SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — State lawmakers could pass a historic package of bills during the final month of session to increase housing supply and lower costs. The Building Up Illinois Developments, or BUILD plan, is a top priority for Gov. JB Pritzker.

Illinois has a shortage of roughly 142,000 housing units, and experts believe the state needs to build over 225,000 units within five years to keep up with demand.

The Pritzker administration hopes to legalize a wider range of middle housing types, such as duplexes, triplexes and four flats, to expand access to homes that families can afford. Lawmakers could also streamline the permitting process for developers to have clear and predictable timelines for housing permit reviews and inspections. The measure could modernize outdated building codes to maintain resident safety, free up space for additional housing and drive down costs as well. 

"Today, permitting delays, inconsistent review processes and unclear or highly variable fees add cost and risk to housing development in Illinois," said Olivia Ortega, Pritzker’s housing solutions director. "This ultimately shows up in higher rents and home prices."

The BUILD plan could allow for a qualified third-party review when deadlines aren’t met and create more transparency around impact fees. Democrats would also like to allow developers to build more housing with more sensible parking requirements.

"Senate Bill 4064 puts people over parking lots," said Sen. Javier Cervantes (D-Chicago). "It puts homes over empty spaces and fundamentally lets the market decide how many parking spots are needed and where."

A massive portion of the plan could allow homeowners to boost their income and help others by adding accessory dwelling units to their property. This could include granny flats, above garage apartments and basement units.

"Add more rental units to the market," said Sen. Rob Martwick (D-Chicago). "It also helps with the problems for people who are having affordability crises who are already homeowners by adding ADUs to their property."

However, the proposals are facing strong opposition from local government leaders. The Illinois Municipal League said the state cannot preempt local authority and a one-size-fits-all approach does not work for housing.

"Housing markets vary significantly across Illinois," said IML CEO Brad Cole. "Successful solutions must be adaptable to local conditions, infrastructure capacity and community needs that are not mandated formally."

Pritzker has also called for a $250 million budget investment to support housing development and homeownership. $150 million of that capital funding would go towards middle housing construction and down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers.

The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity would distribute the remaining $100 million to municipalities to remove upfront infrastructure barriers that block viable housing projects, including funding for stormwater, sewer and site access improvements.

Copyright 2026. WAND TV. All rights reserved.