Full Text of SR0170 102nd General Assembly
SR0170 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Homeownership plays a vital role in helping to | 3 | | build strong, stable communities; in addition to bolstering a | 4 | | community's treasury through taxes, research shows the many | 5 | | social benefits homeownership provides, including improved | 6 | | health, less crime, and increased civic participation; | 7 | | homeownership has been proven to help stabilize neighborhoods | 8 | | and create stronger communities; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Homeownership has been the most effective way | 10 | | that Americans have created generational wealth over the past | 11 | | 100 years; the median net worth for homeowners in 2019 was | 12 | | $255,000, compared to $6,300 for renters; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Nationally, homeownership is at 79.4 percent for | 14 | | households with family income greater than or equal to the | 15 | | median family income and 52.3 percent for households making | 16 | | less than the median family income; only 39 percent of | 17 | | low-income households own their own homes; the homeownership | 18 | | rate is 74.5 percent for white families, 49.1 percent for | 19 | | Hispanic families, and 44.1 percent for Black families; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Discriminatory housing and lending practices have | 21 | | challenged minority communities for decades; for example, | 22 | | redlining contributed to 98 percent of the mortgages insured |
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| 1 | | by the federal government between 1934 and 1968 being awarded | 2 | | to white citizens; furthermore, in 1998, usurious subprime | 3 | | mortgages accounted for 51 percent of home loans in | 4 | | predominantly Black neighborhoods, compared with only 9 | 5 | | percent in predominantly white areas; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Homeownership is an extraordinary tool to | 7 | | financially empower minorities and narrow the racial wealth | 8 | | gap; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, It has been historically challenging, if not | 10 | | impossible, for borrowers to obtain mortgages of under | 11 | | $75,000, known as micro mortgages; as a result, a | 12 | | disproportionate number of homes in our most affordable | 13 | | communities are sold for cash to investors who offer them for | 14 | | rent; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Lenders today have the ability to originate micro | 16 | | mortgages so that low-income families can buy homes that cost | 17 | | under $75,000; as interest rates are at record lows, the | 18 | | mortgage payments will typically cost less than rent; this | 19 | | presents an extraordinary and urgent opportunity for first | 20 | | time homebuyers; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Lower value homes are disproportionately vacant, | 22 | | and blocks with vacant properties face crime rates twice as |
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| 1 | | high as blocks without them; therefore, selling these vacant | 2 | | homes to homeowners utilizing micro mortgages can help | 3 | | stabilize communities; therefore, be it
| 4 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | 5 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the State of | 6 | | Illinois to promote homeownership of homes under $75,000 as a | 7 | | way to build stronger communities and help build generational | 8 | | wealth in communities that have historically been left behind; | 9 | | and be it further
| 10 | | RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois Housing Development | 11 | | Authority to use 2020 Census data to report to the General | 12 | | Assembly what percentage of low income households own the | 13 | | homes they live in by December 31, 2021; and be it further
| 14 | | RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois Housing Development | 15 | | Authority to create goals for increasing the homeownership | 16 | | rate each year for low income households; and be it further
| 17 | | RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois Housing Development | 18 | | Authority to make a strategic plan every year to market and | 19 | | promote homeownership to ensure they are achieving their | 20 | | goals; and be it further
| 21 | | RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois Housing Development |
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| 1 | | Authority to establish a directory of lenders that originate | 2 | | micro mortgages.
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