SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — A state Democratic plan would hope to restart a task force that would hope to expand support for community land trusts in Illinois.
A community land trust buys land, usually single family homes, under the condition they will not flip the house. While owning the property, they will give the house to a low income family at a low price, but again they cannot flip the house.
Bloomington-Normal is the only place outside Chicago that has a community trust fund. Mark Adams with the Bloomington-Normal Community Land Trust said this housing model will give families a chance to own a home.
“We strive to help our local entry-level Rivian and Ferrero assembly-line workers, school teachers, and first-responders with limited income to have a fighting chance to become homeowners,” Adams said. “We really need ongoing grants for capital and operation funds from the State of Illinois to enhance our impact.”
This task force is a continuation of one made in 2023, which released a report last year. In the report, members of the task force recommended the state raise awareness of this housing model to the public, adjust tax burdens on CLT’s and remove CLT restrictions at the city and County level.
State Rep. Lilian Jiménez (D-Chicago) said the continuation of this task force would help curb the housing affordability crisis.
“The report last year facilitated by IHDA and the DePaul institute for housing studies laid out a plan to help grow affordable home ownership across the state using the community land trust model,” Jiménez said. “Reimplementing this task force will help grow the capacity and the development opportunities for community land trusts.”
This task force bill passed out of the Illinois House housing committee on a partisan 10-3 vote. This proposal will now head to the House floor for further debate.
Copyright 2024. WAND TV. All rights reserved.
