Illinois Bill Amends Real Estate License Act; Expands Anti-Predatory Lending Database

On December 31, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed into law Senate Bill 1894, a bill that increases education requirements for Illinois real estate agents and expands the state’s anti-predatory lending database to three additional counties. Specifically, the bill (i) increases the pre-licensing education requirements for Illinois real estate agents from 45 to 120 hours, (ii) eliminates the “salesperson” license category, (iii) establishes the “broker” license category as the entry-level real estate license in the state, and (iv) establishes a “managing broker” license category, which requires 165 hours of pre-licensing education and 24 hours of continuing education every renewal period. The bill also expands the state’s anti-predatory lending database program to include Kane, Will, and Peoria counties, which rank among the state’s highest foreclosure rates. The program, which currently only applies to Cook County (most-recently reported in InfoBytes, May 16, 2008), aims to reduce predatory lending practices by assisting the borrower in understanding the terms and conditions of the loan for which he or she has applied. The program is set to expand into the three additional counties on July 1, 2010. Finally, the bill includes a provision that allows municipalities, until certain conditions take place, to obtain a lien for costs associated with the clean-up of abandoned residential properties.