It often takes Stephen Sise years to get housing projects off the ground in Chicago, and too much time, he says, can quietly sink new developments.
“Time is money and time kills all deals,” said Sise, a developer for Golub and Company, which has built housing across Chicago and around the country. “It's very costly to build anything these days for various reasons. But part of that cost is certainly time to hold, to carry land, vacant land that you're waiting to build on.”
With Illinois coping with a statewide housing shortage and rents continuing to spike, Gov. JB Pritzker’s proposed Building Up Illinois Development, or BUILD, plan aims to ramp up supply and expedite housing development by offering regulatory workarounds to developers.
But in the midst of a reelection campaign, and a potential 2028 presidential run on the horizon, Pritzker's plan throws the governor into the ring in an unusual, non-partisan fight against local officials, mayors, and some members of Chicago’s powerful City Council.
Key proposals of the governor’s plan rein in the power local officials have over new housing development in their communities. The plan would eliminate local bans on Accessory Dwelling Units, ADUs, and establish a 30-day window for municipalities to either approve or deny a housing developer's zoning permit.
If they fail to meet that deadline, developers can hire a third party to review their new permit. Those third-party reviewers would have to meet certain qualifications set by the state, but local municipalities would have jurisdiction to require additional qualifications tailored to their preferences.
The proposal has yet to be approved by either the Illinois House or Senate. Olivia Ortega, a spokesperson for the governor’s office, said th
