Quinn announces $200 million milestone for home heroes ownership

Gov. Pat Quinn on Friday announced that a state program has helped more than 1,600 veterans and active military personnel buy a home, as the Welcome Home Heroes home ownership program reached a $200 million mark.

The governor’s office said that Quinn’s Illinois Jobs Now! construction program helped provide $20 million in assistance that went toward down payments and fixed-rate mortgages to former and current military families.

“Those of us on the home-front have a duty to protect those who have borne the battle,” Quinn said in a statement. “After they return from duty, we need to make sure our service members and their families can carry on with their lives and have a safe place to call home. That is what Welcome Home Heroes is all about.”

The program provide $10,000 down-payment assistance to those eligible as well as a 30-year fixed rate mortgage with an affordable interest rate and a mortgage tax credit that reduces the buyer’s federal income tax liability by up to $20,000 over the life of the loan.

The governor’s office said that since the program’s launch three years ago, 1,600 Illinois veterans, active military personnel, reservists and Illinois National Guard members have accessed more than $200 million to buy their homes.