2026 Housing Matters Program

Ownership or Rip-Off? Promised a Home, Delivered a Trap

Speakers: Blake Mitchell, HOPE Fair Housing Center; Katie Liss, Prairie State Legal Aid; Kate Walz, Housing Action Illinois

Fair housing groups are noticing a growing use of predatory Bond for Deed, or “rent-to-own,” schemes targeting East St. Louis and other disinvested communities across Illinois. Learn how these deals work, why they strip wealth instead of building it, and how to identify warning signs. Panelists will share strategies to help families exit harmful contracts, investigate legal violations, and educate communities. Attendees will also explore emerging advocacy and policy solutions to stop these practices and restore fair, sustainable pathways to homeownership.

The State of Fair Housing in Illinois

Speakers: Dominic Voz, Open Communities; Michael Chavarria, HOPE Fair Housing Center; Emily Coffey, Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights

Take a deep dive into the evolving future of fair housing in Illinois. Attendees will learn about the history of the fair housing movement, the mechanisms that have sustained fair housing enforcement and recent efforts to weaken or dismantle them, and the growth of state and local fair housing law and enforcement infrastructure. Panelists will then examine the current existential challenges facing fair housing and share strategies for taking action in your community.

Increasing Housing Supply: How We Keep Making Progress

Speakers: Ben Wolfenstein, YIMBY Illinois; Martin Cozzola, Impact for Equity; Ryan Gruenenfelder, AARP; Bob Palmer, Housing Action Illinois

Expanding the overall supply of housing is a crucial strategy to increasing housing affordability and improving the lives of individuals and families. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act becoming federal law is a sign of growing bipartisan awareness of this. However, discussions about housing supply are often challenged by competing priorities, such as prioritizing local zoning control and protecting the interests of current residents. In this session, attendees will learn how to navigate and responsibly respond to these issues with guidance from speakers who are advocating in support of increased housing supply across the state and in their local communities.

Mapping Illinois Housing Challenges: Using Data and Typologies to Inform Policy and Investment

Speakers: Geoff Smith, Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University; Emily Bloom-Carlin, Metropolitan Planning Council

Explore emerging research on how housing challenges vary across Illinois while gaining practical tools to assess local housing needs, apply data-driven solutions, and learn from peer communities to identify proven strategies and avoid common pitfalls. Drawing on a new statewide typology and data analysis effort, panelists will discuss how localized insights can inform more effective policy, investment, and housing strategies, as well as how practitioners can leverage data to address supply constraints in diverse markets.

In Conversation: Illinois Housing Counseling Coalition

Facilitator: James Miller, Housing Action Illinois

Join us for a meeting of the Illinois Housing Counseling Coalition (IHCC), a statewide network of housing counseling agencies dedicated to strengthening housing counseling services and advancing sustainable, equitable housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income households. Facilitated by Housing Action, the coalition is open to all Illinois housing counseling agencies. This interactive session will provide an opportunity to reflect on the IHCC’s activities over the past year, discuss current priorities, and help shape future initiatives and advocacy efforts to better support housing counseling agencies across Illinois.

Helping Others Without Losing Yourself: Burnout Prevention for Housing Counselors

Speaker: Julie Chavez, TJ Group

Housing counselors play a critical role in supporting families through foreclosure, eviction, and financial hardship—often facing high stress and burnout. Through interactive exercises, attendees will learn practical tools to recognize burnout, build resilience, and maintain effectiveness without sacrificing well-being. Join us to practice actionable techniques and build confidence in setting boundaries, managing caseload stress, and sustaining long-term client support.

Navigating Federal Changes in Housing Counseling

Speakers: Sandy Deters, ERBA; Marilda Eadie, ERBA; Liz Werning, Lake County Housing Authority; Julie Rice, HUD

Stay informed about the latest federal updates affecting housing counseling services and recent changes to major federal housing loan and assistance programs, including Family Self-Sufficiency, FHA, VA, USDA, and Public Housing Authority (PHA) programs. Geared towards housing counselors, program managers, and other housing professionals, this session will share how federal program updates, policy shifts, and changes in eligibility criteria will impact homebuyers, homeowners, renters, and housing counselors. Attendees will gain practical insights and tools to adapt to evolving federal regulations while continuing to support clients and provide accurate, up-to-date counseling.

Beyond HUD: Diversifying Funding Streams in Uncertain Times

Speaker: Sandy Deters, ERBA

As federal funding becomes increasingly restricted and uncertain, organizations must rethink how they sustain and grow their critical services. Join us for real-world examples and hands-on exercises that explore how participants can align their programs with alternative funding opportunities—including health systems, financial institutions, local governments, philanthropy, and fee-for-service models—while maintaining mission integrity and client accessibility. By reviewing practical, actionable strategies and cross-sector opportunities, attendees will leave with a clearer roadmap to stabilize and expand their funding base.

Portfolio Health Initiative: Examining the Status of Affordable Housing in Illinois

Speakers: Maggie Cassidy, the Preservation Compact, Community Investment Corporation; Allison Clements, Illinois Housing Council; Rachel Weckbacher, Illinois Housing Council

Illinois Housing Council (IHC) and the Preservation Compact will present findings from the Portfolio Health Initiative, an effort to document the growing challenges facing the subsidized multifamily affordable housing industry in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. By exploring key risk factors, lessons learned, and emerging research on management practices and property performance, participants will learn proactive strategies, potential policy solutions, and practical tools to support long-term housing portfolio stability and preservation.

Land Banks: An Underutilized Resource

Speakers: Mike Davis, Central Illinois Land Bank Authority; Alexander Benishek, City of Mattoon; Eric Setter, Northern Illinois Land Bank Authority

The first land banks in Illinois were founded in 2012 to acquire, hold, and transfer land to help revitalize communities across the state. Nearly 15 years later, land banks are still not utilized to their full potential. Join land bank and government leaders from across the state to discuss how municipalities and nonprofit organizations use land banks to redevelop communities, explore the different challenges in serving urban and rural communities, and examine the resources and legislation that would make land banks even more effective partners.

Local Focus: Planning & Development in Champaign-Urbana

Speakers: Jim Roberts, Affordable Housing Developers/Consultants; Drew Martin, Hope Village; Rob Kowalski, City of Champaign

Session description to come. 

Champaign Community Development Tour

Speakers: Jim Roberts, Affordable Housing Developers/Consultants; Drew Martin, Hope Village; Rob Kowalski, City of Champaign

Join us for an insider’s look at two local developments: Bristol Place Residences and Hope Village. Designed around public streets, alleys, and a park, Bristol Place Residences is an affordable LIHTC neighborhood that includes single-family homes and a multifamily building for low-income seniors. Hope Village is a Permanent Supportive Housing development for people experiencing homelessness with medical needs, offering 30 tiny homes built around a community building. Participants will take a bus to explore both locations while hearing directly from developers and leaders about how these projects are helping strengthen and stabilize the Champaign-Urbana community.

Pre-registration is required for the tour. Sign up »

Lessons Learned: Collaborating on Homelessness Solutions in Peoria

Speaker: Nicole Morrow, City of Peoria

Hear from the City of Peoria about the successes of their Flexible Rent Spending Program, offered from 2024-2026. By screening clients who are typically not served through traditional funding sources (like Permanent Supportive Housing or Rapid Re-Housing), this program enhanced HMIS data, filled gaps for shelter move-ins, increased housing stability, prevented evictions during financial hardships, and improved health outcomes. Attendees will explore strategies to build collaborative relationships with your local government and find flexible funding alternatives to provide the programming your community needs.

* This session has been approved for CE (continuing education) credits for LCSW, LSW, LCPC, and LPC licenses; please sign in with a staff member at the session to make sure you get credit.

When the Math Doesn’t Work: Navigating Housing on SSI & Low Incomes

Speakers: Robert Gillespie, Helping Hands of Springfield; Elizabeth Barnes, Helping Hands of Springfield

As housing costs continue to rise, join this interactive session to gain practical strategies and peer-driven solutions to better support households facing extreme rent-to-income gaps. Participants will examine the structural challenges that make housing unaffordable, before engaging in a facilitated, large-group discussion to share strategies, programs, and barriers from their own work. Together, we will identify practical approaches and collective insights to better support individuals navigating housing instability in an increasingly difficult market.

* This session has been approved for CE (continuing education) credits for LCSW, LSW, LCPC, and LPC licenses; please sign in with a staff member at the session to make sure you get credit.

The HOME Illinois Plan: Looking Back at Accomplishments and Planning for the Future

Speakers: Eugenia Olsen, IDPH; Brenda O’Connell, IHDA; Michael Banghart, OPEH/HFS

September 2026 marks five years since Governor Pritzker signed an Executive Order creating the Illinois Office to Prevent and End Homelessness (OPEH), the Interagency Taskforce on Homelessness, and the Home Illinois Plan. Join OPEH staff to review successes to date and lessons learned from the first two Home Illinois Plans. Attendees will learn critical updates and policy priorities related to the new iteration of the Home Illinois Plan, which addresses ongoing challenges from the federal level regarding maintaining resources and benefits, as well as how the State will support local systems of care to continue making progress towards a world where homelessness only lives in history books.

* This session has been approved for CE (continuing education) credits for LCSW, LSW, LCPC, and LPC licenses; please sign in with a staff member at the session to make sure you get credit.

Responding to and Impacting the Uncertain Federal Landscape for Homeless Services

Speakers: Max Seeley, SHPA; Katie Spoden Eighan, Alliance to End Homelessness in Suburban Cook County; Bob Palmer, Housing Action Illinois

For at least the past year, the principles and programs that have provided the federal level foundation for state and local efforts to prevent and end homelessness have been under attack. Advocates, providers and others have been working together to counter the arguments against Housing First and keep the focus on the importance of creating more affordable housing, particularly permanent supportive housing, as the best long-term solution to ending homelessness in our society. At this session, we will discuss the latest on our collective advocacy efforts and provide an opportunity for providers to discuss how they are keeping a focus on serving people in need during times of stress and uncertainty.

Housing Action Corps: Building Capacity and Leadership

Speakers: Willie Heineke, Housing Action Illinois; Sherlina Chauhan, Alliance to End Homelessness in Suburban Cook County; Sarah Leys, City of Rockford

Since 2010, Housing Action Illinois has supported more than 400 AmeriCorps VISTA members and 100 organizations on countless projects across Illinois and nationwide through our Housing Action Corps. From launching new programs to growing volunteers and donors, Housing Action Corps members focus on year-long projects that help their host sites enhance their services, resources, and partnerships to meet community needs in new ways—all while providing professional development for the AmeriCorps members themselves. Hear from Housing Action Corps staff, host organizations, and alumni to learn how the AmeriCorps VISTA program can build your organization’s capacity while recruiting emerging leaders into the housing field.

Reframing Problems for Social Change

Speaker: Sara Cantor, Greater Good Studio

As changemakers, many of us struggle with the most complex issues of our time. Systems of oppression are not only entrenched but interconnected. And even as we work to solve problems on the daily, a paralyzing thought can creep in: are we even solving the right problem? This workshop will give you concrete tools for starting or restarting your projects in a more strategic, action-oriented, and equitable way. You will learn and practice methods for mapping root causes, writing positive goals, and centering the people most impacted in your learning, co-creation, and efforts towards institutional change.

From Pain Point to Partnership: Exploring Strategic Collaboration

Speaker: Caroline Manley, Forefront

Strategic partnerships can help nonprofits address persistent challenges, expand their capabilities, and increase their impact, but collaboration is not one-size-fits-all. This session will examine the spectrum of strategic partnerships—from informal alliances and shared services to deeper organizational integration—and discuss common catalysts, barriers, and conditions that help collaborations succeed. Leaders from Southside Together will share their firsthand experience with merging two organizations, including a candid discussion of the process and lessons learned, as well as the increased capacity and community impact since the merger. Participants will then learn a framework to identify an organizational challenge, consider the skills needed, and explore what type of partnerships could provide a solution. Alongside practical tools for collaboration, the session will also introduce free legal, financial management, research, and partnership services available to eligible Illinois nonprofits through the Nonprofit Resilience Hub.

The Responsible Innovation Blueprint: Aligning AI Adoption with Your Mission

Speaker: Steve Casey, Kindred Impact LLC

Join us as we walk through an 8-Week AI Governance Blueprint—a step-by-step toolkit to guide your organization from informal AI use to implementing a structured, mission-aligned policy. We’ll discuss a four-stage framework that ensures AI enhances efficiency while preserving the human-centered nature of programs provided by housing and homelessness organizations.