Peter R. Dwars, born and raised in Indiana’s Calumet Region, who rose to become a major force in affordable housing for the people of Illinois, died Monday, July 1, two weeks shy of his 75^th birthday after a struggle with pancreatic cancer. His death was announced by his wife, Gail Beesen-Dwars, a real estate attorney he married in 1981.

During two stints totaling nine years as director of the Illinois Housing  Development Authority (IHDA), Dwars oversaw the creation and below-market rate financing of more than 125 developments across the state providing an estimated 30,000 units of housing for low- and moderate-income families, the elderly and physically challenged—many of them mixed-income developments incorporating federal subsidy programs such as Section 8 as well.

He also created a highly successful $800 million below-market rate mortgage program for first-time home-buyers, helping tens of thousands, and served as chairman of the Illinois Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

Working with legislators and rating agencies he created a $250 million Trust Fund Bond Leveraging Program, the first of its kind in the nation to finance the development of multifamily and single-family housing.

Chicago-based IHDA, created by the legislature in 1967, is an independent governmental authority rather than a line agency of state government. It receives no tax dollars but is financed by fees and interest derived from the sale of its own tax-free securities which are used to offer beneficial mortgage rates in public partnerships with both private and non-profit community-based developers creating affordable housing.

Dwars joined IHDA in 1972 after earning a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Loyola University of Chicago, serving in several marketing posts and heading the mortgage credit department before rising to deputy director in 1977 where he served 11 years before being named as director in 1988–a position he held until 1994. As deputy director he administered the first Section 8 housing developments in the nation. He left to serve three different private firms until 2000 when he returned to become executive director of IHDA again in 2000, where he stayed for just over three years, leading a staff that had grown to 200 persons and managing a portfolio of $1 billion.

He was noted for his innovative financing techniques in support of affordable housing and was recognized nationally as a leader on the board of the National Council of State Housing Agencies, where he was an officer.

“Peter was the absolute smartest real estate brain in Chicago for 20 or 30 years running,” said retired banker and real estate attorney John Glennon, who served five years as IHDA’s general counsel. “No one had his breadth and depth of expertise—no one…. He advised three governors over 30 years on housing finance and bonding authority matters,” Glennon said.

Dwars was born July 15, 1949 in Hammond, IN where his late father Roy Dwars taught elementary school. He received his Bachelors degree in Marketing and Economics in 1971 from Indiana University Bloomington and managed a Jewel Food Store before going for his MBA. One of his summer jobs was working at the steel mills where he saw a worker die on the job from dangerous working conditions, according to Ms. Beesen-Dwars.

In the interim between his two stints as IHDA director he served briefly as vice president of CS First Boston, and as vice president of Alex, Brown & Sons then in mid-1996 became vice president for Business Development with Jos. Cacciatore & Co./Hunter Alliance Corp. where he was responsible for coordinating the firm’s activities with state, county and local governments as well as for-profit and not-for-profit developers before returning to IHDA. During his IHDA tenure he was a member the Government Finance Officers Association and a board member of Chicago Local Initiative Support Corporation and the Chicago Housing Partnership.

After leaving that position in 2003 he became a business development officer at Alliant Asset Management Co. LLC, an investor in tax-advantaged real estate developments, where he stayed until retiring in 2014.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by his 101-year-old mother, Harriet Dwars; a sister, Sue Ann Dwars; a brother, Thomas Dwars and his, wife Barbara Dwars; plus, three nephews; two nieces; four great nieces; and a great nephew.

Funeral Services will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 9, 2024 at KISH FUNERAL HOME 10000 Calumet Ave. Munster, IN.  Visitation will be on Tuesday, at the funeral home from 1:00 p.m. until the 2:30 p.m. service.  Interment will be on Thursday at St. Peter’s Lutheran Cemetery Reedsburg, WI.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Peter’s name to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (www.pancan.org or 1-877-272-6226.)