Kristina McCloy, founder of Concerned Parents of Illinois, has raised concerns about a housing proposal backed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker that would expand state involvement in local zoning decisions and housing development across Illinois.
“J. B. Pritzker has officially declared war on the suburbs,” McCloy told the DuPage Policy Journal.
The proposal would loosen or override local zoning rules to allow more taxpayer-subsidized housing developments in areas long reserved for single-family homes, while directing an additional $100 million in funding to the Illinois Housing Development Authority to expand construction of subsidized apartments.
Opponents say the plan would impose a state-driven housing agenda on suburban communities and weaken local control over zoning decisions.
“His latest proposal would override local zoning laws, allowing politicians in Springfield to redesign suburban communities and strip residents of the right to decide what happens in their own towns,” McCloy said. “Suburban families work hard and pay some of the highest property taxes in the country to live in safe communities with strong schools. Now the state wants to override their will.”
If enacted, the proposal would also require suburban communities to allow housing developments supported through federal rental assistance programs such as the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program to be built in a wider range of residential areas.
“This is not about ‘affordable housing,’” McCloy said. “It is about control, and about offloading the consequences of failed policies in Chicago onto the rest of Illinois. Instead of fixing rising crime, broken leadership, and sanctuary state pressures in the city, Pritzker and the Democrat machine in Springfield want suburban communities to absorb the fallout.”
The plan would require communities to accept state-backed housing placements for residents with serious mental illness, another provision that has drawn attention in discussions of the proposal.
“Research has raised concerns about the impact of subsidized housing in established neighborhoods,” she said. “A New York City study found a 32 percent proficiency gap between children in Section 8 housing and their stably housed peers. When school performance declines, home values often follow. A Baltimore study found property values dropping by as much as 15 percent in areas with Section 8.”
She also referenced research examining potential crime impacts related to housing vouchers.
“Crime impacts have also been studied,” McCloy said. “A randomized Houston housing voucher lottery study found that receiving a voucher increased the quarterly arrest rate for violent crimes by 95 percent overall and more than doubled for men.”
Federal housing programs have faced scrutiny over oversight issues in recent years.
Audits by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development have identified improper rental assistance payments made to recipients later determined to be ineligible, including cases involving deceased tenants or individuals who did not meet eligibility requirements.
Analysts at The Heritage Foundation have warned that expanding federally subsidized housing into suburban areas could increase taxpayer costs and spread housing challenges into residential communities.
McCloy also referenced state laws she said limit how landlords can screen applicants.
“At the same time, Illinois law limits how landlords can screen applicants,” she said. “The Illinois Human Rights Act and Immigrant Tenant Protection Act prohibit landlords from broadly rejecting applicants who use Section 8 vouchers, and in Cook County landlords cannot deny applicants based on arrests, juvenile records, or most convictions older than three years.”
Current federal rules allow mixed-status households that include immigrants without legal status to qualify for subsidized housing.
“Illinois law also prohibits landlords from discriminating based on immigration status, meaning property owners generally cannot refuse to rent to someone simply because they are an illegal alien,” McCloy said.
McCloy also criticized Pritzker personally, arguing the governor is insulated from the consequences of the policies he promotes.
“Meanwhile, the governor pushing these policies lives far removed from their consequences,” she said. “His children attended private schools, he lives in immense privilege far from Section 8 housing, and he spends time at his estate in Lake Geneva surrounded by security. During the pandemic, while Illinois families were masked and locked down under his orders, the governor retreated to Wisconsin and Florida.”
McCloy said the proposal reflects what she views as a broader pattern of political leadership in Illinois prioritizing ideological goals over the long-term stability of the state.
“This push also fits a broader political strategy,” she said. “Pritzker has been moving further left to appeal to the national Democratic base as he positions himself for a potential presidential run. And make no mistake: this is exactly the governing philosophy he would bring to Washington, stripping power away from states, overriding local communities, and expanding a top-down federal government that dictates how Americans live.”
“He has burned this state down and appears more than willing to leave it in ashes for the sake of his own political ambitions,” McCloy said.
