Program Overview

REACH Illinois is a two-part incentive package for Illinois employers who implement their own employer-assisted housing program, which includes state matching funds and state tax credits. The program is the extension of a successful five-year pilot project in the Chicago region in which more than 280 employees from more than 25 employers were helped buying homes closer to the workplace.

Matching funds, from the Illinois Affordable Housing Trust Fund, provide additional leverage for the employer’s investment. For direct financial assistance from employer to employee, which may be used for home purchase or rental assistance, the state matches dollar for dollar up to $5,000 for income-qualified employees.

Eligible employees who are interested in using the down payment funds must first complete an 8-10 hour homebuyer education curriculum, which includes both one-on-one counseling and a classroom component. Employees learn how to establish or clean up their credit, develop a household budget and savings plan, understand the home buying process and home ownership experience, and shop for good mortgages. The participants benefit from the counseling component by improving their financial literacy, becoming better equipped for home ownership, or deciding they are not yet ready for home ownership.

To offset the total costs of the program, which include down payment assistance, counseling, and administrative costs, the state is providing a tax credit of 50 cents for every dollar invested in the housing benefit program. Not-for-profit entities are able to sell tax credits to other entities with Illinois tax liability.

For more information, contact:

Katie Gottschall Donohue
Director of Technical Assistance
312-939-6074
katie@housingactionil.org