HB4590 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 17461 BDA 30887 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB4590

Introduced 2/3/2026, by Rep. Sonya M. Harper, Sharon Chung and Katie Stuart

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

20 ILCS 205/205-455 new

Amends the Department of Agriculture Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Requires the Department of Agriculture to adopt rules establishing, implementing, and administering the Illinois Down Payment Assistant Grant Program to offer up to $20,000 grants for eligible applicants purchasing their first farms that are eligible farm purchases. Provides that, if more eligible applicants apply than grants are available, then the recipients shall be chosen with a random lottery process determined by the Department, with priority given to priority applicants. Defines terms.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning State government.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Department of Agriculture Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois is amended by adding Section 205-455 as follows:

(20 ILCS 205/205-455 new)

Sec. 205-455. Illinois Down Payment Assistant Grant Program.

(a) In this Section:

"Eligible applicant" means a natural person who:

(1) is a resident of Illinois;

(2) demonstrates knowledge of the type of farming the eligible applicant intends to do on the farm;

(3) earns less than and is expected to earn less than $250,000 annually in gross agricultural sales;

(4) has never owned a farm and whose spouse has never owned a farm;

(5) is not applying for a grant under this Section or rules adopted under this Section for the purchase of the farm from a direct family member as defined in Section 267(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code;

(6) will provide the majority of labor and management on the farm;

(7) will commercially farm the land for at least 5 years;

(8) is in good standing with the State of Illinois; and

(9) has not been convicted of a crime related to a State grant agreement.

"Eligible farm purchase" means a purchaser's first farm that is purchased within the borders of the State of Illinois and that is purchased within a designated timeframe, as determined by the Department. "Eligible farm purchase" includes farmland or other agricultural real estate, with tillable acres, a hog barn, a commercial greenhouse, or other similar agricultural real estate.

"Priority applicant" means an eligible applicant who:

(1) earns less than and is expected to earn less than $100,000 annually in gross agricultural sales; or

(2) produces or plans to produce one or more of the following crops:

(A) industrial hemp;

(B) cannabis; or

(C) fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, and horticulture and nursery crops, including floriculture, and other specialty crops as defined by the Agricultural Marketing Service of the United States Department of Agriculture.

(b) For the purposes of helping emerging farmers buy their first farms, supporting farm succession, and increasing access to land for new farmers, the Department shall adopt rules establishing, implementing, and administering the Illinois Down Payment Assistant Grant Program under this Section. The Illinois Down Payment Assistant Grant Program shall offer up to $20,000 grants for eligible applicants purchasing their first farms that are eligible farm purchases. If more eligible applicants apply than grants are available, then the recipients shall be chosen with a random lottery process determined by the Department, with priority given to priority applicants.