Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn joined representatives of the Metropolitan Planning Council, Affordable Housing Corporation, and Illinois Housing Development Authority to highlight the benefits of employer-assisted housing for local businesses.
“I’m really excited about this initiative,” said Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn to a forum on
employer-assisted housing in Lake County. “It’s important to have loyal
employees who stick with you. The last thing you want is to lose an employee and
face turnover costs.”
Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn talks about the community benefits of
employer-assisted housing programs at a Feb. 20, 2004 meeting.
Lt. Gov. Quinn joined representatives of the Metropolitan Planning
Council (MPC) and the Affordable Housing Corporation of Lake County (AHC) to
highlight the benefits of employer-assisted housing (EAH) initiatives for
businesses on Feb. 20. Allstate, an employer offering an EAH benefit, spoke
about early experiences with the program, and staff of the Illinois Housing
Development Authority (IHDA) provided further information about the Illinois
Affordable Housing Tax Credit.
He added that employer-assisted housing is a relatively new benefit, and
praised employers who have programs. “I want to salute employers who are
involved,” Lt. Gov. Quinn said. In addition to the obvious advantages to
employers of reducing turnover, Lt. Gov. Quinn noted that northeastern Illinois
is a non-attainment area, “so it’s important for us to work together on
initiatives that reduce traffic congestion and the pollution that goes with
it.”
MPC’s housing associate Samantha DeKoven provided further details about the
range of ways in which employer-assisted housing programs can be implemented,
noting the diverse companies who participate, including large employers such as
Bank One and First Midwest Bank; hospitals, such as Northwest Community
Hospital; small manufacturers such as Medela Corp.; and small employers of just
20 employees, including Rosenthal Brothers (based in Deerfield) and National
Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice (in Chicago).
One participating company, Allstate,
has launched an EAH initiative at its Vernon Hills service center, offering
$5,000 to qualified employees to buy homes within 15 miles of work. Lilly Eng,
Allstate's director of diversity for work life, offered her early experiences
with the program: “I’ve been with Allstate 20 years,” she said, “and I
can’t think of another work-life benefit that got a better emotional response
from employees…. Helping employees with purchasing a home is offering a
life-changing event. We can see employees benefiting directly from this program.
And other employees see they work for a company that cares.” She added that the
program demonstrated Allstate’s commitment to community in addition to saving
money: “the program almost funds itself, and [our nonprofit partners] do all the
work.”
Casandra Slade, executive director of the AHC, and Bill Griffin, board
chairman, further explained that not only does AHC provide program
administration, making this a fully outsourced program for employers, but offers
a full range of services to employees. They can access credit counseling and
homebuyer education, and receive referrals to approved lenders, Realtors, and
others. In addition, AHC facilitates securing state matching
funds of up to $5,000 for each buyer, and provides a deferred loan of an
additional $5,000, enabling employees to buy homes with up to $15,000 in
assistance.
Char Flickinger, IHDA’s tax credit department director, offered more
information about the state tax credits, noting that employer-assisted housing
is picking up momentum statewide, but as the tax credits have not been fully
tapped for employer-assisted housing, there is an opportunity for businesses to
take advantage of this great new incentive.
Lt. Gov. Quinn is a member of Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s new Housing
Task Force, which is charged with implementing the governor's new housing
policy announced by Executive
Order in September 2003. Among other issues, this housing policy prioritizes
the housing needs of workers who cannot afford to live near their jobs. For more
information, click
here.
Click here
for Daily Herald coverage of this event.