Section 395.305  Initial Pleadings by Appellants

Appellants must submit written initial pleadings to the Board and must serve written initial pleadings on the Approving Authority and all other parties within 45 days after the decision of an Approving Authority to deny an application for an Affordable Housing Development.  In the case of Local Governments that are determined by IHDA under Section 20 of the Act to be a Non-Exempt Local Government for the first time based on the recalculation of the United States Census Bureau data after January 1, 2024, no Appellant shall appeal to the Board until 6 months after the Local Government has been notified of its non-exempt status. [310 ILCS 67/30]  An initial pleading may be submitted to the Board electronically by submitting an email to legalnotices@ihda.org.  An initial pleading shall contain the following:

a)         a clear and concise statement of the prior proceedings before all Approving Authorities, including the date of notice of the decision the appellant is appealing; 

b)         a clear and concise statement of the appellant's objections to the Approving Authority's decision, indicating why the appellant believes the application to develop Affordable Housing was unfairly denied, which may include an appeal of IHDA's determination of the exempt status of the Local Government as set forth in Section 395.401, or what conditions, if any, were imposed that the appellant believes were unreasonable;

c)         a clear and concise statement setting forth the relief sought;

d)        the complete name and address of the appellant for the purpose of service of papers in connection with the appeal;

e)         the name and address of the attorney or attorneys representing the appellant, if any; and

f)         a complete copy of the application for the Affordable Housing Development, as it was submitted to the Approving Authority, including sufficient information to determine whether the proposal that is the subject of the appeal is Affordable Housing.

(Source:  Amended at 50 Ill. Reg. 1085, effective January 8, 2026)