Illinois REALTORS® including FPC Ed Neaves meet with U.S. Rep Adam Kinzinger outside his Washington, D.C., office during Capitol Hill visits in May 2015.

The National Association of REALTORS® has published an article on the the REALTOR® Action Center website which outlines work Illinois REALTORS® are doing to educate policymakers at the local, state and federal levels.

The article notes each of the state’s 18 U.S. representatives and two U.S. senators has a Illinois REALTOR® assigned to them, called a Federal Political Coordinator. And those FPCs, as they are called, have teams of REALTORS® who help them provide feedback to lawmakers.

At the federal level, this guarantees issues of interest to REALTORS® get noticed. Said Illinois REALTORS® President Mike Drews:

“Through collective efforts of the team,” he says, “the issues are consistently in front of the member of Congress.  Our elected representatives need to know all of the different aspects of our industry and the marketplace of his or her district; that broad-based information can only be shared through a knowledgeable and diverse team of professionals.”

Some 150 Illinois REALTORS® are involved in the FPC effort. FPC Ed Neaves noted:

“Many Congressional districts can cover large amounts of territory. Having a team that represents not just different specialties, but different areas of the district is paramount to delivering a well-rounded message.”

FPCs will be heading to Washington, D.C., next month to meet with lawmakers as part of NAR’s Midyear meetings.