Illinois Housing Council calls for affordable housing state tax credit

SPRINGFIELD (WGEM) - Finding affordable housing is a growing problem in Illinois. The state is short 289,419 affordable rental units according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition . It's why advocates are pushing for legislation to incentivize more affordable housing projects.

"We need to build more housing of all types," said Illinois Housing Council (IHC) Executive Director Allison Clements.

The IHC is a nonprofit association representing about 290 organizations involved in affordable housing through the state.

"You shouldn't be spending more than 30% of your income on housing costs, and we're seeing across the country that number is really not attainable," she said.

Clements said Illinois is no exception to that trend.

She said the key driver to building affordable housing is the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program. It's why the IHC is pushing Illinois lawmakers to create a similar policy at the state level known as the Build Illinois Homes State Tax Credit .

"This is legislation that would help shovel-ready affordable housing developments get across the finish line," Clements said.

She said the federal tax credit only covers a certain amount of funding for an affordable housing project. A state credit would help provide gap funding to get projects shovel ready.

State Sen. Robert Peters, D-Chicago, and state Rep. Dagmara "Dee" Avelar, D-Bolingbrook, are sponsoring legislation creating the state tax credit.

"Enough is enough when it comes to band-aids. We often talk about housing, it's part of every discussion. We hear it in the news. We hear it in every group. We hear people talk about a stronger economy in the state, well this is a way that we can have a strong economy and we can have a stronger state," Peters said at an April 17 press conference unveiling the legislation .

If the Illinois credit became law, the state would allocate $20 million annually for six years.

Clements said developers can't take advantage of the tax credit until their project is completed and their low-income units are rented.

"It's already in place in over 25 other states around the country, so it's proven to be successful and something that developers see as an important tool for building more housing," Clements said.

She added though Peters and Avelar are currently sponsoring stand-alone bills, the tax credit would likely become law as part of a future state budget.