NILES, Ill. — A Sidney native has been honored by real estate educators in Illinois.

The Association of Illinois Real Estate Educators (AIREE) honored Kreg Allison, director of the Division of Real Estate (DRE) for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), with a special achievement award in recognition of his commitment to innovation and modernization.

“Consumers and licensees are seeing direct benefits from the positive changes made by Director Allison such as new online licensing services, substantial process improvements, and more knowledgeable staff who communicate effectively with individuals and industry groups,” said Larry Toban, vice president of the Association of Illinois Real Estate Educators.

During Director Allison’s tenure with Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, the Division of Real Estate has successfully reduced license application processing times, eliminated unnecessary regulations, and improved overall operating efficiencies.

“I appreciate the recognition of the hard work that my team and I have done and are doing to make the regulation of real estate professions in Illinois effective and efficient,” said Allison.

Allison’s leadership was critical on House Bill 3528 in 2017 and House Bill 5210 in 2018, these bills were major overhauls of Illinois law related to license education and the regulation of real estate professions.

House Bill 3528 radically changed what license education for real estate brokerage can be and how it is provided in Illinois, including allowing a wider offering of courses, the elimination of proctored exams for most courses, the revision of the core curriculum for the first time in a generation, and red tape reduction for education providers.

“The Division of Real Estate values high quality, relevant education for licensees. The Association of Illinois Real Estate Educators is a good partner to make sure that such education exists in Illinois,” said Director Allison.

House Bill 3528 modernized the regulation of real estate brokerage, specifically eliminating the need for every office of a firm to be licensed. And a substantially improved process for Continuing Education (CE) for auctioneers, home inspectors and real estate appraisers was approved and placed into law.

The award was presented to Director Allison at the Association of Illinois Real Estate Educators’ Instructor Trainer Conference in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. The Association of Illinois Real Estate Educators is a non-profit organization made up of individuals concerned with real estate education, training, and research in Illinois.

As the director of the DRE, Allison serves as the head regulator for the real estate industry in Illinois, overseeing professional education, licensure, regulation and discipline for nearly 100,000 licensees working in six real estate related professions. He also manages a large government agency with approximately 40 employees operating out of offices in Chicago, Des Plaines and Springfield with a budget of over $8 million.

Allison, a cancer survivor, grew up in Sidney, Ohio, and now lives in the River North neighborhood of Chicago.