.

“Our failure to build is in part due to restrictive statutes and regulations in towns, cities and counties,” the governor said.

Several of Pritzker’s proposals would restrict local authority.

The Illinois Senate Executive Committee discussed House Bills 4060, 4061, 4062, 4063 and 4064 during a subject matter hearing that lasted more than five hours on Friday.

The five bills are all part of the governor’s BUILD initiative.

Romeoville Mayor John Noak told the committee that taking away local control does not do enough to address the drivers of Illinois housing costs.

“Preemption certainly will not do enough to address those costs. A simple shift in homeowners insurance in one given year can wipe out any potential costs from these preemption approaches,” Noak said.

Noak said just adding more units alone will not reduce housing prices, and he said a proposal to reduce fees might result in higher property taxes being passed on to homeowners.

State Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago, said he understood local officials’ concerns that different towns have different needs.

“Maybe it doesn’t make sense for us as a state to say to a municipality, ‘You need to do all 10 of these things. Maybe that’s not the way to go,” Cunningham said.

Illinois Municipal League CEO Brad Cole said local leaders would like a more collaborative approach.

“We would much prefer the carrot to the stick. This is all stick,” Cole said.