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.