Housing Action is excited to celebrate two key wins from the 2022 lame duck Illinois General Assembly session:
Increased Funding for the Rental Housing Support Program
House Bill 3878 increases the fee on the recordation of real estate documents from $10 to $20 to double the program’s funding. This rental subsidy program serves about 2,400 extremely low-income household throughout the state and will be able to serve more people, and more parts of the state, with additional funding.
Passing this took more than four years of advocacy; thank you to everyone who submitted proponent witness slips, the Chicago Low Income Housing Trust Fund for leading the effort, and chief sponsors Rep. Curtis Tarver and Sen. Cristina Pacione-Zayas.
Allocation of $75 Million in Federal Funds for Housing in Illinois
As part of House Bill 969, a supplemental appropriations bill, the General Assembly reallocated some of Illinois’ American Rescue Plan Act (APRA) state fiscal recovery fund dollars, including more than $75 million for issues we and others work on:
- $40 million to support the development of new permanent supportive housing and emergency shelters
- $20 million for IHDA’s Opening Doors homebuyer program
- $7.24 million to support employee recruitment and retention for state-funded supportive housing and homeless service providers
- $5 million for the Here to Stay Community Land Trust, which provides permanent affordable homeownership opportunities in Chicago’s Logan Square, Avondale and Hermosa communities
- $3 million for state designated cultural districts, including the affordable housing preservation and resident anti-displacement components
Representative Will Guzzardi championed the effort to secure these funds, working with many other legislators including Representative Lindsey LaPointe, Senator Cristina Pacione-Zayas and Senator Ann Gillespie.
In total, the State of Illinois has now committed more than $339 million in ARPA state fiscal recovery funds to create affordable housing and end homelessness.
Learn about our policy priorities going forward by reading our 2023 Policy Agenda »