housing

Rockford Region Housing Market Says Sales Are Up But Inventory Is Down

By Connie Kuntz • Feb 12, 2020
Connie Kuntz

Housing sales are up in the Rockford area for the fifth straight year, as is the average selling price. Conor Brown is the CEO for Rockford Area Realtors. He said, "The average sales price record that we've kept is $149,000."

He said the sales and price increases are cause for celebration, but he also expressed concern for the lack of housing stock for first-time home buyers.

Inside DeKalb County's Unincorporated Apartments

By Sarah Jesmer • Dec 10, 2019
Sarah Jesmer

This project is done in collaboration with The Northern Star. You can read their reporting on a new solar farm at Suburban Apartments and Estates here. You can also hear about how this collaboration came to be here. 

 

Suburban Apartments Has Solar Aspirations And Responds To Tenant Concerns

By WNIJ News & Northern Star • Dec 9, 2019

WNIJ and the Northern Star are collaborating to take a closer look at Suburban Apartments in DeKalb.  It’s a large complex near Annie Glidden Road which houses many students. It’s also the site of a proposed solar garden. WNIJ News Director Jenna Dooley recently sat down with the reporters working on this series to learn more about the project.

Noah Thornburgh is news editor of the Northern Star. He says the reporting began in early September when he asked a pair of reporters in his newsroom to learn more about a solar project at the complex.

Statewide: Problems At The Thompson Center; The Story Of The Radium Girls

By • Nov 8, 2019

More than 2,000 state employees report to work at the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago's Loop.  But the building, constructed in the early 1980's, has a host of problems.  Repairs will be costly.  The State of Illinois is moving forward in an effort to sell the facility, which some say is an architectural gem.  We look at the pros and cons of the Thompson Center on this epsiode. 

Also, the tragic story of young women who suffered radiation poisoning working at an Illinois factory. That and more on Statewide.

Housing Matters: Chipping Away At Segregation

By • Nov 8, 2019

Editor's note: This is part of a five-story series reported at the Housing Action Illinois conference in Bloomington on Oct. 24-25. The stories ran Wednesday, Oct. 30, on WGLT's Sound Ideas.

Housing Matters: Pushing Landlords To Look Beyond A Criminal Record

By • Nov 7, 2019

Editor's note: This is part of a five-story series reported at the Housing Action Illinois conference in Bloomington on Oct. 24-25. The stories ran Wednesday, Oct. 30, on WGLT's Sound Ideas.

Housing Matters: City of Peoria, Salvation Army Program Works To Prevent Homelessness

By • Nov 6, 2019

Editor's note: This is part of a five-story series reported at the Housing Action Illinois conference in Bloomington on Oct. 24-25. The stories ran Wednesday, Oct. 30, on WGLT's Sound Ideas.

Housing Matters: Pilot Program Links Homelessness To Health

By • Nov 5, 2019

Editor's note: This is part of a five-story series reported at the Housing Action Illinois conference in Bloomington on Oct. 24-25. The stories ran Wednesday, Oct. 30, on WGLT's Sound Ideas.

Housing Matters: Affordable Housing And The Middle Class

By • Nov 4, 2019

Editor's note: This is part of a five-story series reported at the Housing Action Illinois conference in Bloomington on Oct. 24-25. The stories ran Wednesday, Oct. 30, on WGLT's Sound Ideas.

With Deferred Maintenance Piling Up, NIU Putting President's House On The Market

By Peter Medlin • Oct 14, 2019
Peter Medlin

About a mile away from Northern Illinois University’s campus in DeKalb, a nice 2-story house on the corner of Woodlawn Drive is vacant. The only sign of wear in sight is on a small metal sign in the freshly cut yard where the address is slowly rusting away. 

Built in 1955, this house has been home to the presidents of NIU. But, when Dr. Lisa Freeman was hired last year, she already had a home in DeKalb.

'To End Homelessness, Partner With Landlords,' Says Rockford

By Sarah Jesmer • Aug 14, 2019
Sarah Jesmer

Efforts to end homelessness in Rockford have been nationally recognized. Community members have achieved a "functional zero" of veteran and chronically homeless populations. Now, the focus is turning to other populations.

 

Housing Woes: What Does Resolution Look Like?

By Sarah Jesmer • Aug 2, 2019
Sarah Jesmer

For the last few weeks, we've been looking at housing problems in the DeKalb area. What does resolution look like as the community works to revitalize struggling neighborhoods?

 

DeKalb community members have been considering housing conditions when some local buildings were damaged during suspected arsons. 

 

One of these cases occurred at 808 Ridge Drive in early July. 

 

Counting Crime In DeKalb's Largest Apartments

By Sarah Jesmer • Jul 26, 2019
Sarah Jesmer

This piece is part three in a series about housing conditions in DeKalb. Tune in Friday, August 2, for the last update in this series.

Last week, we took a look at the controversial history between the city of DeKalb and Hunter Properties, a large local rental property owner. A network of DeKalb community efforts are addressing crimes reported at apartments, which have recently been under the microscope.

Illinois Renters’ Income Not Keeping Pace With Housing Costs

By Victor Yehling • Oct 29, 2015
Flickr user 401(K) 2012 / "Money" (CC v. 2.0)

More than half of the renters in Illinois are spending a burdensome portion of their income on housing, according to a new study.

In 2014, 50.2% of Illinois renters spent more than 30 percent of their income on housing. That’s a burden, according to a study by apartmentlist.com.

Using census data from 2007 to 2014, the study found that only 47.4% of Wisconsin renters fall into that category, and a mere 43.9 percent of Iowa renters fit the definition.

Nationwide, 51.8% of renters are cost-burdened.

HUD Reminds Rockford Of Affordable Housing Obligations

By • Aug 21, 2015

Federal housing officials visited Rockford yesterday to remind city leaders they are obligated to provide fair housing for residents. 

The meeting was prompted by concerns from regional representatives of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Last month, a developer withdrew plans to build a 65 apartment unit on Rockford’s east side, where residents of a west side public housing development could move. Some neighbors strongly opposed the plan, causing developer Gorman and Company to pull the proposal: Gorman is expected to rework and resubmit the plan to the city soon.

DeKalb, NIU May Partner on Housing Stats

By Mike Moen • Apr 9, 2012

The city of DeKalb is putting together plans with NIU officials to gather housing data for the community.  The research project would include information on factors such as foreclosures, vacancy rates, and code compliance.  Bill Nicklas is NIU’s associate vice president for institutional planning and sustainability.  He says the university is always concerned about the safety and quality of housing in DeKalb.