Governor Pat Quinn toured the state Monday to trumpet his program aimed at helping first-time homebuyers. That included a stop in Peoria, where he urged people to take advantage of "Welcome Home Illinois." The program offers homebuyers $7,500 for a down payment and interest rates as low as 3.75 percent.
Mary Kenney directs the Illinois Housing Development Authority that’s running the new program. She says the program has other benefits for first-time homebuyers:
“All of our loan products come with homebuyer counseling. They’re safe, not just affordable but safe loan products, these are fixed rate. The payments do not change over time, 30-year fixed rate mortgage. So it really is just a wonderful opportunity,” Kenney says.
State officials say the biggest difference from pervious programs is this is the first time state money is being used to subsidize the interest rate. Quinn, who’s also seeking re-election, says he wants to secure more funding for the program in the next capital bill. Quinn’s Republican opponent, Bruce Rauner, quickly issued a news release to call the program old news.