Chicago Construction News staff writer
A new Illinois law will allow the state treasurer to invest in a housing fund that finances affordable and workforce housing projects, creating a potential new source of capital for housing construction and preservation across the state.
Gov. JB Pritzker signed Senate Bill 3086 into law after the measure received bipartisan support in the Illinois General Assembly. The law allows Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs to invest in the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust, which finances affordable and workforce housing while supporting union construction jobs.
“This new investment tool will help build homes, create good-paying jobs for Illinois workers, and earn a solid rate of return for Illinois taxpayers,” Frerichs said. “The HIT Fund is another example of how our investments can help move our state forward.”
The legislation aligns with Pritzker’s Building Up Illinois Developments, or BUILD, plan, which seeks to expand investment in development across the state.
“Illinois is putting its money to work in a responsible and beneficial way,” Pritzker said. “This effort expands investment opportunities that are good for Illinois’ taxpayers while also promoting new development. It also creates good-paying, union construction jobs, employing highly skilled trades workers across the state.”
The bill was sponsored by state Sen. Ram Villivalam, D-Chicago, and state Rep. Kevin Olickal, D-Skokie.
The law allows the treasurer to invest in private-placement fixed-income securities issued by qualified investment funds, including the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust.
Villivalam said the legislation will allow Illinois to support housing projects while maintaining safeguards for state investments.
“This legislation is about making sure Illinois can invest responsibly while also prioritizing projects built or rehabilitated by union labor,” Villivalam said. “By expanding access to investment trusts connected to the labor movement, we can help support projects that create union jobs while maintaining strong safeguards for the state’s investments.”
Olickal said the measure gives the state greater flexibility to make investments while supporting housing development.
The AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust currently has nine projects under construction in Illinois that are expected to add 1,466 housing units. Nearly two-thirds of those units will be affordable housing, according to the organization.
The projects represent nearly $150 million in investment and include developments in Chicago, Aurora, Crystal Lake, Decatur and East Moline.
Chicago projects include Grace Manor, 400 Lake Shore, 6900 South Crandon, Imani Village Senior Residences and Willa Rawls Manor. Other projects include Fox Shore in Aurora; The Villager and Briarwood West in Crystal Lake; Southern Hills/Orlando in Decatur; and Two Towers in East Moline.
The trust said it has completed 125 projects and generated $8.4 billion in economic activity.
“Illinois taxpayers deserve competitive returns, and Illinois workers deserve a state that invests in them,” Illinois AFL-CIO President Tim Drea said. “This law delivers both.”
Chang Suh, chief executive officer and chief investment officer of AFL-CIO HIT, said the new investment authority will strengthen the fund’s ability to finance housing development.
“Investing in housing production and good jobs is an investment in the future of the State of Illinois,” Suh said. “The AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust has a long and proven history of financing housing development responsibly and helping communities create opportunities for residents.”
The law gives the state treasurer another investment option while potentially directing additional capital toward housing production, preservation and community development.
Connecting state investment tools with union-backed housing funds like the AFL-CIO HIT is such a smart move. It aligns strong, risk-managed returns for taxpayers directly with expanded affordable housing construction and high-skilled union jobs across Illinois. Seeing active projects already in the pipeline from Chicago to Decatur proves how impactful this capital will be for expanding workforce housing inventory state-wide!