4 minute read
RVOICE
Illinois REALTORS® GADs support local initiatives
Gideon Blustein
Senior Director of Local Government & External Affairs
(L to R) Heartland CEO Jim Haisler, GAD Neeley Erickson, McHenry County Clerk & Recorder Joe Tirio, Heartland GAC Chair Katie O’Neill, Doreen Paluch with McHenry County Bar Association, Illinois REALTORS® 2022 Immediate Past President Sue Miller, McHenry County Chief of Civil Defense State’s Attorney’s Office Norm Vition and Heartland President Tim Sebastian.
As REALTORS® know, throwing money at a problem is not enough. Local Governmental Affairs Directors (GADs) and association leaders partnered with community and elected officials to bring money, vision and solutions to reality.
Central Lake County community infrastructure
Mainstreet Organization of REALTORS®, with the help of GAD Joe Roth, successfully leveraged National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) grant money for a number of community improvements in Lake County. In November 2021, nearly $40,000 was invested in the village of Mundelein to build open space that includes a pedestrian path, soccer field and butterfly garden. This “placemaking” park project provides a community benefit in that it also now hosts an annual children’s 5k run.
More recently, Roth helped direct $20,000 in NAR grant dollars toward the improvement of an underutilized outdoor space at Avon Township’s office building. The funding will be used to create an outdoor classroom for events and programming throughout the year. While the project site is unincorporated, many communities covered by Avon Township will benefit including Round Lake Beach, Round Lake Park, Round Lake Heights, Grayslake, Hainesville and Third Lake.
For a video about the Mundelein project: Vimeo.com/727487370
McHenry County spearheads repairing restrictive covenants
In the past, restrictive covenants were used to prohibit the sale of property based on race or religion. Because those covenants “run with the land,” the discriminatory language still appears on some titles. Although unenforceable, amending or removing the covenants can be costly and complicated. In 2021, the Illinois General Assembly passed a bill that allows county governments to create a method for removing or amending restrictive covenants and caps the fees to residents at $10. GAD Neeley Erickson and members of the Heartland REALTOR® Organization took notice and utilized Illinois REALTORS® RVoice funds to get McHenry County at the forefront of righting past wrongs.
Erickson and local REALTORS® partnered with the McHenry County Recorder and the McHenry County States Attorney’s offices to create a process for removing restrictive covenants, host an educational event on the topic and market resources to the community. The state’s attorney pledged to promptly review all file requests, RVoice funds were used to send notices to all 149,000 McHenry County property owners with their tax bills, and the recorder’s office shares consumer information on the topic on its website.
To learn more, visit: bit.ly/ McHenryRestrictiveCovenants
(L to R) City of Peoria Director of Community Development Joe Dulin, Peoria Mayor Rita Ali, PAAR Board President Ryan Cannon, GAD Kristie Engerman, PAAR Past President and current Fair Housing Committee Chair Becky Peterson and PAAR CEO Jennifer Hamm.
of Southwestern Illinois (RASI) spent a day at the Belleville Transit Center station earlier this year planting flowers and working to help make the station a welcoming space for all who use it.
Deb Frazier, CEO of RASI, presented a donation of $6,000 on behalf the RASI and NAR. GAD Ron Deedrick and RASI joined forces with the St. Clair County Transit District, Citizens for Modern Transit and AARP to transform the Belleville Transit Center.
The team overseeing the “Transit Stop Transformation” Project at the transit center converted the concrete area between the bus bays and MetroLink entrance into an interactive and engaging space. Using a vibrantcolored “Art Grows in Belleville” theme, the re-designed area now features new custom bike racks, shade structures, a Belleville city logo sign, benches, planters and elevated window artwork that was created by award-winning painter and mixed media artist Genevieve Esson. Find photos of the Belleville project on page 39 in Community.
Peoria, local REALTORS® partner to boost down payment assistance
When Congress authorized billions of dollars in federal spending through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), and it was announced that Housing and Neighborhood Stabilization were eligible uses for local governments, GAD Kristie Engerman took notice. Marshalling her strong relationships with Peoria officials, local REALTORS® and lenders, Engerman focused on using ARPA dollars to help people achieve the American Dream of Homeownership.
After a handful of meetings, the city of Peoria announced a Down Payment Assistance Program targeting census tracts with disproportionately high non-owneroccupied housing. The assistance provides purchasers $5,000 or up to 10 percent of the purchase price of a single-family home priced at or below $125,000. There’s no income limit, and if the purchaser stays in the home for two years, the loan is forgiven.
Local REALTORS® and officials feel the program will be efficient and successful because REALTORS® and lenders are brought in to find buyers and match them with eligible properties. At the news conference announcing the program, Peoria Mayor Rita Ali said, “Homeownership is empowering and rewarding. It allows community members to build equity and offers them the opportunity to call Peoria home for many years to come.”
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Since 2000, REEF has awarded 1,246 scholarships totaling over $912,650 helping Illinois real estate professionals and students fulfill their educational dreams and pursue their careers in the real estate industry.
