Members of the Illinois REALTORS® Outreach Team gathered recently in Springfield to hone professional skills and share best practices.

The Outreach Team was created in 2015 to meet with managing brokers in-person at their offices to share member benefits, hear local issues and concerns and spread the “Vote Act Invest” message to engage members in advocacy for their real estate business. The program has achieved measurable results in recent years with increased member sign-ups for the REALTOR® Party Mobile Alerts and RPAC participation, which has helped REALTORS® win key victories at local city halls, the state Capitol in Springfield and Washington, DC. 

“Listening is a very important role of the Member Outreach Team,” says Gideon Blustein, manager of the Outreach program. “As we meet with managing brokers and their agents throughout the state, we are hearing concerns about property taxes and the overall Illinois economy, its impact on the housing market.” 

In 2018, members told us they find great value in the Illinois REALTORS® Legal Hotline member service as well as the complimentary membership to Inman Select real estate news. The members-only free online forms including disclosures are popular as are the customizable RVOICE consumer brochures including “Homeownership: How Much Can I Afford.”

“In our visits we can share some member benefits that managing brokers and their agents may not yet know about,” says Blustein. “Lately we’ve been sharing information from the National Association of REALTORS® about the 20 percent business income deduction.” 

Here’s where you can learn more about the Illinois REALTORS® Member Outreach Program, and we look forward to visiting with you in 2019!

Illinois REALTORS® Outreach Team looking ahead to 2019

Members of the Illinois REALTORS Member Outreach Team at their annual retreat at the Illinois REALTORS headquarters. Team members include: Gideon Blustein, program manager covering the Chicagoland region; Ron Deedrick, Metro East and Southern Illinois; Jim Clayton, Central Illinois; Neeley Erickson, Northern Illinois. (Not pictured, Beth Wanless, Chicago, and Kristie Engerman, Peoria and Bloomington-Normal.)