2021 Legislative Briefing

What happened? Legislators flew into Springfield for a brief lame-duck session and…Well, Illinois REALTORS® Senior Vice President for Governmental Affairs Greg St. Aubin will provide members a recap of the lame-duck session and a glimpse of the legislative initiatives Illinois REALTORS® will discuss with lawmakers in 2021 to help your business and your clients. Plus, exclusive interviews with the new Speaker of the Illinois House and Senate President.

Business Issues Forum - Get to Know What You Don’t Know

Get to know what you don’t know: What obstacles and opportunities await you in 2021? REALTORS® Sarah Ware, Brian Kwilosz and Megan Oswald will engage in a lively and informative discussion about the business issues REALTORS® should be aware of and prepared to manage in 2021. Learn how to reduce risk, grow your business, and sharpen your skills; all through a lens that focuses on diversity, inclusion and equality​. Expand your customer base and save time and money by navigating the obstacles that lie ahead.

Get full transcript.

Fairness is Opportunity—Doing R Part

Tommy Choi, Dionne Clifton, Tracey Royal, Rachel Sheid and Athena Williams discuss factors affecting homeownership access and affordability, and how to serve home buyers more efficiently through available housing resources and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-approved programs. Together, we can do R part to promote housing access for all Americans

Five takeaways from Tuesday’s Multiple Listing Service (MLS) Forum

Illinois REALTORS® who tuned in to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) Forum Tuesday afternoon heard a panel discussion and two presentations.

The following are five takeaways from the forum:

• The increase in people working from home since the COVID-19 pandemic struck makes it important for Multiple Listing Service organizations to capture data so consumers looking for properties know what can accommodate their lifestyle, such as home offices, home gyms and home classrooms;
• Consumers are more interested in the best solutions for faster and more reliable internet access to meet their new needs;
• An increasing number of consumers are more interested in buying homes sight unseen, instead using virtual tours and virtual floor plans;
• MLS organizations are striving for “interoperability” in electronic services, so that programs like DocuSign and Dotloop can communicate easily with each other, just like gmail and yahoo users can exchange email messages;
• Members can use data available in their MLSs to assist in making decisions in their marketing and in their overall business strategy.

Expert speakers at the forum included: President and CEO of Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) Rebecca Jensen, CEO of Council of MLS Denee Evans Hofer, RESO CEO Sam DeBord, MRED Chief Technology Officer Chris Haran and NAR Senior Economist and Director of Housing & Commercial Research Scholastica (Gay) Cororaton.

Get full transcript.

Geoffrey Hewings on Housing: How unemployment, inventory, population trends and foreclosures could affect the market

Illinois REALTORS® talked to U of I economist and housing forecaster Geoffrey Hewings about what unemployment levels, lower housing inventory, Illinois’ evolving population trends and foreclosures could mean for the state’s housing market in the months ahead.

Get full transcript.

Reopening REALTOR® offices safely

Preparation. Follow-through. Communication. NAR General Counsel Katie Johnson and Illinois REALTORS® General Counsel Betsy Urbance talk about ways for association and brokerage offices to reopen and pivot to a “new normal.” Learn more and get tools with Illinois REALTORS® ROI series.

Get full transcript.

#Werk Your Brand

Rebecca Donatelli, Mabél Guzmán and Sam Powell joined Illinois YPN to share their best success tips for building your brand. Hear how they expanded their network through social media, within the industry and through personal interactions in everyday life.

Note: All advertising requirements of Illinois Real Estate License Act and REALTOR® Code of Ethics apply to REALTOR® advertising through any medium, whether physical or electronic, including social media platforms. 

Get full transcript.

Real Estate License Act – RELA Legal Update

Teams and Advertising. Licensing and Education. Going Paperless. The Rules are Changing. Let us help you protect your business. The new RELA Legal Update Web Series will cover the most critical changes to the Real Estate License Act (RELA), related requirements and rules. Join Illinois REALTORS® Chief Legal Counsel Betsy Urbance and Legal Hotline Attorney Anneliese Fierstos as they walk you through the changes to the Illinois Real Estate License Act in our new, must-see six-episode web series: RELA Legal Update. And just like Netflix, you can binge the full series or pick which episodes to watch first! Members, log in at www.IllinoisRealtors.org/RELA_Rewrite

Get full transcript.

Let’s talk professional courtesy

Illinois YPN members Eddie Ruettiger, Megan Beechen and Rachel Scheid share some of their best tips and simple basics of professionalism essential to a smooth transaction and to building strong relationships with clients and fellow REALTORS®.

Get full transcript.

The problem with Sauk Village’s inspection policy

Illinois REALTORS® talks with Mike Scobey, director of local advocacy, who explains the background to a lawsuit filed by a property owner in Sauk Village.

The suburban Cook County municipality has outsourced inspections, creating a process that the plaintiffs in the lawsuit says is unfair and not legal.

Learn why Sauk Village's actions infringe on private property rights, and what residents there are facing when it comes to pre-sale inspections. 

Get full transcript.