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HARRISBURG - April 2, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- At the direction of Governor Pat Quinn, the heads of a number of state agencies today announced in Harrisburg up to $13 million of financial aid and construction projects to help families, businesses and local governments recover from the deadly tornado that ravaged several Southern Illinois communities on Feb. 29. The package put together at the Governor’s instruction includes reimbursements to local governments for some of their disaster-related expenses, road improvements, grants to help homeowners repair or rebuild damaged homes, and low-interest business loans to create jobs and help businesses recover.

SPRINGFIELD, IL - March 27, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Pat Quinn today addressed the Illinois Association of Realtors Conference in Springfield. March is Affordable Housing Month, and the Governor’s remarks emphasized his administration’s commitment to creating affordable homeownership opportunities and foreclosure assistance programs.

SPRINGFIELD, IL - March 27, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- A surge of activity on Leap Day drove home sales to even higher levels in the state, according to data collected by the Illinois Association of REALTORS®.

WASHINGTON, DC - March 22, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Legislation authored by U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05) to cut wasteful federal property spending that costs taxpayers $1.7 billion annually was passed by the House of Representatives. Rep. Quigley was the lead Democratic author of the Excess Federal Building and Property Disposal Act of 2011 (H.R. 665).

SPRINGFIELD, IL - March 21, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Illinois recorded an eighth consecutive month of year-over-year increases in home sales, according to data released today by the Illinois Association of REALTORS®.

SPRINGFIELD - March 19, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs (IDVA) today announced $477,752 in grants from Veterans’ Cash scratch-off lottery ticket sales to help 10 non-profits deliver specialized programs and services for Illinois’ veterans.

CHICAGO, IL - March 1, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Pat Quinn today announced that the state of Illinois and Chicago have been named among the top 10 locations for new and expanded corporate facilities. Illinois ranked seventh among states, an improvement over last year’s eighth place ranking, and Chicago second in the metropolitan areas category in the annual analysis by Site Selection magazine, one of the nation’s premier corporate real estate and economic development publications

SPRINGFIELD, IL - February 22, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Illinois Home sales in January were the strongest for the month since 2007, according to data released today by the Illinois Association of REALTORS

SPRINGFIELD, IL - February 13, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- According to the Illinois Association of REALTORS® fourth quarter 2011 report, Illinois home sales (single family and condominiums) totaled 25,394, up 14.8 percent from 22,114 home sales in the fourth quarter of 2010. The 4Q11 statewide median home sales price was $128,000, down 10.8 percent from $143,500 in 4Q10. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more, half sold for less.

CHICAGO, IL - February 13, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Pat Quinn today announced that Illinois mortgage regulators have joined with their counterparts across the country to accept the terms of a national settlement with five of the nation’s largest banks. Under the settlement, more than $1 billion will go to help struggling Illinois homeowners and those affected by improper foreclosures.

BERWYN, IL - February 8, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Pat Quinn was joined today by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and six Cook County mayors to announce a new initiative to return vacant, foreclosed properties to productive use. An initiative laid out in the Governor’s State of the State address earlier this week, the Illinois Building Blocks Pilot Program will rehabilitate vacant properties and increase affordable housing in the communities of Berwyn, Chicago Heights, Maywood, Park Forest, Riverdale and South Holland.

CHICAGO, IL - February 2, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- As part of his commitment to affordable housing and foreclosure prevention, Governor Pat Quinn today announced the launch of the statewide Illinois Foreclosure Prevention Network (IFPN) in his State of the State address. A multi-agency effort coordinated by the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA), the IFPN connects struggling homeowners with all available assistance, resources and knowledge to help them keep their homes.

SPRINGFIELD, IL - January 23, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- A combination of unseasonably mild weather, historically low mortgage rates and attractive market pricing led to a sixth straight month of increases in home sales, according to data released by the Illinois Association of REALTORS® (IAR).

CHICAGO, IL - January 11, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) Director Warren Ribley today announced $3,398,444 in capital funding to ten organizations that will train nearly 700 weatherization specialists across the state as part of the second phase of the Urban Weatherization Initiative (UWI). UWI is the nation's first state-funded weatherization program and one of the largest job creation initiatives to date for urban communities in Illinois. Governor Quinn kicked-off the first phase the multi-year green jobs training program last September by announcing the first round of funding for home energy audit training with national certification.

PRINGFIELD, IL - December 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- A new law set to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2012, will help people who rent apartments, condominiums or houses access information about radon levels in their homes. The Illinois Emergency Management Agency’s (IEMA) radon program is offering guidance to help renters better understand radon hazards and their rights under this new law.