Loretta Alonzo, president of the Illinois Association of REALTORS®, with U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan.

IAR President President Loretta Alonzo, CRB, GRI, took part in the Illinois Governors Conference on Affordable Housing this week at Navy Pier with HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan (right).

Alonzo moderated a session on loan products available throughout the state that can help first-time buyers, veterans, and others to purchase properties and enjoy homeownership while contributing in the broader effort to stabilize communities.

Alonzo was accompanied by IAR’s Housing Policy Advisor Sharon Gorrell who was a panelist at a forum on housing and its impact on economic development. She shared with the group the direct and indirect expenditure impacts on the economy developed last year for a report created through the Advocacy program.