Create professional development programs that help REALTORS® strengthen their businesses.
Protect private property rights and promote the value of REALTORS®.
Advance ethics enforcement programs that increase REALTOR® professionalism.
Protect REALTORS® by providing legal guidance and education.
Stay current on industry issues with daily news from Illinois REALTORS®, network with other professionals, attend a seminar, and keep up with industry trends through events throughout the year.
The Illinois Association of REALTORS® Advocacy Program will be involved in several Nov. 2 ballot measures that affect the real estate industry and private property rights.
While you may not live or work in these towns, ballot measures like these could be coming to a town near you soon (next election cycle). This is why IAR created the Advocacy Program—to take action by informing property owners of issues that affect them and the real estate industry.
- IAR will inform voters of the pitfalls of home rule status in six municipalities including Blue Island, Franklin Park, Indian Head Park, Northfield, River Grove and Worth. (Municipalities with a population over 25,000 automatically have home rule status; those under the population threshold must ask voters.) Home rule units generally have significant powers to regulate real estate transfers through point-of-sale inspection programs, zoning certification, just to name a few. They can also assess impact fees on developers, impose “teardown” taxes and real estate transfer taxes.
- The Village of Riverdale is seeking a real estate transfer tax of $2 per thousand (of the sale price) imposed on the seller. IAR and the Mainstreet Organization of REALTORS® will strongly oppose this measure.
- Sangamon County is seeking a 1 percent county-wide sales tax that would provide additional revenue for the county’s school districts and to provide property tax relief. The Capital Area Association of REALTORS® supports the measure.
- In the Village of Bannockburn (Lake County), there is an advisory referendum that asks voters whether to rescind an existing ordinance that requires a point-of-sale home inspection performed by the village. The North Shore-Barrington Association of REALTORS® initiated this ballot item (by collecting petitions/signatures of voters in Bannockburn) and supports rescission of the ordinance. If this initiative is successful, and the referendum results indicate a lack of support for this kind of ordinance, IAR may explore this type of advisory referendum in other towns in future elections.
