Chicago Construction News staff writer
The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) has announced $156 million in funding for housing initiatives aimed at increasing the state’s housing supply and making homeownership more attainable.
The funding is part of Building Up Illinois Developments (BUILD), Gov. JB Pritzker’s statewide housing plan. Of the total, $103 million represents new funding secured for the fiscal 2027 budget.
The investments will support programs intended to address housing shortages, expand affordable and middle-income housing options and help more residents purchase homes.
The funding will be directed to communities across Illinois, from Chicago and Rockford to Cairo, with initiatives targeting both housing development and homebuyer assistance.
“These programs are meaningful actions to invest in homes the market isn’t delivering and help families it isn’t reaching, but public investment alone cannot produce all the housing Illinois needs,” Pritzker said. He also pointed to the need to address regulations that make housing more difficult and expensive to build.
A key component of the investment is additional funding for IHDA’s Opening Doors program, which provides assistance to homebuyers.
IHDA Executive Director Kristin Faust said the funding will help address a shortage of starter homes and rising competition in housing markets across the state.
Nearly 33,000 homebuyers have purchased homes through an IHDA Mortgage over the past five years, Faust said. Additional funding for Opening Doors is expected to help more buyers enter the housing market.
The initiative also aims to support affordable and middle-income housing developments, with state officials linking increased housing construction to employment opportunities and stronger local economies.
Illinois faces an estimated shortage of approximately 142,000 housing units and will need to build more than 225,000 units over five years to meet demand, according to the Illinois Economic Policy Institute.
Nearly one-third of Illinois households spend more than 30 per cent of their income on housing, meeting the federal definition of being housing cost-burdened.
State officials said the investments are intended to help address those pressures while expanding housing opportunities for working families, seniors and first-time homebuyers.
The BUILD plan also includes a focus on regulatory changes, including zoning reforms, to reduce barriers to housing construction and improve affordability.
