WNIJ-FM (DeKalb, Ill., Jan. 24) – Sales of existing homes in Illinois were down in December, but up overall in 2016. Geoffrey Hewings, a professor of economics and the director of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory at Illinois, says a lack of inventory kept home sales from going even higher. “People are not offering their homes for sale, they’re staying put. They want to see what’s going to happen," Hewings says.