Summer is over, children have headed back to school and RPAC and your REALTOR® electoral advocacy team are back on the campaign trail for the Illinois General Election on Nov. 8.
The “normal” political cycle was turned on its head this year as Illinois moved its primary election from early March to the end of June. Due to your overwhelming support and commitment to the REALTORS® Political Action Committee (RPAC) and the increasing effectiveness of our Independent Expenditures Committee, Illinois REALTORS® was a top donor in many of the key primary races involving our biggest industry champions.
It was a tough primary election for several reasons, and some longtime incumbents and REALTOR® allies were taken out by challengers from the progressive left for Democrat incumbents and from the conservative right for Republicans. Longtime Illinois House Revenue Chair and key REALTOR® friend Mike Zalewski (D-Chicago), REALTOR® and veteran state Rep. Sam Yingling (D-Round Lake Beach) and U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Taylorville) lost in the primary to such challengers. The unusual timing of the election, on the Tuesday before the Independence Day holiday, drove down turnout in many of the races, which created opportunities for highly motivated base voters on each end of the political spectrum to carry the day.
But REALTORS® were predominantly involved in victories in many primary campaigns at both the state and local levels. State Rep. Curtis Tarver (D-Chicago) a key leader in the Black Caucus (who was a deciding factor in stalling the Rent Control bill), fended off a challenge from the left with the help of our overwhelming support.
State Sen. Omar Aquino (D-Chicago) won decisively with top support from RPAC and an Independent Expenditure campaign which left the senator “speechless” at the quality and content of our campaign. And long-time REALTOR® ally state Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Rockford) sailed to a strong victory in a rather contentious race.
“REALTORS® work hard to help build strong communities and that fosters a great deal of political goodwill.”
One of the most unusual and consequential aspects of the June primary election was the four-way race for the Republican nomination for Illinois Governor. The Democratic Governors Association spent tens of millions of dollars to sow chaos in the Republican primary. This was a significant factor in downstate state Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Louisville) winning the primary over the establishment-preferred former Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin. Here again, the highly motivated, loyal, and enthusiastic Republican base to the right of Irvin turned out strong and put Bailey over the finish line. Gov. J.B. Pritzker now faces off against Bailey, his preferred opponent for the November election.
And in case you missed it, it’s election season once again! If there’s anything we learned in the June primary, it was that TURNOUT MATTERS! Make sure you are registered to vote and that you cast your ballot. Your RPAC dollars will be hard at work in many key races this November, including what is billed as the top contest in the Illinois Senate. REALTOR® and newcomer state Rep. Sandy Hamilton (R-Springfield) is facing off against Democrat incumbent state Sen. Doris Turner.
Check with your local GAD for a rundown of the key races shaping up in your neck of the woods, and again, thank you for your ongoing commitment to the three pillars of REALTOR® excellence in politics: Vote, Act and Invest!
Politics and Policy in the General Assembly
While the spring 2022 legislative session is behind us, it’s worth noting a few takeaways about where we stand amid the ever-evolving politics and policymaking within our state legislature.
The REALTOR® organization is held in high regard at the Statehouse. We are viewed as a reasonable, helpful, constructive and non-partisan participant in the process, and we always work hard to maintain our status as a trusted resource for lawmakers. That is no doubt due to the commitment to that ethos by the Illinois REALTORS®’ professional staff and also in large part to the high esteem that REALTORS® are held in your communities.
REALTORS®work hard to help build strong communities and that fosters a great deal of political goodwill.
Of course, we have our challenges in the General Assembly. Each year, we actively track more than 100 bills, and take an active lobbying role in 50 to 60 of those. We work to stop the most detrimental bills introduced, particularly early in the session. But we spend the majority of our time collaborating WITH legislators to salvage the good intent of legislative proposals that are often loaded with onerous provisions.
Our bipartisanship is key to our success and is driven by the strong grassroots presence of you, the REALTORS®, in the district. Amid the ever-shifting political factions, climate and temperament in the General Assembly, we are almost always able to put together a sufficient coalition of supporters to prevail on any given issue.
Unlike most other groups, Illinois REALTORS® has good relationships with virtually any faction within the General Assembly, from the House and Senate Republican and Democratic caucuses, to the Black Caucus, the Latino Caucus, the new Moderate Caucus and the Downstate Caucus. We even have cordial and productive discussions with many in the growing Democratic Progressive Caucus, which is the source of some of our biggest challenges.
About the writer: Greg St. Aubin is Illinois REALTORS® Senior Vice President of Governmental Affairs.
Snapshot from the Spring legislative session that illustrates our agenda in action:
Constant Weight of the Tenant Agenda
Source of Income (voucher program mandate), Rent Control, eviction moratoriums, sealing of eviction records, no eviction without just cause, more ways to break leases—these infringements on private property rights are a constant battle we must fight every day because we are the voice for real estate.
We’ve kept Rent Control at bay, thanks to our bipartisan strength, but after a 30-year battle on the Source of Income issue (i.e., can’t have a “NO voucher holders” rental policy), it became clear the passage of the bill was inevitable, and the legislation was advanced after additional onerous provisions were removed at our behest.
While this issue will no doubt continue to be a source of controversy for some, there are also voices within our organization that felt that it was appropriate to let this issue advance.
(Check the website for updates and resources on this issue, which will become effective Jan. 1, 2023).
More on Human Rights
Stopped the addition of a vague new standard in the Human Rights Act, “otherwise make unavailable.”
Vacant Property Penalty
Led a coalition of business groups to halt legislation that would have made the mere owning and holding of vacant property for too long “vacant property fraud” if it was not being actively marketed for sale or rent.
Mold Disclosure and Abatement
Our trusted expertise and ability to bring the Illinois Real Estate Lawyers Association along enabled us to stop another effort to require pre-sale and pre-rental disclosure and abatement of as-yet-to-be-defined “hazardous” mold.
Electric Vehicle Charging Mandate
We managed to halt a strong push to require new single and multifamily construction to meet certain electric vehicle charging requirements. Stay tuned… discussions are resuming on this issue.
The Overall Housing Agenda
Illinois REALTORS® continues to strongly and proactively lobby with an “Affordability for All” approach that calls for housing opportunities in the rental and ownership market for ALL our state’s residents. This means stopping the push for destructive policies like Rent Control and pushing the governor and lawmakers to devote attention and resources to housing consistent with the priority many lawmakers and advocates purport that it should be.
In short, we need more housing—at every rung of the housing ladder—because everyone deserves the American Dream of homeownership.
Constant Weight of the Tenant Agenda
Source of Income (voucher program mandate), Rent Control, eviction moratoriums, sealing of eviction records, no eviction without just cause, more ways to break leases—these infringements on private property rights are a constant battle we must fight every day because we are the voice for real estate.
We’ve kept Rent Control at bay, thanks to our bipartisan strength, but after a 30-year battle on the Source of Income issue (i.e., can’t have a “NO voucher holders” rental policy), it became clear the passage of the bill was inevitable, and the legislation was advanced after additional onerous provisions were removed at our behest.
While this issue will no doubt continue to be a source of controversy for some, there are also voices within our organization that felt that it was appropriate to let this issue advance.
(Check the website for updates and resources on this issue, which will become effective Jan. 1, 2023).
More on Human Rights
Stopped the addition of a vague new standard in the Human Rights Act, “otherwise make unavailable.”
Vacant Property Penalty
Led a coalition of business groups to halt legislation that would have made the mere owning and holding of vacant property for too long “vacant property fraud” if it was not being actively marketed for sale or rent.
Mold Disclosure and Abatement
Our trusted expertise and ability to bring the Illinois Real Estate Lawyers Association along enabled us to stop another effort to require pre-sale and pre-rental disclosure and abatement of as-yet-to-be-defined “hazardous” mold.
Electric Vehicle Charging Mandate
We managed to halt a strong push to require new single and multifamily construction to meet certain electric vehicle charging requirements. Stay tuned… discussions are resuming on this issue.
The Overall Housing Agenda
Illinois REALTORS® continues to strongly and proactively lobby with an “Affordability for All” approach that calls for housing opportunities in the rental and ownership market for ALL our state’s residents. This means stopping the push for destructive policies like Rent Control and pushing the governor and lawmakers to devote attention and resources to housing consistent with the priority many lawmakers and advocates purport that it should be.
In short, we need more housing—at every rung of the housing ladder—because everyone deserves the American Dream of homeownership.
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