Public Education & Organizing
Our members make us powerful.
We build awareness and activate change by sharing information and real-life stories with policymakers, nonprofit service providers, and the media. We keep our members and allies informed about the latest developments in housing policy, organize issue-specific working groups, meet with legislators, take the pulse of communities during our outreach caravan, and host an annual Housing Matters Conference where advocates and practitioners share their knowledge and expertise.
Our Priority Issues
Housing Action Illinois works to educate and organize around a broad range of issues aligned with our core mission of creating an Illinois where everyone has a good, affordable place to call home. Our primary issues include:
Louder Together: Multi-Sector Partnerships
To truly change our affordable housing ecosystem for the better, we need to bring together not just housing advocates but also people, organizations, and interest groups from beyond the housing field. This is why Housing Action Illinois has joined the national Opportunity Starts at Home campaign, a project of our allies at the National Low Income Housing Coalition, and why we are working with advocates in pediatric health care, refugee resettlement, and the disability rights sector to raise up affordable housing as an issue that matters to all of us.
Annual Conference
During our annual conference, we build the expertise, experience, and capacity to make our communities better.
Caravan
We visit with members, host regional gatherings, and take the pulse of housing issues in rural, suburban, and urban Illinois.
Publications
Housing Action Illinois publishes research and analysis on issues related to affordable housing, as well as educational materials.
Latest News
Housing Wage in Illinois Now More than $30
For Immediate Release: July 23, 2026Contact: Kristin Ginger, Director of Communications & Development, Housing Action Illinois, kristin@housingactionil.org or 312-854-3333 CHICAGO, IL – Full-time workers need to earn $30.36 per hour to afford a modest, two-bedroom...
Deepening the Foundations of Community: Spotlight on Far South CDC
“If anyone comes to Far South and they say ‘I need help with housing’, they’re going to get service somehow, some way,” Director of Housing Services Cornelius Sams, Sr. says. “We don’t deny anyone that uses the word housing, because it's foundational to...
HUD Changes Could Push More than 5,000 Illinoisans Back Into Homelessness
For Immediate Release: June 26, 2026Contact: Kristin Ginger, Director of Communications & Development, Housing Action Illinois, kristin@housingactionil.org or 312-854-3333 CHICAGO, IL – A new analysis from the National Alliance to End Homelessness finds that 5,105...