In an op-ed for Crain’s Chicago Business, Jack Markowski, chairman of the Preservation Compact, and Bob Palmer, policy director of Housing Action Illinois, weigh in on how the General Assembly can tackle affordable rental housing in Illinois.
Before the conclusion of the General Assembly session at the end of May, state legislators can help alleviate the shortage of affordable rental housing in Illinois by passing legislation creating a new property tax incentive that will encourage landlords to both invest in their building and maintain lower rents.
The proposal, sponsored by State Representative Sara Feigenholtz, comes at a time when our state faces a shortage of 161,162 affordable rental homes for households with incomes at or below 60% of area median income (AMI) (approximately $36,000 for 1 person household, $50,000 for a family of 4 in the Chicago area). To put that number into context, imagine filling Wrigley Fieldfour times over with people who need rental homes that don’t exist.
Read more here.
