May 2, 2025 State Capitol Report

REALTOR® Voice Heard Loud and Clear!

What a week in Springfield! The long anticipated 2025 Capitol Conference and REALTOR® Lobby Day was Tuesday, April 29. The day began at the Bank of Springfield Center in downtown Springfield with Illinois Speaker of the House Chris Welch opening the program with a special message to REALTORS®, followed by an interactive presentation by former Tennessee Congressman and national commentator Harold Ford Jr. After a legislative briefing from Senior Director of Government Affairs Jim Clayton, more than 600 REALTORS® headed to the Capitol to meet with their legislators.

REALTORS® Lead Housing Discussions With Legislators at the Capitol

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Thank You!

Thank you to the more than 600 Illinois REALTORS® members who traveled to Springfield and made our Capitol Conference a resounding success. We have heard from several legislators commending our members for their strong showing in numbers, but more importantly, the impression you made on them with your engagement, professionalism and conduct. We are very proud of our REALTOR® family and you showed exactly why!

Illinois REALTORS® Housing Stability & Affordability Initiative

Learn more about the “Housing Stability & Affordability Initiative” at www.illinoisrealtors.org/housing.

Bills of Interest

The following pieces of legislation are bills your Illinois REALTORS® State Legislative Team are currently actively engaged in and saw legislative action this week.

Strongly OPPOSED by Illinois REALTORS®, HB 3564 was posted for a Senate hearing in the Executive Committee for Wednesday. On Tuesday, the Executive Committee Chair reported to our leadership team during their planned visit to Leader Castro that this bill would not be called the following day.

SB 1563 amends the Code of Civil Procedure to clarify that nothing in the Eviction Article prohibits law enforcement from arresting squatters under the criminal code or from interfering with the ability of a law enforcement official to remove persons or property from the premises where there is a criminal trespass. The issue of squatters has been more of an issue in the northern region of the state, where homeowners who are gone from their homes for a considerable amount of time come home to find other people living in their homes illegally. This bill has been placed on Second Reading in the House.

HR 252 creates the Landlord/Tenant Task Force to acknowledge and address the complex challenges faced by both landlords and tenants in our communities across Illinois. Members of this task force will be selected by the House leadership, plus the bill specifically states that at least one member of the task force will be a representative from our organization. The final report from the task force is to be submitted to the House no later than Dec. 31, 2026. It should be noted that this measure is a resolution and is not binding under state law, however, future legislation can be derived from such reports.

The bill outlines task force membership, meetings and administrative support. Provides that the task force shall investigate community land trusts and submit reports on their findings, which are to be made available. Illinois REALTORS® has been monitoring this legislation.

Next Week At-A-Glance

The House and Senate return to Springfield on Tuesday, May 6 for a full week of session. During this final month, session days will be Tuesday through Friday each week until the scheduled May 31 adjournment. Your Illinois REALTORS® State Legislative Team remains involved in negotiations and discussions on several pieces of legislation in efforts to protect, promote and advance housing and as always…..Stay Tuned!!!

Thank you for reading the May 2, 2025 State Capitol Report. Click here to read previous reports.