Cook County commissioners approve $8.6 million for down payment assistance program

The Cook County Board of Commissioners earmarked $8.6 million for the second phase of the Cook County Down Payment Assistance Program at its meeting on June 12. 

In 2024, the Bureau of Economic Development partnered with Stifel, Inc. and Club 720 to launch a $3 million pilot program that assisted in the acquisition of more than 200 homes countywide. Participants in the program — 80 percent being first-time homebuyers — received an average of $15,000 in assistance and purchased homes ranging from $200,000 to $400,000, according to a county news release.

The assistance program is designed to ease upfront costs — down payments, closing costs, and interest-rate buydowns — for Cook County homebuyers. It offers subsidies equaling five percent of the home’s sale price with a $25,000 limit. The funds are provided as a forgivable second loan over a five-year period. 

Eligible households possess an annual income up to 120 percent of the area median income, which would be $143,880 annually for a family of four. The income limit does not apply to those buying in disproportionately impacted areas or qualified census tracts. Applicants must have a minimum credit score of 620.

Single-family homes, condominiums, and townhomes are eligible property types but must serve as the applicant’s primary residence.

President Toni Preckwinkle touted the measure as a way to make Cook County “a viable place to live, work, and raise a family” in a press release. 

Lenders currently in the program will have access to funding starting June 24.

Official business

Hyspan Precision Products, a pipe flexibility product manufacturer based in South Holland, received property tax assessment relief. Under the county’s Sustainable Emergency Relief program, longstanding industries suffering economic hardship are eligible for a significant reduction in its property tax assessment level. The proposal describes Hyspan’s facilities as having three blighting factors: dilapidation, obsolescence, and deterioration.

Commissioners approved a resolution to reaffirm Cook County residents’ right to due process under the law. The ordinance came on the heels of the increased federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement crackdown across the county. 

Commissioner Kevin Morrison (15th), whose district covers the northwest suburbs, spoke out against an ICE raid that occurred at a local business in his district. He said 20 to 30 people were detained. 

“These are individuals with papers and legal status to work in this country,” Morrison said. “I have had tons of people reaching out, because as of yet, we still have no idea where these individuals were brought, and their families have not had any access to communication with their loved ones.” 

Commissioner Jessica Vásquez (8th), who is part of a rapid response network that reports local ICE raids, echoed Morrison’s concerns about ICE raids in her own district.

“My experience with some of these federal agents and ICE officials, they are, I believe, emboldened, and they were acting very aggressively,” Vásquez said. “Myself and other individuals there came in peace to [exercise] their First Amendment rights to defend our communities, and we were met with a lot of aggression.”

 Commissioner Morrison concluded the meeting urging commissioners and the public to call the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights hotline, an activist and lobbying group dedicated to advancing rights for immigrants and refugees in Illinois, in the event of an ICE raid in their communities.