Public Act 095-0449
 		





SB1224 Enrolled
LRB095 10553 NHT 30771 b






    AN ACT concerning teachers. 

 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 
represented in the General Assembly: 


 
    Section 1. Short title.   This Act may be cited as the 
Teacher
Homebuyer Assistance Act.



 
    Section 5. Legislative findings and declarations.  The 
General
Assembly finds and declares all of the following:


        (1) Attracting and retaining fully qualified teachers 
    is of
paramount importance in ensuring that pupils have 
    fair access to a
quality education and a fair chance to 
    succeed academically.  This is
especially critical for 
    schools that have the greatest number and
percentage of 
    pupils with the most acute educational needs, who

    predictably may score lowest on academic achievement 
    examinations.


        (2) A high priority should be placed on attracting and 
    retaining
quality teaching professionals who have 
    demonstrated exemplary
teaching ability, who serve in 
    hard-to-staff schools, and who live in
high-cost areas.


        (3) Teachers face housing problems that exacerbate 
    school
districts' efforts to attract and retain qualified 
    teachers.  Many
cannot afford to live in the communities in 
    which they teach, making
it difficult for them to become 
    active members of their school's
community.  Providing 
    opportunities for teachers to participate in
after-school 
    activities, from tutoring to coaching, benefits the

    children and community in which the teacher is employed.



 
    Section 10. Definitions.   In this Act:


    "Authority" means the Illinois Housing Development 
Authority.


    "Hard-to-staff position" means a teaching category (such 
as special education, mathematics, or science) in which 
statewide data compiled by the State Board of Education 
indicates a multi-year pattern of substantial teacher shortage 
or that has been identified as a critical need by the school 
board.

    "Hard-to-staff school" means an elementary or secondary 
school that ranks in the upper third of schools in this State 
in the number of teachers who leave their positions. The State 
Board of Education shall rank schools for this purpose based on 
mobility and teacher attrition over a 5-year average.
    "Teacher" means a person who is currently employed as a

full-time teacher in a hard-to-staff  school or a hard-to-staff 
position  and who is
certified in this State in the subject 
field or grade level for which
the teacher is employed.


    "Termination of employment" means that for whatever 
reason,
the borrower is no longer a teacher at any time during 
the first 5 years
immediately following the date of recordation 
of the subordinate
mortgage loan deed of trust.  However, it 
shall not be considered
termination of employment if the 
borrower is still employed at the
same school at the time of 
recordation of the subordinate mortgage
loan, but the school is 
no longer considered a hard-to-staff school or the position in 
which the teacher is employed is no longer considered a 
hard-to-staff  position or if the borrower accepts a teaching 
position at
another public school and his or her departure from 
the hard-to-staff school was involuntary.  The Authority may

establish guidelines for consideration of hardship cases in 
which it
may waive this 5-year continuous employment 
requirement.



 
    Section 15. Teacher homebuyer assistance program.


    (a) Subject to appropriation, the Authority shall 
establish and administer a teacher homebuyer
assistance

program and allocate funds in accordance with this Act.  The 
purpose of
this program is to provide down payment assistance 
to teachers for
purchasing residences within the jurisdiction 
in which they are
employed.


    (b) The maximum down payment assistance to a teacher under

this Act shall be determined by the median home price in the 
school
district where the teacher is employed, as follows:


        (1) Any teacher employed in a school district with a 
    median
home price over $300,000 is eligible for maximum 
    down
payment assistance of $20,000.


        (2) Any teacher employed in a school district with a 
    median
home price from $150,000 to $300,000, inclusive, is 
    eligible
for maximum down payment assistance of $15,000.


        (3) Any teacher employed in a school district with a 
    median
home price below $150,000 is eligible for maximum 
    down
payment assistance of $10,000.


    (c) Assistance under this Act shall be in the form of a

deferred payment, low-interest subordinate mortgage loan with 
a term
not longer than the term of the first mortgage loan.  
Interest on
this subordinate mortgage loan shall accrue at a 
rate of up to 5% per
annum.


    (d) The borrower's obligation to repay the loan shall be 
evidenced
by a lien consisting of a deed of trust, subordinate 
in priority to
the borrower's first mortgage loan financing 
required to purchase the
property.  If the borrower has 
continuously been a teacher for the 5-year
period immediately 
following the date of recordation of the
subordinate mortgage 
loan deed of trust and there has been no
termination of 
employment, then repayment of the subordinate mortgage
loan 
shall be forgiven and considered a grant so long as the 
borrower
produces employment records, to the Authority's 
satisfaction, that the
borrower has continuously been a teacher 
during that 5-year period.


    (e) Repayment of the principal and accrued interest is due

and payable at the earlier of the following events:


        (1) sale of the residence;


        (2) the borrower's failure to continuously occupy the

    residence in accordance with paragraph (3) of Section 20 of 
    this
Act; or


        (3) satisfaction of the first mortgage loan.


In no event shall this loan be assumable.


    (f) In the event of termination of employment by the 
borrower
within the first 5 years following recordation of the 
subordinate
mortgage loan deed of trust, the borrower shall be 
obligated to repay
to the Authority, in addition to other 
amounts due on the loan, the pro
rata amount of principal and 
accrued interest on the loan that
directly relates to the 
period of time within that 5-year period
in which the borrower 
was not a teacher.  In order to qualify for any pro
rata 
forgiveness of repayment of the loan, the borrower shall 
produce
employment records to the Authority's satisfaction 
that the borrower was
a teacher for the period in which the pro 
rata forgiveness of loan is
sought.  If the borrower produces 
evidence acceptable to the Authority
that the borrower has 
satisfied all of the requirements specified in this
Section to 
qualify for forgiveness of the loan in total, the Authority 
must
execute any documents that may be necessary so that the 
borrower may
clear title.



 
    Section 20. Qualifying for loan.   In order to qualify for a 
loan
under this Act,
all of the following
criteria must be met:


        (1) The borrower must qualify as a teacher.


        (2) The borrower's gross household income must not 
    exceed
125% of the area median income, as defined by the 
    U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.


        (3) The residence financed under this Act must be

    continuously occupied by the borrower as his or her 
    principal
residence for at least 5 years following the 
    recordation of the
deed of trust securing the subordinate 
    mortgage loan.  If the
borrower fails to meet this 
    condition, the principal and accrued
interest of the loan 
    is immediately due and payable.


        (4) The residence being financed must be a 
    single-family
residence, condominium, or manufactured home 
    located within the
boundaries of the school district that 
    employs the borrower.



 
    Section 25. Rules.   The State Board of Education and the

Authority may adopt any rules necessary to carry out their

responsibilities under this Act.

 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.