Written by Illinois REALTORS® Staff

Reading Time: 5 min

As 2023 draws to a close, remember that Your Illinois REALTORS® has your back and is in your corner. Our association is here to help you achieve your professional and business goals. No matter what challenges our world or the real estate industry have faced this year or in the years to come, Your Illinois REALTORS® will continue to fight for you, for our industry and for EVERYONE that believes in the American Dream of Homeownership.

Advocacy

Illinois REALTORS® advocacy efforts fight to protect you and your real estate business in Springfield and beyond. Because of the strong relationships we have built with state legislators and policymakers, we have:

  • Reviewed nearly 7,000 bills; stopped or made improvements to 364 problematic bills in 2023.

  • We launched a successful Call for Action on the tenant radon bill, persuading lawmakers to make our suggested improvements. Also beat back rent control again.

  • Redesigned the State Capitol Report, filling it with videos, podcasts and the other legislative news you need to stay up to date during session.
  • Leveraging our RPAC and Independent Expenditure (IE) programs, we made sure we were key players in the 2023 elections and had a 92 percent RPAC and 79 percent IE success rate in electing REALTOR®-friendly candidates.

Local and Community Advocacy

Illinois REALTORS® local advocacy program, Governmental Affairs Directors (GAD), stand up for you in township halls, villages, cities and county board meetings. They are your eyes and ears, looking out for your business in your community.

  • Through our GAD program, we mobilized people and public officials to act on the local issues important to you.
  • Our GADs lobbied for you at the local level for lower taxes, fewer regulations and to defeat negative measures such as home rule.

  • We hosted more than 20 Let’s Talk Real Estate events throughout Illinois in the last two years, allowing you to talk directly with state and federal legislators in your community.

  • We encouraged more of our members to consider running for elected office and provided candidate training to help them make it happen.

Professional Development

Illinois REALTORS® award-winning school and educational courses provide you with the training you need for your career and to fulfill your renewal requirements. Illinois REALTORS® has also provided leadership opportunities to members around the state looking to take their association involvement to the next level.

  • Our education team is there to help you through license renewal, answering or responding to more than 20,000 calls and emails each renewal cycle.
  • We have 63 education branches located throughout the state that provided more than 45,000 CE hours this year.
  • Illinois REALTORS® Leadership Development Program has trained 250 members to build their leadership skills.
  • The Illinois Real Estate Educational Foundation (REEF) has awarded $962,000 in academic and professional scholarships since 2000, with 61 awarded in 2023 alone.

Legal and Professional Standards

Illinois REALTORS® legal and professional standards teams provides you with the legal support and ethics guidance you need to keep your business on track. Whether it is the members-only legal forms you need for clients, professional standards training or the latest legal news, Illinois REALTORS® has you covered.

  • The Illinois REALTORS® Legal Hotline answered more than 3,000 of your calls in the last year.
  • DR Legal News newsletter provided more than 80 articles and 20 videos or podcasts all on legal news and trends you need to know.
  • Illinois REALTORS® provides professional standards support for 19 local associations throughout the state.
  • We average more than 26 Ombudsman cases each month and processed, on average, more than 300 ethics or citation cases every year.

Member Outreach and Events

Illinois REALTORS® works hard to connect our members with the information and resources you need. We have enhanced our member communications, industry partner relationships, even our events to help you connect with others and grow.

  • Illinois REALTOR® events have gotten bigger and better than ever. That means more dynamic and meaningful content to help you build your business and career.
  • We provide you with important industry information in the format of your choice: podcasts, videos, an online magazine, direct emails, social media and more.
  • We have increased our stipends to international and commercial events, opening the door for more members to make those vital connections.
  • In 2023, Illinois REALTORS® launched our first-ever statewide consumer advertising campaign promoting your value as REALTORS®. In six months, the ad campaign had more than 5 million YouTube views and more than 16 million social media impressions.

This world is full of noise. It’s full of uncertainty. We want to reaffirm your confidence in the value of your Illinois REALTORS® and know that you have us in your corner.

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Additional Articles In This Issue

Meet 2024 Illinois REALTORS® President Matt Silver
Meet 2024 Illinois REALTORS® President Matt Silver
Make an Easy-to-Follow Business Plan for 2024
Making an easy-to-follow business plan for 2024
New year brings new laws affecting your business
New year brings new laws affecting your business
Home buyer and seller trends
Home buyer and seller trends
Illinois REALTORS® Community