Housing credits leverage private investment, create jobs, bring in revenue for local and state economies and do not impact local or state budgets

Chicago - Nearly 700 affordable rental apartments will be built or preserved across Illinois thanks to Housing Credit allocations approved by the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) on Friday, June 27.

The Housing Credit is the most successful federal affordable housing program in our nation's history, producing and preserving close to 100,000 affordable rental homes annually through public-private partnerships.  It creates quality affordable housing for working families and people with special needs (such as the elderly, the disabled, veterans and the homeless) in urban, suburban and rural communities throughout the country.

Since its creation in the Tax Reform Act of 1986, the Housing Credit has enabled IHDA to provide a critical financing tool for the development of 80,000 units and created an estimated 80,000 jobs in Illinois.  Since Governor Pat Quinn took office, 16,450 units have been built and an estimated 16,000 jobs have been generated across the state thanks to the Housing Credit program.

"Governor Pat Quinn is dedicated to leveraging public-private partnerships to meet the affordable housing needs of working families, seniors and people with disabilities," IHDA Executive Director Mary R. Kenney said. "Our communities improve as a whole when low- to moderate-income residents have options for affordable housing, and these new developments will create quality full-time jobs that keep our economy moving."

The Housing Credit contributes more to the creation of housing than any other federal housing resource. Housing Credits generate private investment in affordable housing when the credits are sold to private investors. The equity generated reduces the debt that the developer would otherwise have to borrow, and as a result, a property can offer lower rents.  The Housing Credit serves those whose income is 60 percent or less of the area median income (AMI) or $30,420 for a one-person household in the Chicago metropolitan area and $29,280 for a one-person household in the Springfield area.  However, the Housing Credit exceeds this requirement by assisting households well below that limit.

Private investors, not the Federal Government or the taxpayer, bear the risk.  Housing Credit properties perform well and have an extraordinarily low foreclosure rate of only 0.62 percent over the history of the program.

The Tax Credit allocations approved on Friday will generate an estimated $89 million in private equity to support 13 developments and more than 1,400 jobs across Illinois. Demonstrating the State of Illinois' dedication to improving the quality of life for people with disabilities or special needs, nearly one-half of the total units will be supportive housing, providing more options that enable residents to live independently in the community of their choice.

Developments approved for financing include an innovative renovation of a former nursing home and the replacement of foreclosed single family properties with new two, three and four bedroom homes for working families.

A complete list of the developments approved for Housing Credits is below. For more details, visit www.ihda.org/developer/approvedProjects.htm.

• Humboldt House (Chicago)
• Reclaiming Southwest Chicago (Chicago)
• Axley Place (Glenview)
• Phil Haven (Wheeling)
• Mundelein Apartments (Mundelein)
• Woodridge Horizon Senior Living Community (Woodridge)
• Macoupin Homes (Staunton, Gillespie & Bunker Hill)
• St. James Place (Pontiac)
• Morton Senior Residences (Morton)
• Diamond Senior Apartments of Princeton (Princeton)
• The Villas at Vinegar Hill (Springfield)
• The Landings at Belle Meadows (Alton)
• Vermilion Disability SLF (Peoria)

About the Illinois Housing Development Authority

IHDA (www.ihda.org) is a self-supporting state agency that finances the creation and the preservation of affordable housing across Illinois. Since its creation in 1967, IHDA has allocated $12.4 billion and financed approximately 240,000 affordable housing units for residents of Illinois.

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dave Loebsack announced today that he will be introducing legislation when Congress return from its July 4^th district work period that would once again require Members of Congress to disclose details of their privately funded travel. Until recently, Members were required to disclose details of travel sponsored by private groups and organizations on their annual financial-disclosure forms. This rule, which had been on the books for more than three decades, was quietly changed by the House Ethics Committee without input from the public or Members of Congress themselves.

"These kinds of backroom deals and changing of the rules in the middle of the night is exactly why Congress has a lower approval rating than cockroaches and traffic jams. It is also the reason the American people have lost faith in those who were elected to represent them," said Loebsack. "The American people deserve to know more and have greater information about who is paying for these often times lavish trips overseas. My legislation will once again require Members of Congress to provide these details on their annual financial-disclosure forms so the American people can easily find the information."

Loebsack's bill will amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 and the Rules of the House of Representatives to expand disclosure requirements for privately sponsored travel taken by Members of Congress. Additional details of Loebsack's legislation will be available when it is introduced.

Borggren Has Served as Veterans Affairs Director Since 2011; Rodrigo Garcia to Lead IDVA

CHICAGO - Governor Pat Quinn today appointed Erica Borggren as Acting Secretary of the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). An Illinois native and Army veteran, Borggren has served as Director of the Illinois Department of Illinois Veterans Affairs (IDVA) since 2011.

"Erica Borggren is a proven leader who has served our state and nation with excellence and integrity," Governor Quinn said. "From graduating first in her class at West Point, to serving as an outstanding military officer and successfully leading large organizations, I am confident she will be an exceptional Transportation Secretary. I also thank Ann Schneider for her years of hard work and dedication and wish her well."

As Director of IDVA, Borggren managed a 1,300-person staff dedicated to serving veterans. During her tenure, IDVA has partnered with public and private partners to launch a veteran entrepreneurship program, a women veterans' program and an interagency effort to make military training count toward state licenses.

Borggren designed and now spearheads Illinois Joining Forces, a public-private network of more than 150 organizations committed to collaborate towards making the "sea of goodwill" more navigable for Illinois veterans, servicemembers and their families. For this work, she was honored as a White House "Champion of Change" earlier this year. In 2013, Borggren was selected as a Leadership Greater Chicago fellow and was also appointed to serve as the Secretary of the National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs.

Prior to leading IDVA, Borggren served as a senior staff member for Army Gen. David H. Petraeus during his time as Commanding General of Multi-National Force - Iraq and as head of United States Central Command throughout the Middle East. For her service in these missions, Borggren was awarded the Defense Meritorious Service Medal and the Bronze Star as well as the Joint Service Achievement and Iraq Campaign Medals. She returned home to Illinois from the Middle East in 2009.

"I am deeply honored to have been asked by Governor Quinn to lead the state's transportation mission," Borggren said. "I look forward to serving with the IDOT team to maintain and build Illinois' world-class infrastructure, which will create more jobs and drive economic growth for years to come."

Prior to her time in the Middle East, Borggren served in the United States Army Medical Service Corps in Yongsan, South Korea, rising as an officer in the 18th Medical Command to a Company Commander at the 121 Combat Support Hospital, for which she was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal.

A Rhodes Scholar, Truman Scholar and the valedictorian of her West Point class, Borggren holds postgraduate degrees in comparative social policy and theology from Oxford University. Borggren was raised in Crystal Lake and she now resides in Chicago with her husband, Erik, and their children.

Borggren's appointment is effective July 11.

Governor Quinn also today announced IDVA Assistant Director Rodrigo Garcia will become Acting Director of the department. A Chicago native and Marine Corps veteran, Garcia served overseas on three separate tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, earning multiple decorations. He holds an undergraduate degree in finance from Northeastern Illinois University and two post-graduate degrees, one in finance from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the other in public policy from Northwestern University. Recently, Garcia completed a senior executives program at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

###