Illinois RealEstateRama

SPRINGFIELD, IL - July 13, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- July 12, 2010. Governor Pat Quinn today signed two bills into law that will protect consumers from deceptive home repair and remodeling practices. Senate Bill 3645 and Senate Bill 2540 protect homeowners and individuals who have disabilities from fraudulent home repair projects

CHICAGO , IL - July 12, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) today announced the award of $2.8 million in grants and loans to 436 first-time homebuyers to assist in the purchase of a new home. The funds will be allocated to nine agencies for disbursement to Illinois residents to assist with down payment and closing costs, subordinate loans and homebuyer education to income-eligible homebuyers.

SPRINGFIELD, IL - July 7, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Pat Quinn today announced that the state’s request for a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster declaration has been granted for several counties in north central Illinois that were hit by tornadoes on June 5. The declaration will make low-interest loans available to homeowners, renters and businesses in the primary counties of LaSalle, Livingston and Peoria, as well as 15 contiguous counties, including Kankakee and Putnam

Washington, DC - June 30, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Rep. Bill Foster (IL-14) voted to pass legislation that would extend the closing deadline for the homebuyer tax credit, benefiting families who are in the process of purchasing a home.

Washington, DC - June 30, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Rep. Bill Foster (IL-14) voted to pass legislation that would extend the closing deadline for the homebuyer tax credit, benefiting families who are in the process of purchasing a home.

Department of Labor funds going to Chicago, Peoria and Woodstock. WASHINGTON, D.C - June 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Senator Roland W. Burris today announced that grant funding from the Department of Labor's Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP) is going to Illinois to fight homelessness among veterans by providing job training programs.

SPRINGFIELD, IL - June 22, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Illinois home sales activity in May increased for the ninth consecutive month and it was the third month of positive year-over-year price movement in 2010. According to the Illinois Association of REALTORS® latest report, statewide total home sales (which include single-family and condominiums) in May 2010 were up 27.1 percent, totaling 11,638 homes sold compared to May 2009 sales of 9,159 homes. The median price in May 2010 was $157,000, up 0.6 percent from $156,000 in May 2009. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more, half sold for less.

SPRINGFIELD, IL - June 21, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Pat Quinn today asked President Obama to declare Kankakee, LaSalle, Livingston, Peoria and Putnam counties major disasters areas. If approved, a federal disaster declaration would help people and businesses affected by the June 5 tornadoes recover from the storm’s aftermath by allowing them to apply for grants and loans to assist with storm-related losses

PEORIA, IL - June 21, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Pat Quinn today signed a bill into law that will create a pilot program to provide a state tax credit for the renovation of the historic Hotel Pere Marquette in downtown Peoria. The project is expected to generate 1,000 jobs and lead to economic benefits for central Illinois.

EUGENE, OR - June 18, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Realtor Karen Schwieger has updated her professional website, thanks to IDX, Inc. and their IDX software. With the ability to draw raw listing data off of the Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) listings, the IDX Broker software then displays these properties conveniently her website. Now, it is easier than ever before for home seekers in Chicago, Illinois to get matched with a property that suits them, with the technology utilized on the Crane Chicago website.

CHICAGO, IL - June 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Demonstrating the State of Illinois’ commitment to sustainable homeownership, Governor Pat Quinn today proclaimed June to be Homeownership Month in Illinois.

CHICAGO, IL - June 14, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Pat Quinn opened the Rosa Parks Apartments, newly-built rental property that will provide affordable homes for 94 families. The multi-million dollar project was funded in part by $9.8 million from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and $2.2 million in state funds from the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO)

CHICAGO, IL - June 8, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Illinois Department of Insurance will provide free, one-on-one counseling services in Dwight and Streator to help individuals affected by the recent tornados with the insurance claims process. Department staff can assist with questions such as how to properly document storm damage, whether to make temporary repairs, what a consumer’s homeowner policy covers, and what to expect during the claims process.

CHICAGO, IL - June 7, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Consumers prescribed home-based oxygen therapy are urged to exercise extreme caution especially when operating the equipment near possible ignition sources, such as stoves, ovens, smoking materials and candles, the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal (OSFM) warns.

CHICAGO, IL - May 31, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) - Governor Pat Quinn today signed two bills into law that support Illinois’ servicemembers. The new laws increase foreclosure protections for active-duty servicemembers and expand the War on Terrorism Compensation Act, allowing more servicemembers to receive a $100 service compensation

West Chicago, IL - May 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- City of West Chicago Building Official and Assistant Community Development Director John Fincham has been recently appointed by Governor Pat Quinn to the Elevator Safety Review Board as a public member representing municipalities between 25,000 and 50,000 residents.

CHICAGO, IL - May 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Pat Quinn today signed legislation that initiates a study of the energy performance of state-owned buildings. This process sets the stage for the state to adopt more comprehensive energy efficiency benchmarks for existing state buildings.

SPRINGFIELD, IL - May 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Illinois housing market saw positive indicators nearly across the board in April with upward momentum in home prices and sales jumping 34.4 percent on the heels of the homebuyer tax credit deadline. According to the Illinois Association of REALTORS® latest report, statewide total home sales (which include single-family and condominiums) in April 2010 were up 34.4 percent, totaling 10,323 homes sold compared to April 2009 sales of 7,683 homes. The median price in April 2010 was $157,450, up 5.0 percent from $150,000 in April 2009. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more, half sold for less.

CHICAGO, IL - May 21, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- A new round of more than $1.4 million in federal grant money will enable thousands of homeowners across Illinois to receive free foreclosure counseling, the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) announced today.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 20, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), General Eric Shinseki, to discuss how to meet the needs of the estimated 1,500 veterans that go homeless every night in Illinois. Secretary Shinseki is scheduled to testify tomorrow at a joint hearing of two Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on his plan to reduce the number of homeless veterans in the United States by half over the next two years and completely by 2014

SPRINGFIELD, IL - May 18, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- May 17, 2010. Governor Pat Quinn today announced the availability of $13.1 million in federal stimulus funds through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program to help local governments with populations under 35,000 implement energy efficiency and conservation efforts

Washington, D.C. - May 18, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, Bill Askew, Senior Policy Advisor, for the Financial Services Roundtable testified before the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. The hearing was titled “Commercial Real Estate: A Chicago Perspective on Current Market Challenges and Possible Responses.”

Washington, DC - May 13, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Rep. Bill Foster (IL-14) introduced H.R. 5278, legislation to designate a Dixon post office as the Ronald W. Reagan Post Office

SPRINGFIELD, IL - May 11, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Buyers were out in force in the first quarter led by low interest rates and homebuyer tax credits. According to the Illinois Association of REALTORS® (IAR) first quarter 2010 report, Illinois home sales (which include single-family homes and condominiums) totaled 21,242 in the first quarter, up 23.5 percent from 17,194 home sales in the same period a year ago. The first quarter statewide median home sale price was $144,600, off 0.3 percent from $145,000 in the first quarter of 2009. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more, half sold for les

May 7, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Phil Hare (D-IL) today voted for the Home Star Energy Retrofit Act, legislation that would create nearly 170,000 jobs by investing in the clean energy economy. The bill would provide rebates to homeowners who install energy-saving products and reduce energy use in their homes.

EUGENE, OR - May 5, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Property Economics and AJ Leekha have chosen IDX, Inc. and the IDX Broker software to update their real estate website. With the help of the Midwest Real Estate Data MLS (MRED), thousands of listings can now be displayed on Leekha's website. This convenient technology allows potential home buyers to view every listing in the Chicago, Illinois area, without having to leave Leekha's website. MRED data syncs with Leekha's listings, to present home seekers with the largest and most complete set of property listings around.

CHICAGO, IL - May 3, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Pat Quinn today unveiled legislation that will provide extensive and much-needed property tax relief to millions of taxpayers while also pressing for greater citizen participation and openness in the tax assessment process.

EUGENE, OR - May 3, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Kipp Blackburn with @ Properties in Chicago, Illinois has recently made the decision to hire the services of IDX, Inc. to enhance, optimize and completely alter his online real estate website, by incorporating their highly customizable IDX Broker software. Blackburn wanted a drastic change to his online business, to set him apart from his competitors, and by choosing IDX, he can now offer his website visitors a much more well-rounded, pleasant and informative online property search experience. He wanted to show off the big, bold and elegant city of Chicago in a manner that would do it justice, and by enabling home seekers to browse some of the cities finest and most highly demanded properties, he is doing just that

Housing leaders welcome feedback from lending community. CHICAGO, IL - April 30, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- A new statewide Lender Advisory Council will provide key feedback to Illinois’ affordable housing leaders as they work together to deliver homeownership opportunities for Illinois residents, Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) Executive Director Gloria L. Materre said today.

EUGENE, OR - April 29, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- IDX, Inc. happily welcomes today, their newest client addition, Alan Savage of Naperville, Illinois, in joining the continuously growing network of real estate agents and brokers opting to improve, enhance and optimize their websites, with the help of a highly customizable IDX Broker solution. A realtor with Chase Real Estate, Savage is an active member of the Midwest Real Estate Data MLS (MRED). With the unique and one-of-a-kind connection that this IDX software has with local Multiple Listing Service's (MLS), Savage is able to immediately and prominently display an endless amount of the most up-to-date MRED listing information, directly onto his own personal website, eliminating the time and hassle for consumers, that would normally have to navigate elsewhere. Potential home buyers also have the option to specificy what they are looking for in their new property, and will only be shown properties that match their personal specifications, creating a simple and efficient online real estate search process.