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* Governor JB Pritzker…

Governor JB Pritzker today signed an executive order launching a statewide effort enlisting multiple state agencies to explore how Illinois can accelerate plans to expand the supply and access of housing for working families. Additionally, as part of an ongoing commitment to lower housing costs, Governor Pritzker announced the return of SmartBuy, a program providing direct monetary assistance to pay off student loan debt for those buying a home in Illinois. ​ Together, these actions seek to address the shortage of attainable homes for working families across the state, as well as overall housing shortages that affect renters and homebuyers alike.

“If we are going to build on this state’s record of growth and prosperity, lower costs for Illinois’ working families, and be a state that everyone can call home, we must build more housing in every Illinois community from Cairo to Chicago,” said Governor Pritzker. “This announcement is just the beginning of some of the most important work we will do over the next few years—work that, if successful, can lower costs for thousands of families and lay the groundwork for decades of sustainable economic growth.”

Governor Pritzker’s Executive Order on Housing

The executive order creates an Illinois Director of Housing Solutions, who will add key capacity to the State and lead on the consideration of, strategic planning for, and implementation of innovative housing solutions to combat the housing crisis and increase the number of attainable, middle-class homes and rental options across the state for working Illinoisans and their families. The Director will work in close consultation with the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA), the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), and other state agencies.

As Illinois has experienced unprecedented economic development under Governor Pritzker’s administration, it’s imperative the state address the lack of attainable housing to complement this growth in the workforce across different parts of the state. Nearly one-third of Illinois households spend more than 30% of their income on housing, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development defined metric to determine whether housing is a cost burden.

Increased housing supply drives down prices, stimulates the construction industry, and expands opportunities for historically disadvantaged communities to build wealth through home ownership. This Executive Order advances the Pritzker Administration’s priority that all Illinoisans should have access to attainable housing across all income levels and will build on the work of IHDA and the Illinois Office to Prevent and End Homelessness to expand State leadership in implementing solutions across the housing affordability continuum.

The directives in the executive order were informed by a report from the Governor’s Ad-Hoc Missing Middle Housing Solutions Advisory Committee, a group comprised of leading housing developers, elected officials, economic development and nonprofit leaders, regional employers, and financing experts. That report - available here – focused on recommendations to increase housing supply for middle-income families, specifically targeting households in the 80-140% area median income range. The report includes innovative ideas to reduce unnecessary barriers to development, stimulate investment for housing production, and create new partnerships and technical assistance programs. The executive order is a first step in the State’s ongoing efforts to expand affordable housing for middle class working families and can be viewed here.

“We’re facing a housing crisis, in my district and across the state. More and more people can’t afford to pay rising rents or keep up with mortgage and tax payments, and buying a first home feels out of reach for too many,” said State Representative Will Guzzardi (D-Chicago). “Today’s executive order is a vital step in understanding and addressing this problem. I look forward to continued partnership with the Governor’s office and my colleagues in the legislature to advance holistic and transformational changes to make housing more abundant and more affordable for everyone in Illinois.”

“As a non-profit Community Development Financial Institution that finances affordable housing, it was an honor to join conversations with diverse industry leaders on the Ad-Hoc Missing Middle Housing Solutions Advisory Committee,” said Stacie Young, president and CEO of the Community Investment Corporation. “The group took a pragmatic approach to recommend strategies that will unlock capital and untapped resources for housing development across Illinois. I applaud Governor Pritzker for his leadership in driving concrete results.”

“I was pleased to participate in the Ad Hoc Advisory Committee of diverse stakeholders that put forth recommendations for expanding middle-income housing. ​ More importantly, our work has resulted into swift action that will attract and retain talent, support local employers, and make our community stronger and more attractive to new and existing residents,” said ​ Rita Ali, Mayor of Peoria.

“Illinois REALTORS® commends the Governor’s commitment to housing and was proud to be a part of the Governor’s Ad-Hoc Advisory Committee,” said Jeff Baker, CEO of Illinois REALTORS®. “The Director of Housing Solutions and the bold ideas in the Committee’s report are exactly what our state needs right now to bring housing stability to Illinois families and communities and to help more of our neighbors achieve the American Dream of homeownership.”

SmartBuy Program

In line with this work, Governor Pritzker also relaunched the SmartBuy program to help bridge the financial gap that has historically prevented many young adults and families from becoming homeowners. SmartBuy offers an affordable 30-year fixed rate first mortgage with $5,000 in deferred down payment and/or closing cost assistance. In addition, the program provides up to $40,000 in student loan relief to borrowers buying a home in Illinois. Potential applicants must have at least $1,000 in student loan debt and must pay off their full remaining student loan debt balance, if more than $40,000, at closing. Partial student loan repayment is not available under SmartBuy. The program is available to both first-time and repeat homebuyers.

“Student loan debt is one of the single largest barriers delaying younger households from achieving their dream of homeownership,” IHDA Executive Director Kristin Faust said. “With the average amount of student loan debt increasing every year, we know it is challenging for many to save to take their first steps towards owning their own home. Through SmartBuy, we have seen that this targeted relief can help new buyers overcome this financial burden and secure a home much earlier, allowing for a better opportunity to start building equity. We are excited to make this program available again for homebuyers as they continue to invest in their future in this great state.”

This is a relaunch of the SmartBuy program following previous success. SmartBuy first launched in December 2020 and within six months, 631 individuals and families bought a new home in Illinois. IHDA was able to pay down nearly $17 million in student loan debt, equating to an average of approximately $27,000 in relief per mortgage. SmartBuy saw the average age of the homebuyer utilizing an IHDA mortgage product decrease by eight years, highlighting the impact of the program in assisting younger adults in securing their financial future. SmartBuy requirements, select network of lenders, and additional program information can be found online here. For those looking to buy a home who may not qualify for SmartBuy, IHDA also offers three separate programs offering $10,000 in down payment assistance. You can learn more about these programs at www.ihdamortgage.org.

* WCIA…

The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled Sean Grayson, the former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy charged with the murder of Sonya Massey, will stay behind bars even longer.

Grayson will stay in jail until the Supreme Court decides if they are taking the case. If the court takes up the case, Grayson would also remain in jail until the justices issue a ruling.

“The mandate of the appellate court is stayed pending disposition of the State’s petition for leave to appeal, and if the petition for leave to appeal is allowed, until disposition of the appeal,” the court ruled Tuesday.

The state’s appellate court ruled previously Grayson’s detention violates the SAFE-T Act. They stayed an injunction to release him on Jan. 2.

*** Statewide ***

* WTTW | More Than 155,000 Standard IDs and Driver’s Licenses Issued to Illinois Noncitizens in 5 Months Since Law Went Into Effect: The law, which went into effect in July, grants noncitizens regardless of immigration status the ability to obtain a standardized state driver’s license replacing the Temporary Visitor Driver’s License, which displayed a purple banner and the words “Not Valid For Identification.” “That purple marker has become a Scarlet Letter, potentially exposing [noncitizens] to judgment, discrimination or immigration enforcement,” Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said during a news conference in July, adding the standard licenses also aims to make roads safer by encouraging more motorists to obtain a license.

* WBEZ | Chicago and Illinois have sanctuary laws. What does that actually mean?: There is no legal definition, but it has become an unofficial term for any jurisdiction — whether a state, county or city — that discourages local law enforcement from cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, officials. That usually means not collecting or providing information about residents’ immigration status — including anyone held at a local jail or prison — unless that person has a federal criminal warrant.

*** Chicago ***

* WTTW | Chicago’s Compliance With Consent Decree ‘Unsatisfying’: Federal Judge: U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer’s remarks came during the first status hearing in the federal court case since WTTW News and ProPublica reported that the effort to implement the reforms required by the federal court order known as the consent decree is at a tipping point, with advocates for police reform losing faith in the process and increasingly concerned the opportunity for lasting reform is slipping away. “The level of compliance is unsatisfying to the public,” Pallmeyer said, calling for an “aggressive” reform effort. “I am determined that we will be seeing good progress … in 2025. Let’s accelerate the progress.

* Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson releases 2023 tax returns. Here’s what they say: Johnson’s tax returns show his family brought in just over $176,000 in wages for 2023, his first year as mayor of Chicago. His annual salary was $216,210 that year, and he began his term mid-May. After claiming the standard $27,700 deduction for filing jointly with his wife Stacie and a $6,000 child tax credit, records show Johnson paid $17,302 in federal taxes, an effective tax rate of 11.65%. Johnson didn’t claim any other income from investments, retirement fund distributions or capital gains in 2023.

* WGN | Chicago City Hall evacuated due to fire: According to the Chicago Fire Department, a small fire broke out around 11 a.m. on the third-floor of the county building at City Hall, located at 118 North Clark Street. The fire was in a records storage area and was quickly extinguished by crews.

* Block Club | Dion’s Chicago Dream Brings Free Fresh Produce Locker To Chatham: Adding a Dream Vault to Discover’s South Side call center is “deepening our ties with Chatham and continuing our mission to make a long-lasting impact,” April Williams-Luster, senior manager of community affairs at Discover, said in a news release. Leaders at Discover Customer Care Center have hired over 1,000 employees from Chatham and surrounding South Side communities to work at the credit card company’s local office, according to a news release.

* Block Club | Young West Siders Turn Former Drug Spot Into Art Gallery, Gathering Space: A new community art and gathering space commemorating Austin’s Pink House has taken over a vacant lot near the historical home, looking to add another bright spot to the block. Creating Space, 557 N. Central Ave., features benches, a community-painted shipping container and a model of the Pink House. The iconic neighborhood landmark across the street from the art space fell into disrepair before being sold and refurbished —and painted green — in March 2023.

* Block Club | The Onion’s Purchase Of InfoWars Rejected By Bankruptcy Judge: Last month, The Onion announced its acquisition of Jones’ InfoWars with a winning bid of $1.75 million in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation auction. The Onion and parent company Global Tetrahedron worked in cooperation with Jones’ current creditors: several Sandy Hook families who recently won about $1.4 billion in damages in a defamation lawsuit against Jones in 2022. However, the other bidder for Infowars — a Jones-affiliated company called First United American Companies — contested the sale, arguing that the bidding process was fraudulent and that the court-appointed bankruptcy trustee, Christopher Murray, made a bad-faith decision to favor The Onion’s bid for political purposes over First United’s much-higher bid of $3.5 million.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Bloomberg | Lion Electric’s president is gone as EV maker searches for cash: Nicolas Brunet stepped down from the post he’d held for little more than a year, according to a company filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission dated Dec. 1. The same day, Lion Electric announced it would lay off about 400 of 700 employees and suspend work at a plant in Joliet. Lion’s lenders, which include National Bank of Canada, gave the company temporary help to get through Dec. 16, suspending for a second time the covenants on a credit line. The maturity on a separate loan was pushed back to the same date. The extensions were granted to buy time for Lion Electric to find new investors or a buyer.

* Tribune | Pairs skater Deanna Stellato-Dudek — a Park Ridge native — becomes Canadian citizen, clearing way for Milan Olympics: Stellato-Dudek began her career as an accomplished individual skater representing the U.S., finishing second at the world junior championships and winning the junior Grand Prix Final. But after suffering a series of hip injuries, she decided to retire in 2001, only to make a comeback as a pairs skater with American partner Nathan Bartholomay in 2016. The pair twice finished third at the U.S. championships before splitting in 2019, and that’s when Stellato-Dudek teamed up with Deschamps, who had separated from his American partner Sydney Kolodziej the previous year.

* WBEZ | This Northwestern music detective resurrected a trove of 400-year-old Christmas music: What did “Christmas past” sound like, exactly? Courtesy of a Chicago-area music scholar with a talent for digging up the past, local audiences will be the first in centuries to hear a series of old carols that trace back to 16th and 17th–century Mexico and Guatemala.

*** Downstate ***

* TSPR | No change in mindset for WIU president now that she’s no longer ‘interim’: “I think I personally have the same mindset that I’ve had all along, which is to continue to advance WIU.” [Western Illinois University President Kristi Mindrup] said removing interim from her title demonstrates there is stability at WIU. She said the administration will continue working on WIU’s finances and bringing people together for strategic planning.

*** National ***

* Bloomberg | Albertsons sues Kroger for breach of contract in failed deal: In a statement, Kroger said Albertsons’ claims are baseless and without merit. It added that Albertsons isn’t entitled to the merger break fee and that Albertsons is seeking to “deflect responsibility following Kroger’s written notification of Albertsons’ multiple breaches of the agreement.” Kroger’s board is evaluating the next steps for the company. Kroger and Albertsons had agreed to the tie-up in October 2022 , saying it would help them compete better against Amazon.com Inc., Walmart Inc. and other bigger, non-unionized rivals. It would have united Kroger, the nation’s biggest grocery company, with Albertsons, the second biggest, to create a company with more than 4,000 stores across 48 states and Washington, DC.