Illinois § 5

§ 5.

Findings. The General Assembly finds: (1) Homeownership is the principal way families build wealth, yet homeownership is most inaccessible to communities of color in Illinois, who are 1.6 times less likely than white people to be homeowners. (2) The property tax sale system contributes to the racial wealth gap in homeownership by transferring home equity from communities of color to investors, threatening community stability, and increasing housing costs. (3) Homeownership serves as a critical tool to close the racial wealth gap by enabling historically excluded families to build generational wealth. (4) Community land trusts curb displacement and foster generational wealth by creating opportunities for permanently affordable homeownership using a onetime subsidy. (5) Community land trusts preserve naturally occurring affordable housing by closing the affordability gap so that low-income to moderate-income households can live in high-opportunity neighborhoods. (6) Community land trusts can be a powerful solution for homeowners facing delinquent property taxes or other financial threats to continued homeownership that keeps residents in their homes and creates permanently affordable properties for future buyers. (7) Local community land trusts currently operate to successfully preserve and create affordable housing in urban areas in Illinois, but there is need for centralized support and coordination for the establishment of local community land trusts across the State. (8) The State of Illinois commits to becoming a national exemplar by supporting and encouraging the establishment of community land trusts across the State. (Source: P.A. 103-250, eff. 6-30-23.)