SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — The Illinois Realtors Association has officially launched a program to help local governments accelerate development of new housing.

The Illinois housing supply accelerator program will allow realtors to work directly with mayors, county leaders, planners and housing stakeholders to remove barriers that delay home construction. Illinois Realtors CEO Jeff Baker told WAND News the accelerator program is critical, as the housing shortage is worsening every day.

"A lot of mayors and city leaders want to do something about housing, but they don't know where to start or don't have a good road map," Baker said. "That's where the playbook came along. We can give you that. It can be highly customizable and highly flexible."

Baker said the new program will allow every town to have a blueprint with policies and practices that affect housing production. That includes zoning ordinances, development regulations and other local requirements. Community leaders will be able to identify their own priorities and find solutions tailored to their housing market with timelines and measurable progress.

"It can meet the city wherever it's at," Baker said. "For example, Champaign had already commissioned a housing study. That's really useful information to figure out the housing that we have and the housing that we need. Where are our shortages at, or where is the need really? The beauty of the playbook is that it can go right into a city that has already studied the issue and say we don't need to start from scratch here."

Municipal leaders can find assessments for housing market and community needs, housing opportunity, organizational performance, infrastructure and financial and housing readiness under the accelerator program section of the realtors website. Baker said this plan partners stakeholders with their local municipalities to develop solutions that start Illinois down the path of solving the housing crisis.

"Municipal officials across Illinois remain dedicated to improving housing access and affordability, but those solutions should be developed through local partnerships, not statewide mandates that dictate a one-size-fits-all approach to every community," said Illinois Municipal League CEO Brad Cole. "The focus on voluntary, locally driven solutions — which we have suggested from the beginning of these discussions — demonstrates that meaningful progress can be made on housing while preserving local decision-making." 

The Illinois Municipal League has also provided a resource guide for local leaders to evaluate housing conditions, explore proven best practices and identify potential funding opportunities. IML leaders said this guide can help develop housing strategies that reflect unique priorities and circumstances for communities.

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