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Notwithstanding any other inconsistent or contrary provision of this Code, following consultation with the Commissioner of Buildings, the Commissioner of Housing is authorized to waive any debt and release associated liens for any residential or mixed-use building that is included in a Department of Housing initiative or program that supports neighborhood revitalization efforts and is subject to an abatement proceeding under Section 14A-3-313. The Comptroller and Corporation Counsel shall coordinate with the Commissioner of Housing to ensure that the approved waiver is executed.
Approval by the Commissioner of Housing for the removal of City debt shall take into consideration whether the waiver will: (i) promote the redevelopment and re-occupancy of a specific vacant or abandoned building; (ii) support neighborhood development and stabilization efforts; (iii) improve the health, safety, and welfare of the surrounding community; and (iv) encourage City revitalization.
For purposes of this subsection only, "debt" means a sum of money owed to the City, including, but not limited to, (i) any water or sewer assessment, or (ii) any obligation or payment of a sum of money owed to the City pursuant to a court order or an order of the Department of Administrative Hearings. Provided, however, the term "debt" shall not include property tax debt.
(Added Coun. J. 12-14-22, p. 58278, Art. VII, § 2)
(a) The Commissioner is authorized to restructure the terms and conditions of the City’s loans and grants executed by the Commissioner, subject to compliance with all applicable federal laws and regulations, including, but not limited to: (i) loan payment deferment; (ii) loan modification; (iii) loan forbearance; (iv) forgiveness of default interest, overdue interest and fees; (v) conversion of a loan to a grant in compliance subsection (h) of this section; (vi) subordination of the City’s lien to a lien securing new financing that is senior to the City’s loan or grant; (vii) amendments and/or subordination agreements requested by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development; and (viii) consent to a change of the general partner or managing member of a borrower or grantee, as applicable, when the Commissioner makes a written finding that a restructuring as described in the foregoing (a)(i) – (viii) is likely to: (1) improve the City’s financial position in connection with the applicable development; (2) preserve or otherwise promote affordable housing; or (3) result in significant improvement in the physical conditions of the affordable housing in connection with the applicable development.
(b) Upon making a written finding, the Commissioner shall notify the aldermen of the affected wards of such finding.
(c) The Commissioner is authorized, subject to the approval by the Corporation Counsel as to form and legality, to enter into and execute such agreements and instruments, and perform any and all acts as shall be necessary or advisable in connection with the restructuring of any City loan or grant, subject to the requirements of subsection (a) of this section.
(d) In connection with a loan or grant restructuring, the Commissioner is authorized:
(1) to purchase on behalf of the City, for a price to be determined by the Commissioner to be in the best interests of the City, any interest of any other lender in connection with the financing of any development, subject to appropriation and availability of funds; and
(2) to transfer, either without payment or for a price to be determined by the Commissioner to be in the best interests of the City, any City loan or grant, as well as the related lien and regulatory agreement, in connection with the development.
(e) If any action in connection with a restructuring generates revenue for the City, such revenue is hereby appropriated and the Commissioner is authorized to expend such revenue for any purpose, subject to applicable federal, state or local laws and regulations governing such funds, which promotes affordable housing, as determined by the Commissioner.
(f) The Commissioner shall submit information on each loan or grant restructuring which is completed under this section as part of the Department’s quarterly report to the Mayor and the City Council.
(g) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the Code or any other ordinance or mayoral executive order, in connection with a City loan or grant restructuring pursuant to this section, no parties shall be required to provide to the City the document commonly known as the “Economic Disclosure Statement and Affidavit” (or any successor to such document), except for the borrower or grantee, as applicable, as of the date following the closing date of any such restructuring, all legal entities who constitute the direct or indirect controlling parties of such borrower or grantee (as determined by the Corporation Counsel), and any legal entities which are direct owners in excess of 7.5 percent of such borrower or grantee which changed in connection with the restructuring.
(h) For any conversion of a loan to a grant pursuant to subsection (a)(v) of this section, the Commissioner is only authorized to restructure the loan if the following requirements are met:
(1) The amount of the loan must not exceed $500,000.
(2) The borrower must have no outstanding compliance issues.
(3) The borrower must fulfill all regulatory obligations.
(Added Coun. J. 9-18-24, p. 16501, § 1)
The Commissioner is authorized to make modifications to loan terms when changes to such terms occur before the execution of the loan agreement and within 120 days of the effective date of an ordinance that approved such terms. Loan term modifications authorized under this section shall be limited to changes to interest rates, maturity dates, or increases in loan amounts up to $75,000.
(Added Coun. J. 9-18-24, p. 16501, § 2)
(a) As used in this section:
“Tax-exempt obligation” means a debt obligation the interest on which is exempt from federal income tax under Section 103 of the Internal Revenue Code, codified at 26 U.S.C. § 103.
“Volume cap” has the meaning ascribed to that term in Section 3 of the Illinois Private Activity Bond Allocation Act, codified at 30 ILCS 345/3.
(b) The Commissioner is authorized to reallocate, in accordance with applicable State and federal law and the provisions of this section, to the Chicago Housing Authority and to the Illinois Housing Development Authority one or more amounts of the City’s then-available volume cap for the purpose of developing affordable or mixed-income housing within the City by means of tax-exempt bonds issued by the Chicago Housing Authority or the Illinois Housing Development Authority, respectively.
(c) After considering the best interests of the City and the amount of the City’s volume cap expected to be available on the date of the reallocation, the Commissioner shall determine, from time to time, the amount of a reallocation of the City’s volume cap to the Chicago Housing Authority or to the Illinois Housing Development Authority. No determination shall become effective without the written concurrences of the Chief Financial Officer and the Chair of the Committee on Finance; provided, however, that if the Chair of the Committee on Finance does not transmit a written concurrence or a written explanation of non-concurrence within 10 business days after receiving the Commissioner’s determination, the Chair’s concurrence shall be assumed.
(d) The Commissioner is authorized to charge an administrative fee of 1.5 percent of the amount of the City’s volume cap being reallocated. The Commissioner is authorized to waive such fee pursuant to a determination by the Commissioner that such waiver is in the best economic interests of the City. The Commissioner shall memorialize and maintain on file the justification for any waiver granted.
(e) With the required concurrences under subsection (c) of this section and the approval of the Corporation Counsel as to form and legality, the Commissioner is authorized to enter into one or more intergovernmental agreements, and such other supporting documents as may be necessary, with the Chicago Housing Authority or the Illinois Housing Development Authority, as applicable, for the reallocation of the City’s volume cap. Each intergovernmental agreement may provide for the use or carrying forward of the City’s volume cap in accordance with applicable law, or the return of the City’s reallocated volume cap by the end of the calendar year in which it was reallocated.
(f) The Commissioner shall reallocate the City’s volume cap either:
(1) prior to the issuance of tax-exempt obligations for each respective housing development; or
(2) for reallocations of the City’s volume cap to the Illinois Housing Development Authority only, after the issuance of tax-exempt obligations for a particular housing development, provided that the Illinois Housing Development Authority has:
(A) prior to issuing the tax-exempt obligations for each such housing development: (i) identified such housing development to the Department; and (ii) obtained a written promise from the City to reimburse the Illinois Housing Development Authority for the use of the Illinois Housing Development Authority’s own volume cap for such housing development; and
(B) enacted an Illinois Housing Development Authority Board of Directors resolution stating that the Illinois Housing Development Authority would not have proceeded with said housing development if it had not received the City’s promise to reimburse in the same amount it planned to use for said housing development.
(g) All housing developments for which the Commissioner makes a reallocation of the City’s volume cap pursuant to this section must be located within the corporate boundaries of the City.
(h) On or before March 31 of each year, the Commissioner shall submit an annual report to the Committee on Finance regarding all reallocations of the City’s volume cap in the preceding calendar year.
(Added Coun. J. 10-9-24, p. 17423, § 1)
* Editor’s note – Coun. J. 10-9-24, p. 17423, § 1, numbered this section as 2-44-150; because that section already exists, this section has been renumbered at the discretion of the editor. Future legislation will correct if needed.