Baldermann Credits Public Pressure for Stalling State Housing ‘Build Plan’

New Lenox Village Board Meeting | June 8, 2026

Article Summary: Mayor Tim Baldermann used his June 8 report to the New Lenox Village Board to detail what he described as the defeat of a state housing measure he called the “build plan,” crediting grassroots engagement and warning the issue will return in the fall veto session.

Legislative Report Key Points:

• Baldermann said the state proposal failed to advance during the spring legislative session, attributing the outcome to public pressure he said New Lenox helped spark statewide.
• He said the village’s outreach videos were viewed nearly half a million times and that the effort was emulated by other Illinois towns.
• The mayor warned the measure could return in the veto session after the November elections and urged residents not to “let up.”
• Village Administrator Kurt Carroll said the Illinois Municipal League is adopting a similar advocacy posture going forward.

NEW LENOX — Mayor Tim Baldermann devoted much of his report to the New Lenox Village Board on Monday, June 8, 2026, to a state housing proposal he repeatedly called the “build plan,” telling trustees the measure failed to advance when the spring legislative session in Springfield ended.

Baldermann said the effort to oppose the proposal began locally, with Community Development Director Robin Ellis analyzing how it would affect New Lenox and the village then working to “spread that word” across the state. He said outreach videos produced by the village were viewed nearly half a million times and that the approach was copied by towns throughout Illinois. “This was not about defeating a political agenda,” Baldermann said. “This was about preserving our opportunity to do what’s best for our communities.”

The mayor said the state proposal had been broken into eight sections, and that supporters could not assemble enough votes even for five sections he characterized as less objectionable. He argued the measure would have eroded local control, pointing to what he said was language treating public hearings as a “nuisance.” Baldermann said municipal officials and their councils of government were excluded from the process, and that legislators ultimately told the governor’s office they could not support the plan.

Baldermann cautioned that the issue is likely to resurface. “This will come back after November elections,” he said, urging continued engagement: “We cannot let up.” He credited residents above all, saying the volume of phone calls and emails “made the difference.”

Village Administrator Kurt Carroll followed the mayor’s remarks, saying he had served on an Illinois Municipal League policy committee and that the league has adopted a more assertive advocacy model after seeing the local effort’s results. Carroll credited Ellis’s subject-matter expertise and a model the village assembled. Baldermann named several area state legislators he said had been responsive and helped push back on the plan; their names as rendered in the meeting recording are listed in the Editorial Flags for verification.

Carroll also thanked Community Engagement Director Beth Alderson and village departments for a successful concert in the Commons over the weekend, noting four more concerts are scheduled in August and one in September.