Real Property

The newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Real Estate Law

ISBA Members, please login to join this section

2025 Articles

Little Red Riding Hood: Private Equity Owning Law Firms By Donald Hyun Kiolbassa & Emily Holmes January 2025 Loosely speaking, private equity firms are investment companies that focus on private companies. A classic example of a private equity firm looks like this. For whatever reason, a business owner is looking to divest risk and exit the owner's business. The private equity firm comes in and buys the company from the founder.
1 comment (Most recent January 22, 2025)
The Logistics of Handling Powers of Attorney Under the Recent Amendments to the Act – Reasonable and Unreasonable Cause to Refuse By Michael J. Fleck January 2025 Senate Bill 3421 was enacted as Public Act 103-0994 on August 9, 2024, to be effective January 1, 2025. The Public Act makes certain changes to the Illinois Power of Attorney Act, specifically under Section 2-8. This article will focus on the practical logistics of handling powers of attorney due to these recent amendments, to minimize the chance that powers of attorney are rejected by a third party.
The New Multi-Board 8.0 Residential Real Estate Contract By Philip J. Vacco January 2025 While some technical issues with the 7.0 contract have been addressed, other issues have been created which will provide plenty of fodder for the legal profession to justify its continued involvement in residential real estate transactions. This article highlights some of these issues.
1 comment (Most recent January 22, 2025)
No, Illinois Does Not Have a $4 Million Estate Tax Exemption! By Allison K. Pfeifle & Aisha E. Fashawe December 2025 Contrary to what many clients and some practitioners may think, Illinois does not have a $4 million estate tax exemption. Instead, Illinois employs two different calculations, as explored in this article, and the lesser of the result is the applicable estate tax. 
1 comment (Most recent December 11, 2025)
A Note From the Chair By Cheryl A. Morrison August 2025 A note from the chair of the Real Estate Law Section Council.
1 comment (Most recent August 21, 2025)
NOTE! July 2025 Do your clients use their properties for short-term rentals, like airbnb, etc.? Read this Note on upcoming taxes that will be taking effect under the Hotel Operators' Occupation Tax. 
Note: CLE Opportunity! December 2025 The ISBA Real Estate Law Section is co-sponsoring a one-hour CLE on January 28, 2026, at 11:00 AM titled the New Illinois Receivership Act. The program is a primer on the new Act. It will explain the impact of the Act on real estate and construction law.
Practice Tip By Michael J. Maslanka August 2025 Don't learn the hard way--ensure that the Spam folder of your email system is being checked at least daily in your practice.
Public Act 104-0382 Will Affect Real Estate Practitioners By Michael J. Maslanka November 2025 Amendments to the Counties Code, effective on January 1, 2026, include changes to sections regarding fraud referral and review, property fraud alert systems, and registration by property owners and real estate professionals. 
Public Acts Summary By Paul Peterson September 2025 A summary of new legislation from the 104th General Assembly that may impact your area of practice. 
Real Estate Information Providers – Liability By R. Kymn Harp June 2025 The article discusses how real estate professionals may hold third-party information providers liable for negligent misrepresentation if faulty information causes financial loss. Under Illinois law, such claims are limited by the Moorman Doctrine, which bars recovery for purely economic loss—unless the provider is a “pure information provider.” Liability depends on the provider’s role, the nature of their work, and whether they had a duty to provide accurate information.
Real Estate Lawyers Attend the Annual Meeting in Lincolnshire June 2025 Key moments featuring the Association’s Real Estate Law Section members at the 2025 Annual Meeting held in Lincolnshire on June 5–6.
Resource Corner By Nancy M. Handegan November 2025 A quick look at some guidance the Farm Service Agency has provided, which can serve as a valuable resource in your practice. 
Rural Illinois Data Center Boom: Landowners, Are You Ready? By Ruth Robinson June 2025 Tech companies, including Meta, are pressing into unexpected parts of the country, on the hunt for huge swaths of flat land that have access to natural gas and transmission lines. Sleepy parts of Illinois, with large tracts of farmland that have nearby infrastructure to support the huge electricity demand that data centers require, are being shopped right now. The boom is on.
Save the Date: All About Real Estate Transactions on April 29 February 2025 Mark your calendars to attend our Real Estate Section’s webinar on April 29! 
SEC v. Equity Build, Inc., et al. and Public Act 104-0101: Bad Case and Good Law By Joseph W. Rogul October 2025 A case summary of SEC v. Equity Build, Inc., its impact on representing sellers in real estate transactions, and a look forward at new Illinois legislation that hopefully extinguishes the stain of bad caselaw. 
Some IRS Changes for 2025! January 2025 A brief list of new IRS changes of interest to ADR practitioners. 
The Sword of Damocles and Artificial Intelligence in Law By Donald Hyun Kiolbassa & Emily Holmes March 2025 A discussion of the Sword of Damocles story to draw a lesson—artificial intelligence should be used only as an augmentation of the attorney. The attorney needs to have a metaphorical sword over their head.
Tax Deed Proceedings Challenged By Craig R. Hedin November 2025 A look at the case Integrity Investment et al. v. Illinois Attorney General et al. and how the future of tax deed proceedings may be changed based on this litigation. 
Tax Increment Financing: A Valuable Development Tool – Illinois By R. Kymn Harp May 2025 Tax Increment Financing (TIF) is a public funding tool used to revitalize blighted or aging areas by reimbursing developers for certain costs using the increased property tax revenue their projects generate. It helps make otherwise unfeasible projects viable without diverting existing tax funds. TIF districts last up to 23 years (extendable to 35), and funding is only approved if the project wouldn’t happen without it (applying the “but for” test). It’s widely used to promote economic development and eliminate commercial blight.
Tech Tip June 2025 Tired of receiving emails you don’t want? Instead of simply hitting delete, take an extra five seconds to unsubscribe.
TIP April 2025 A tip for practitioners on using Adobe Acrobat Reader’s Find Text or Tool function.
Tower of Babel: Trump Tariff Impact on the Illinois Real Estate Attorney By Donald Hyun Kiolbassa & Emily Holmes May 2025 The article argues that globalization is collapsing, largely due to rising tariffs and nationalist policies, especially in the U.S. This shift will have significant economic impacts, including a potential resurgence of domestic manufacturing in the Midwest. For Illinois real estate attorneys, this presents a major opportunity, particularly with the growth of data centers and energy infrastructure needed to support the rise of Agentic AI—a new phase of artificial intelligence that operates with minimal human input. The authors urge real estate professionals to focus on emerging markets outside of Chicago, as smaller towns may benefit most from these developments.
Well Security Requirements Amended By Craig R. Hedin August 2025 Senate Bill 2463 was amended and subsequently the bill passed in the Senate on April 10, 2025, and passed in the House on May 22, 2025. The bill amends the amounts required for security and the right to provide cash security.
Will There Be a Legislative Response to the Illinois Supreme Court’s Decision Addressing Riparian Rights Along Non-Navigable Streams? By John H. Henderson July 2025 This article provides an update on the fate of HB1568 and discusses a very similar bill introduced in the current legislative session.