Barbara Flynn Currie.

SPRINGFIELD, IL – New housing and transportation projects in urban areas across the state would focus more on affordability and proximity to work, schools and shops under a measure sponsored by state Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago, that passed the Illinois House with overwhelming bipartisan support on Friday.

“When we consider where to build housing and fund transportation projects, we should get the best bang for our buck,” Currie said. “Affordability for low-income residents is a high priority, and housing that links workers to their jobs increases affordability.”

Senate Bill 414 provides that the state use a Housing and Transportation Affordability Index, also known as the H+T Index, as a development tool for housing and transportation project funding and siting in urban areas in Illinois.

The goal of the proposal is to maximize efficiency and promote affordability within city housing plans. For example, the H+T Index could encourage the development of new housing next to a train station or a bus line. Currie’s measure, which is sponsored in the Senate by state Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, is backed by the Center for Neighborhood Technology, a group focused on promoting sustainable urban communities, transportation and community development.

“Millions of Illinois residents who live in urban areas rely on mass transit to get to work, do their grocery shopping and see the doctor,” Currie said. “The fiscal burden is greatly increased when the closest bus stop is five miles from home. Reversing that pattern and putting new housing closer to vital transportation hubs makes good sense and helps promote healthier communities.”

Currie’s and Raoul’s bill now returns to the Senate where the chamber must approve revisions made to the bill in the House. If the Senate concurs with the changes, the bill will move to the governor for his consideration.

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