FARM DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE

Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB4590

Select Language

×

The Illinois General Assembly offers the Google Translate™ service for visitor convenience. In no way should it be considered accurate as to the translation of any content herein.

Visitors of the Illinois General Assembly website are encouraged to use other translation services available on the internet.

The English language version is always the official and authoritative version of this website.

NOTE: To return to the original English language version, select the "Show Original" button on the Google Translate™ menu bar at the top of the window.

Choose Language

English

Afrikaans

Albanian

Arabic

Armenian

Azerbaijani

Basque

Bengali

Bosnian

Catalan

Croatian

Czech

Danish

Dutch

Esperanto

Estonian

Filipino

Finnish

French

Galician

Georgian

German

Greek

Gujarati

Haitian Creole

Hausa

Hawaiian

Hebrew

Hindi

Hungarian

Icelandic

Indonesian

Interlingua

Interlingue

Inuktitut

Irish

Italian

Japanese

Javanese

Kannada

Khmer

Korean

Latin

Latvian

Lithuanian

Luxembourgish

Macedonian

Malagasy

Malayalam

Maltese

Maori

Marathi

Myanmar

Nepali

Norwegian

Odia

Pashto

Punjabi

Romanian

Russian

Samoan

Sango

Sanskrit

Sardinian

Sindhi

Sinhala

Slovak

Slovenian

Somali

Southern Sotho

Spanish

Sundanese

Swahili

Swedish

Tamil

Telugu

Thai

Tigrinya

Tonga

Turkish

Ukrainian

Urdu

Vietnamese

Welsh

Xhosa

Yiddish

Yoruba

Zulu

Powered by
Translate

Close

Illinois General Assembly

Top Navigation Bar

Translate

Learn

Select General Assembly

Search the 104th General Assembly

Enter search terms for legislation, members, committees, or schedules.

ILGA.GOV

LEGISLATION & LAWS

Bills & Resolutions

Public Acts

Illinois Compiled Statutes

Illinois Constitution

Search Legislation

Glossary

Guide

Reports & Inquiry

Legislative Reports

Special Reports

FTP Site

Legislator Lookup

Capitol Complex Phone Numbers

Rules & Regulations

Illinois Register

Administrative Rules

Senate

Members

Schedules

Committees

Request for Remote Testimony

Journals

Transcripts

Rules

Audio/Video

FOIA Information

Senate Employment Opportunities

Media Guidelines

House

Members

Schedules

Committees

Submit testimony for House Committees

Journals

Transcripts

Rules

Audio/Video

FOIA Information

House Employment Opportunities

Log In

Mobile Top Bar

Search the 104th General Assembly

Enter keywords to search the Illinois General Assembly website.

Full Text of HB4590

Home

Legislation

Full Text

HB4590 - 104th General Assembly

Bill Status

Full Text

Votes

Witness Slips

Select Menu

Bill Status

Full Text

Votes

Witness Slips

Printer Friendly Version

Introduced

Printer Friendly Version

Introduced

Open PDF

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.
LRB104 17461 BDA 30887 b

A BILL FOR

HB4590
LRB104 17461 BDA 30887 b
1

AN ACT concerning State government.

2

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3
represented in the General Assembly:

4

Section 5.
The Department of Agriculture Law of the Civil
5
Administrative Code of Illinois is amended by adding Section
6
205-455 as follows:

7

(20 ILCS 205/205-455 new)
8

Sec. 205-455.
Illinois Down Payment Assistant Grant
9
Program.
10

(a) In this Section:
11

"Eligible applicant" means a natural person who:
12

(1) is a resident of Illinois;
13

(2) demonstrates knowledge of the type of farming the
14

eligible applicant intends to do on the farm;
15

(3) earns less than and is expected to earn less than
16

$250,000 annually in gross agricultural sales;
17

(4) has never owned a farm and whose spouse has never
18

owned a farm;
19

(5) is not applying for a grant under this Section or
20

rules adopted under this Section for the purchase of the
21

farm from a direct family member as defined in Section
22

267(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code;
23

(6) will provide the majority of labor and management

HB4590
- 2 -
LRB104 17461 BDA 30887 b
1

on the farm;
2

(7) will commercially farm the land for at least 5
3

years;
4

(8) is in good standing with the State of Illinois;
5

and
6

(9) has not been convicted of a crime related to a
7

State grant agreement.
8

"Eligible farm purchase" means a purchaser's first farm
9
that is purchased within the borders of the State of Illinois
10
and that is purchased within a designated timeframe, as
11
determined by the Department. "Eligible farm purchase"
12
includes farmland or other agricultural real estate, with
13
tillable acres, a hog barn, a commercial greenhouse, or other
14
similar agricultural real estate.
15

"Priority applicant" means an eligible applicant who:
16

(1) earns less than and is expected to earn less than
17

$100,000 annually in gross agricultural sales; or
18

(2) produces or plans to produce one or more of the
19

following crops:
20

(A) industrial hemp;
21

(B) cannabis; or
22

(C) fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried
23

fruits, and horticulture and nursery crops, including
24

floriculture, and other specialty crops as defined by
25

the Agricultural Marketing Service of the United
26

States Department of Agriculture.

HB4590
- 3 -
LRB104 17461 BDA 30887 b
1

2

(b) For the purposes of helping emerging farmers buy their
3
first farms, supporting farm succession, and increasing access
4
to land for new farmers, the Department shall adopt rules
5
establishing, implementing, and administering the Illinois
6
Down Payment Assistant Grant Program under this Section. The
7
Illinois Down Payment Assistant Grant Program shall offer up
8
to $20,000 grants for eligible applicants purchasing their
9
first farms that are eligible farm purchases. If more eligible
10
applicants apply than grants are available, then the
11
recipients shall be chosen with a random lottery process
12
determined by the Department, with priority given to priority
13
applicants.

Footer

Disclaimer

This site is maintained for the Illinois General Assembly by the
Legislative Information System, 705 Stratton Building, Springfield, Illinois 62706.

Contact ILGA Webmaster

ILGA.gov uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing to browse ILGA.gov you consent to our use of cookies.
Read About Cookies

ILGA.GOV

2026 ILGA.gov | All Rights Reserved |
ADA

|
Disclaimers
|
Learn

This site is maintained for the Illinois General Assembly by the
Legislative Information System, 705 Stratton Building, Springfield, Illinois 62706.
Contact ILGA Webmaster

ILGA.gov uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing to browse ILGA.gov you consent to our use of cookies.
Read About Cookies

ILGA.GOV

2026 ILGA.gov | All Rights Reserved |
ADA

|
Disclaimers
|
Learn