Springfield’s solutions for the shortage of housing in Illinois

Update 3/20/25, 6:04 PM: at a last-minute scheduled meeting of the Illinois House housing committee this afternoon, HB 1813 and HB 1814 were passed. The next steps are that they will likely be amended and in a few weeks will be voted on by the House.

Recognizing a housing shortage across Illinois, state legislators have introduced several bills in the General Assembly in their 2025 session to permit more homes to be built, including in municipalities that severely limit residential development by regulatory means.

“If we are going to build on this state’s record of growth and prosperity, lower costs for Illinois’ working families, and be a state that everyone can call home, we must build more housing in every Illinois community from Cairo to Chicago,” said Governor Pritzker (December 11, 2024).

In this post I’ll summarize each of the bills I’ve been tracking.

Accessory Dwelling Units

Of course, ADUs are part of a solution to reducing housing shortages, and they’re a topic I cover a lot in this blog and on the Chicago Cityscape ADU Portal. The City Council in Chicago re-legalized ADUs in five pilot areas, and four years later the situation remains the same. Development of ADUs — in the form of small backyard houses and interior units — is slow, with only 312 permits issued in Chicago. ADUs accounted for 1.8 percent of new homes permitted from September 1, 2021, when the first modern ADU was permitted, and March 11, 2025.

Two state bills would legalize ADUs — in both interior and small backyard house forms — everywhere in Illinois.

• HB 3552, sponsored by Reps. Kam Buckner, Michelle Mussman, Robyn Gabel, Kevin John Olickal and Margaret Croke
• HB 1813, sponsored by Reps. Robert “Bob” Rita and Anna Moeller

ADUs are also a benefit to the state economy

Once the area of where ADUs are allowed expands I predict a conspicuous ADU industry to form (much like one did in California after statewide reforms there), creating new businesses that will offer expedient and more predictable design and construction costs and timelines, and spurring the development of easier borrowing options.

Middle housing

Two bills would break down the wall of exclusionary zoning by permitting...