Pritzker touts BUILD Act reforms as pushback from suburbs grows

Posted April 14, 2026 6:53 pm

Marni Pyke

Gov. JB Pritzker touted the advantages of legislation intended to increase affordable housing in Illinois Tuesday, as pushback grows in the suburbs over fears of losing autonomy.

“Too many people are locked out of the American dream,” Pritzker told a sympathetic audience of Illinois Realtors Association members in Springfield. “You have motivated, qualified buyers that simply cannot find housing at a price that they can afford.”

The Building Up Illinois Developments (BUILD) initiative backed by Pritzker is a package of bills supporters say will cut through red tape to expedite home building and offer first-time homebuyers financial aid.

But a coalition of municipalities from Aurora to Libertyville argues that BUILD “would significantly preempt local authority by imposing one-size-fits-all zoning requirements across communities with unique infrastructure and service needs, development patterns and other planning considerations.

“Significant increases in residential density without corresponding infrastructure investment could place substantial strain on these systems,” members of the DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference, Northwest Municipal Conference, Barrington Area Council of Governments, and Metro West Council of Government wrote.

They also warned the legislation dilutes inspection and design provisions, which weakens safety standards.

Illinois has a housing shortage of about 142,000 units and needs to build over 225,000 in five years to meet demand, state officials estimate.

The legislation would allow accessory dwelling units like granny flats in single-family lots, require impact fees to be calculated using a state formula, ease minimum parking rules, limit home-rule powers, and enable more apartments, condos and duplexes.

“Home prices in the Chicago metro area have grown over 48% in just the last few years,” Illinois Realtors CEO Jeff Baker said. “The cost to families is real.”

Gov. JB Pritzker delivers remarks at the Illinois Realtors Association’s Capitol Conference highlighting his BUILD initiative on Tuesday. Courtesy of Illinois.gov

Pritzker contends that the crisis is partly due to restrictive regulations in local jurisdictions hampering access to affordable housing.

“It’s often rooted in a history of housing discrimination,” he said. “Sometimes, where it isn’t even paid attention to because it’s just been around for so long. Nobody’s attempting purposely to do it, but that’s just where it came from.

“Don’t let anyone tell you that this is some kind of radical removal of local zoning,” he added. “That is not what this is. It is literally about just adding a few more homes everywhere in the state. We’re not talking about putting a 100-unit building into a small ranch-style housing area.”

Hanover Park Mayor Rod Craig said the legislation could have unintended consequences where “someone could build a three-flat on top of their garage. It changes the whole dynamics.”

As mayor of a diverse community with working-class and middle-class residents, Craig said he’s concerned municipalities are being railroaded without being given a say.

“There’s been no dialogue. No debate. I don’t think it’s fair,” Craig said.

The legislation consists of one House bill, HB 5626, and six Senate bills: the Illinois Housing Choice and Middle Housing Act (SB 4060); Accessory Dwelling Unit Authorization (SB 4071); Single Stair Building Reform (SB 4061); Residential Parking Reform (SB 4064); Housing Permit Acceleration and Fair Review Act (SB 4063); and Impact Mitigation Fee Modernization Act (SB 4062).