Contractors and builders across Illinois who were hoping for statewide zoning changes this fall may have to wait a bit longer.
Gov. JB Pritzker said Thursday, Oct. 15, that his Building Up Illinois Developments housing package, known as BUILD, probably won't get done during the General Assembly's short fall veto session. He expects it to come back when the new 105th General Assembly starts in January.
"It's a short session, as you know, the veto session. So, I do believe that you're going to see that in the coming full session starting in January," Pritzker said at an unrelated news conference, as reported by The Center Square in a story republished by Just The News.
The veto session is set for Nov. 17-19 and Dec. 1-3 in Springfield.
What BUILD would do
Pritzker unveiled BUILD in his February State of the State address as part of his Affordability Agenda. According to the governor's office, the package would:
- Legalize more housing types, such as duplexes, triplexes and four-flats.
- Permit accessory dwelling units, or ADUs.
- Allow new housing with more sensible parking requirements.
- Give developers clear timelines for permit reviews and inspections.
- Standardize impact fee practices.
- Allow qualified third parties to help developers when delays occur.
As proposed, BUILD also came with a $250 million capital package: $100 million for middle housing construction, $50 million for down payment help for first-time buyers, and $100 million in grants for infrastructure such as stormwater, sewer and site access improvements. The governor's office said those grants could help unlock about 100 sites and up to 4,000 new homes.
The governor's office says Illinois will need to build over 225,000 housing units in five years to meet demand.
"We have developers ready to build homes, REALTORS ready to sell them, and Illinoisans who need them," Pritzker said in April.
Why it stalled
The package stalled in May after disagreements between stakeholders, according to The Center Square. The Illinois Municipal League, which represents local governments across the state, pushed back after it was left out of meetings with the governor's office and legislators.
The league has its own proposal, the Reducing Expenses and Advancing Local Housing Act, or REAL Housing Act, which would leave control of things like zoning with local governments instead of setting rules statewide.
IML CEO Brad Cole told The Center Square the group is still ready to work with lawmakers. "Municipal officials across Illinois remain dedicated to improving housing access and affordability and believe meaningful progress can be made while preserving local decision-making," Cole said. "We want, and continue to be ready, to work in collaboration with policymakers and other stakeholders on this vital issue."
Even without BUILD, Pritzker pointed out that lawmakers put $250 million in the current budget to boost funding for existing state housing programs. If the BUILD bills don't pass sooner, they'll have to be reintroduced and go through the legislative process again in January.
Pritzker said he isn't backing off the goal.
"I'm dedicated to expanding housing opportunities for everybody in the state, making sure that we're building, because as you know, we're a couple of hundred thousand homes behind at least if we want to reach our goal by 2030," he said.
For a lot of builders, the parts of BUILD that matter most aren't the headline zoning changes. They're the timelines. Waiting on plan reviews and inspections costs money every day a crew sits idle or a loan keeps accruing interest. Clear deadlines and the option of bringing in qualified third parties when a town falls behind would make schedules easier to plan and bids easier to price.
Standardized impact fees would help too. Impact fees can differ from one town to the next, which makes it harder for builders working across several communities to price jobs consistently.
Why it matters for Contractors
BUILD could change what contractors are allowed to build and how fast they can build it across Illinois. Legalizing duplexes, triplexes, four-flats and ADUs statewide would open up a lot of small infill projects, the kind of work that fits small and mid-sized residential builders and remodelers. Permit and inspection deadlines would cut down on the waiting that eats into margins. But nothing changes until lawmakers act, and the governor himself now expects that fight in the new session starting in January. Contractors who want a say should talk to their trade associations and local legislators before then, and keep an eye on how the municipal league's REAL Housing Act shapes the final deal.