The Southeast Evanston Association submitted written testimony on Tuesday, June 23, opposing Gov. JB Pritzker's BUILD Illinois housing package, arguing the legislation would override local zoning authority and risk displacing existing residents.

The neighborhood group's testimony targeted Senate Bill 4060 and related BUILD bills, citing five concerns: loss of local zoning control, threats to neighborhood preservation, infrastructure strain, displacement, and weakened public accountability in land-use decisions. The BUILD package failed to pass the General Assembly's spring session, which ended June 1, but Pritzker has said he intends to continue pushing the legislation.

The package would have effectively barred single-family-only zoning for lots over a certain size statewide. The Chicago Tribune editorial board called that provision "a radical departure from the current system" that "didn't go over well with municipal officials."

The SEA's filing comes as Evanston navigates its own zoning overhaul. City Council approved Envision Evanston 2045, a comprehensive plan guiding zoning and housing policy for the next two decades, in January 2026. The city's current zoning code dates to 1993. Mayor Daniel Biss has called implementing the plan "absolutely critical." Biss announced on June 23 that he will resign October 18, adding uncertainty to the overhaul's trajectory.

The SEA filed two additional statements the same week. On Wednesday, June 24, the group submitted comments on the city's revised zoning-update scope of services, welcoming some improvements while pushing for a Council-directed process. Board member John Storey Williamson also published a letter in the Evanston RoundTable on June 24 examining how federal housing-grant commitments should align with local zoning deliberations.

Illinois faces a shortage of roughly 142,000 housing units and would need to build 227,000 over five years to keep pace with demand, according to a joint study by the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.