A major bill that sought to impose statewide zoning measures in Illinois to allow more types of housing failed to make it out of the state’s legislative session earlier this week.
The bill — SB 640 — would have mandated approval for multifamily housing on all single-family lots 2,500 square feet or larger, among other housing-related mandates for localities. The legislation did not get called to a vote in the state senate before the state’s spring legislative session adjourned June 1.
The Illinois Municipal League, which strongly opposed the measures, going so far as to craft counter legislation, described the legislative session’s outcome as a challenging but ultimately successful fight to preserve municipal authority.
“If we learn one thing from this session, it should be that we are only successful when we stick together and present a unified voice to legislators,” IML CEO Brad Cole said in a statement.
Other housing bills opposed by the municipal group, including one allowing faith-based organizations to build mixed-use facilities regardless of local zoning and one requiring stricter timelines for local governments regarding building plan reviews and inspections, also stalled in the state legislature.
Gov. JB Pritzker, who proposed much of the legislation in his State of the State address earlier this year, said at a June 1 press conference that he was undeterred by the outcome and that he’ll be campaigning on the housing proposals.
“I believe we need to do even more about housing in this state,” Pritzker said. “I proposed bills that may not have passed this session but … a whole lot of things that were important take years to get done,” pointing to a bill eliminating “junk fees” that he said took two years to secure.
Pritzker did manage to secure $250 million in funding for “missing middle” — middle-scale housing types such as duplexes, townhomes and tripled-deckers — and affordable housing programs in the state budget.
The governor’s sweeping statewide housing proposals put Illinois in a league with several other states seeking to take the reins on housing and zoning matters from local governments. Illinois is currently facing a housing deficit estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands.
