Eye On Illinois: Housing plans on the table aren’t going to solve state’s problems

Numbers tell a story, but rarely without help.

Last week, the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Project for Middle Class Renewal reported that the state currently is short 142,000 housing units but would need to open 227,000 units over the next five years to meet projected demand.

We’ve been tracking these and other reports over recent years, typically with a specific focus on low-income housing. In 2022, the Illinois Housing Council said the deficit there was 120,000 units. In 2021, the National Low Income Housing Coalition said that for every 100 renters considered “extremely low income” – earning less than half the median income in their region – only 39 rental units are available. Then, Illinois needed an additional 268,089 properties to meet demand.

Lawmakers have consistently engaged in bipartisan efforts to add a state tax credit to a federal program that encourages private development of lower-cost housing options, routinely projecting Illinois could spend $350 million over a decade to aid in the construction of about 3,500 homes or apartments. That much work is expected to generate about $1 billion in economic activity, about $300 million in state and local taxes and support more than 17,000 jobs.

The most recent attempts were House Bill 1147 and Senate Bill 62. Each is loaded with co-sponsors and idling in committee. Which isn’t to say nothing was done – the budget appropriated $27 million in Build Illinois Bond Funds for affordable housing investments – but even those efforts, plus 3,500 new units a year, leave thousands on waiting lists.

If private sector investors saw these deficits as profit opportunities, the government wouldn’t need to be involved. There’s still plenty of money in new construction for the right buyers and ZIP codes, but large swaths of Illinois still have significant shortages that won’t be solved with the ideas currently on the table.

NEWS YOU CAN USE: Regular readers know I frequently cite Capital News Illinois reporting, and with good reason. In addition to excellent, in-depth reporting, the nonprofit bureau also consistently works to make its work accessible and useful to people trying to understand how government operates. One tweak I just noticed on the main website (capitolnewsillinois.com) is a Spring Session Recap, including a link to every story involving the fiscal 2026 budget and two buttons: one for stories on all the bills that passed and another for all that failed.

While it’s always important to note the possibility legislation can resurface during special, veto or lame duck sessions, or be reintroduced in the next General Assembly, it’s also worth remembering lawmakers from both parties file all sorts of bills that don’t stand a chance of moving forward. Vigilance is commendable, but so is understanding context.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.