Two condos in River North list at $455,000. Same square footage, same view tier, same year of construction. One will cost the buyer roughly what the listing suggests. The other will hand them a $22,000 special assessment inside eighteen months and a monthly HOA that climbs faster than the CPI. The difference is not in either MLS sheet. It sits on page four of a document most buyers do not read until their attorney review window is already ticking.
That document is the Section 22.1 disclosure packet, and in 2026 it is the single most important piece of paper in a Chicago condo transaction. The reserve fund line inside it is the number that separates the two buildings above.
The clock that changed in 2023
Illinois used to give condo associations thirty days to produce a 22.1 packet. That is no longer true.
