Rent continues to be much higher than what many can afford; families face elimination of rent assistance under proposed federal cuts

For Immediate Release: July 17, 2025
Contact: Kristin Ginger, Director of Communications & Development, Housing Action Illinois, kristin@housingactionil.org or 312-854-3333

CHICAGO, IL – A full-time worker in Illinois must earn $29.81 per hour to afford a modest, two-bedroom apartment–nearly double the state’s minimum wage of $15 per hour. This is Illinois’ 2025 Housing Wage according to Out of Reach, a report published jointly today by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) and Housing Action Illinois.

Released annually, the Out of Reach report documents the gulf between wages and what people need to earn to afford their rents. The Housing Wage is an estimate of the hourly wage full-time workers must earn to afford a rental home at HUD’s Fair Market Rent (FMR) without spending more than 30% of their incomes.
Additional findings for Illinois include:

• In the Chicago-Joliet-Naperville metro area, the Housing Wage is $33.87 (based on a 2-BR FMR of $1,761).
• The state’s highest Housing Wage is in the Kendall County metro area, at $36.27 (based on a 2-BR FMR of $1,886).
• The House Wage is more than $20 per hour in many metro areas of Illinois, including Bloomington-Normal, Champaign-Urbana, DeKalb, Grundy County, Kankakee County, Rockford, Springfield and the metro east area of St. Louis.
• Even in rural counties, the lowest the Housing Wage in Illinois is $16.73 (based on a 2-BR FMR of $870).
• For those of fixed incomes, the housing market is often much worse. For example, a SSI recipient can only afford to pay $290 per month in rent based on receiving $967 in monthly assistance.

Nationally, the 2025 Housing Wage for a two-bedroom apartment is $33.63 per hour.

Despite this affordability crisis, federal housing assistance is at risk. On Monday, July 14, House Republicans passed their HUD budget proposal for next year through a subcommittee. While not as drastic as the Trump administration’s proposed 44% overall budget cut for HUD, under the House proposal, inadequate funding still will potentially push nearly 415,000 low-income households across the country off of assistance or cause them to face eviction.

“The House Wage has increased compared to last year; rents keep increasing,” said Bob Palmer, Policy Director for Housing Action Illinois. “The budget that House Republicans passed earlier this week includes unjust and short-sighted deep cuts to public housing and the Housing Choice Voucher Program, as well as inadequate funding for Homeless Assistance Grants, which will result in people losing their assistance and getting evicted.”

Recipients of Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHVs) are particularly vulnerable to becoming homeless if they lose their assistance. EHVs, created in 2021, have provided life-saving housing for 59,000 households nationwide, including over 1,800 in Illinois. But the proposed federal budget includes no dedicated funding to continue the program, placing families back on the brink of homelessness.

Allison’s Story: Allison,* a mother of an 8-year-old, moved from shelter into stable housing with an EHV. The voucher gave her the stability to find a job and support her family. It provided her a way to secure a home with a kitchen to cook meals in, a room for her son to sleep in, and a place from which to work. Without the voucher Allison cannot afford the rent.

“It feels particularly cruel that people who got a voucher that ended their homelessness may now have that assistance stripped away. Congress must increase funding for rent assistance, so that shelters and other service providers have resources to assist individuals and families move from homelessness to being housed,” said Jennifer Hill, Executive Director of the Alliance to End Homelessness in Suburban Cook County. “The budget proposals we have seen so far will only increase evictions and homelessness, because so much of our work relies on being able to assist people to secure apartments in the private market.”

Stories like Allison’s illustrate the vital role of rental assistance in ending homelessness. Without continued federal funding, thousands of Illinois families face losing the homes that have helped them rebuild their lives.

*Allison is a pseudonym; her story was collected by a social services provider and submitted to the Alliance to End Homelessness in Suburban Cook County.

For additional information, and to download the report, visit: http://www.nlihc.org/oor

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About Housing Action Illinois

Housing Action is a statewide coalition that has been leading the movement to end homelessness, address the shortage of affordable rental housing, and expand homeownership opportunities in Illinois for more than 35 years. Our 190+ member organizations include housing counseling agencies, homeless service providers, developers of affordable housing, and policymakers. We bring everyone together to work toward our vision of an Illinois where everyone has a stable, good home.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 13, 2025

Housing Action Illinois Contact: Kristin Ginger, Director of Communications and Development, 312-854-3333 (office), kristin@housingactionil.org
CLCCRUL Contact: Zindy Marquez, Director of Communications, 312.202.3657 (office), zmarquez@clccrul.org

CHICAGO, IL – Today, the Community Safety Through Stable Homes Coalition released a critical report titled “The Discriminatory Enforcement of Illinois’ Crime-Free and Nuisance Property Ordinances” describing the harms that Crime-Free and Nuisance Property Ordinances (CFNOs) cause. CFNOs are local laws that force or pressure landlords to evict tenants based on 911 calls or alleged “nuisance” activity, even without evidence, charges, arrests, or convictions. The report highlights the urgent need to enact stronger statewide protections for groups most at risk from the enforcement of CFNOs. The Illinois General Assembly is considering the Community Safety Through Stable Homes Act (SB 2264), which would protect tenants’ right to call for emergency services, protect families from eviction, and ensure due process for renters. This bill is an important step to safeguard civil rights at the state level as civil rights protections and enforcement are being gutted nationwide.

The authors of this report are members of the Community Safety Through Stable Homes Coalition, a group of grassroots, fair housing, victim service, and legal aid organizations from across the state that are seeking to finally end the harmful enforcement of CFNOs.

“Crime-free housing ordinances do not create safe communities – instead, they punish renters for calling for emergency services and destabilize families,” said Jacob Cantor, Legal Fellow with Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights. “These ordinances violate civil rights and other state laws and there is no evidence that they reduce crime. Illinois must pass SB 2264 to ensure people are protected from unfair enforcement and that families can get the help they need without the fear of losing their home.”

Some key findings from the report include:

• CFNOs punish renters for calling 911 for help, whether they need the police or emergency medical services. This puts survivors of domestic and sexual violence, as well as people with disabilities, at risk.
• CFNOs are often triggered solely by arrest or other contact with law enforcement without any convictions or proof of wrongdoing, which disproportionately harms renters of color who are more likely to be arrested or interact with the police.
• The fear of eviction caused by CFNOs discourage renters from calling the police or emergency services, making communities less safe.
• For the above reasons, the enforcement of CFNOs across Illinois violates state and federal civil rights laws including the Illinois Human Rights Act, the Fair Housing Act, and the Violence Against Woman Act.

In Illinois, 57% of municipalities with a population over 20,000 have a CFNO. These ordinances are often passed and implemented when there are actual or perceived changes in racial demographics. This trend means that diversifying communities across the state are at risk of increased enforcement from these ordinances.

“No one should have to choose between calling 911 for help and keeping their home,” said Dominic Voz, Director of Fair Housing at Open Communities. “Crime-free housing ordinances put survivors of violence and other vulnerable renters at risk by making them afraid to seek emergency assistance. It’s time for Illinois to pass additional protections for renters to stop the harmful enforcement of these ordinances.”

The Community Safety Through Stable Homes Coalition is urging Illinois lawmakers to pass SB 2264, the Community Safety Through Stable Homes Act. Every renter deserves the right to call for help without the fear of losing their home. This legislation is a crucial step toward ensuring housing stability, protecting civil rights, and making communities safer for all.

Read the full report here.

Read the one-pager here.

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Housing Action Illinois: Housing Action is a statewide coalition that has been leading the movement to end homelessness, address the shortage of affordable rental housing, and expand homeownership opportunities in Illinois for more than 35 years. Our 190+ member organizations include housing counseling agencies, homeless service providers, developers of affordable housing, and policymakers. We bring everyone together to work toward our vision of an Illinois where everyone has a stable, good home.

Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights: Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights is a non-partisan, non-profit group of civil rights lawyers and advocates working to secure racial equity and economic opportunity for all. We provide legal representation through partnerships with the private bar, and we collaborate with grassroots organizations and other advocacy groups to implement community-based solutions that advance civil rights. For more information, visit www.clccrul.org or call (312) 630-9744.

For Immediate Release: March 13, 2025
Contact: Kristin Ginger, Director of Communications & Development, Housing Action Illinois, kristin@housingactionil.org or 312-854-3333

CHICAGO, IL – A new report by Housing Action Illinois and the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes, finds that there are only 34 affordable and available rental homes for every 100 extremely low-income renter households in Illinois.

The report finds that 442,902 extremely low-income renter households live in Illinois, but only 149,135 affordable rental homes are available to them–leaving a staggering shortage of 293,767 affordable rental homes. To meet this need, we would need two more affordable, available rental homes for every one that is currently available.

The picture is even worse in the Chicago metro area, where only 28 affordable and available homes exist per every 100 extremely low-income renters. Nationwide, the gap stands at 7.1 million homes.

“The budget legislation for the rest of the fiscal year that recently passed the House does not provide enough funding to support all the existing Housing Choice Vouchers and is bad overall for federal programs that end homelessness and create affordable housing,” said Bob Palmer, Policy Director of Housing Action Illinois. “Seventy-five percent (75%) of Illinois’ lowest-income renters spend more than half their income on housing, with little left over for necessities like food and healthcare. We need more investments in housing, not cuts, to prevent additional families from facing homelessness.”

Even for those with a slightly larger household budget, there are not nearly enough options available; in Illinois, there are only 64 affordable and available rental homes for every 100 households in Illinois at 50% or below the Area Median Income (AMI). 

The private market alone cannot provide an adequate supply of housing affordable, especially for the lowest-income renters. Investments are needed to produce new affordable housing, preserve existing affordable housing, and subsidize the difference between what the lowest-income renters can afford to pay and market rents. 

Gutting HUD’s vital programs will only worsen the systemic shortage of affordable housing, leaving more Illinois families without a safe, stable place to call home.

Released annually, The Gap investigates the affordability and availability of rental homes for households of different income levels nationwide and in every state and major metropolitan area. For the full report, visit: https://nlihc.org/gap

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About Housing Action Illinois

Housing Action is a statewide coalition that has been leading the movement to end homelessness, address the shortage of affordable rental housing, and expand homeownership opportunities in Illinois for more than 35 years. Our 190+ member organizations include housing counseling agencies, homeless service providers, developers of affordable housing, and policymakers. We bring everyone together to work toward our vision of an Illinois where everyone has a stable, good home.

After two years of significant budget increases, the proposed FY26 budget reduces existing funding

For immediate release: February 19, 2025
Contact: Kristin Ginger, Manager of Communications & Development, Housing Action Illinois, kristin@housingactionil.org or 312-854-3333

This statement is on behalf of Housing Action Illinois and the Illinois Shelter Alliance.

Governor Pritzker’s fiscal year 2026 budget proposal, announced today, includes $282.7 million for the HOME Illinois line item, a 2.6% percent reduction compared to the current year funding of $290.3 million.

The proposal also allocates $72.4 million in additional funding for these programs: Emergency and Transitional Housing, Homelessness Prevention, Homeless Youth, and Supportive Housing. These are flat-funded compared to the current year budget. The HOME Illinois line item provides additional funding for the programs listed above, as well as many other programs, such as court-based rent assistance, shelter diversion, and rapid rehousing.

Governor Pritzker and the General Assembly have made significant new investments over the last two years to support the HOME Illinois plan, which reversed a long history of state budgets with no or only very minimal budget increases from year to year.

Unfortunately, the proposed FY26 budget does not build on that progress; instead, it has a decrease. We understand the State of Illinois’ budget challenges and we appreciate efforts by the governor’s office and state agencies to use existing resources as effectively as possible by increasing some specific uses for HOME Illinois while decreasing others.

However, it is critical to continue increasing overall funding each year, particularly for emergency shelters, which serve people with absolutely no place else to go. It will take many years of consistent, significant investments to meet the plan’s goals of reaching functional zero homelessness, where instances of people not having a home are rare and brief.

All HOME Illinois programs, including funds that go to homeless shelters, rely on a strong network of nonprofit agencies around the state to implement the programs working with people in crisis. In addition to the benefits to the families and individuals being served, these agencies provide jobs and contribute to Illinois’ economy.

The State’s two-year HOME Illinois plan, released near the end of 2024, estimated a shelter bed deficit of 5,379 beds statewide, based on 10,044 being available. There is also a deficit of 10,972 permanent supportive housing units and other rental housing necessary to end homelessness.

Based on the shortage of shelter beds, more than 5,000 people at a time—many of them children—will continue to struggle for daily survival. As the Illinois Shelter Alliance and 250+ organizational partners stated in our December 23 letter to Governor Pritzker requesting a $100 million budget increase for HOME Illinois, including $40 million for shelter: every shelter bed that does not exist represents a person, often a child, who has literally no place to call home.

The lack of emergency shelter often forces people to live outside, in a car and/or a place where their physical safety and life is at risk. For the most vulnerable, including people who are victims of domestic violence and people with mental illness, having access to emergency shelter makes the difference between life and death.

Last year, the Illinois Department of Public Health completed a five-year Homeless Morbidity and Mortality Report. Based on the findings, the average life expectancy for someone experiencing homelessness is nearly 20 years less than someone not experiencing homelessness. In addition, people experiencing homelessness had $16 billion in emergency medical costs over five years.

We support the Governor’s focus on fiscal responsibility. However, under-funding shelter and housing is shortsighted and ultimately results in higher healthcare spending.

We urge the Governor and legislature to address this imbalance by funding additional shelter and affordable rental housing, including permanent supportive housing, in the final fiscal year 2026 budget.

The vast majority of the state budget supports basic human needs, like K-12 public education, and the proposed state budget rightly included funding increases for certain high priorities. We also ask Governor Pritzker and the General Assembly to ensure that the State of Illinois also has adequate revenue to keep making progress towards meeting all our high priorities, including making sure everyone has access to shelter if they need it, as well as an affordable place to call home.

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About Housing Action Illinois

Housing Action is a statewide coalition that has been leading the movement to end homelessness, address the shortage of affordable rental housing, and expand homeownership opportunities in Illinois for more than 35 years. Our 180+ member organizations include housing counseling agencies, homeless service providers, developers of affordable housing, and policymakers. We bring everyone together to work toward our vision of an Illinois where everyone has a stable, good home.

About Illinois Shelter Alliance

The Illinois Shelter Alliance, formed in 2022, is a coalition of 68 emergency shelter and transitional housing agencies, as well as their allies, who believe housing and shelter are human rights. We are working together to ensure that our communities meet this basic human need for everyone. For more information, please contact: Doug Kenshol, Co-Founder of the Illinois Shelter Alliance and Executive Director of South Suburban PADS, at dkenshol@sspads.org or 708-704-0143 (cell).

Overall state Housing Wage is $28.81, and many Illinois renters must earn more than $30 per hour to afford rent for a modest two-bedroom apartment

For immediate release: June 27, 2024
Contact: Kristin Ginger, Manager of Communications & Development, Housing Action Illinois, kristin@housingactionil.org or 312-854-3333

CHICAGO, IL – To afford a modest, two-bedroom apartment at fair market rent in Illinois, full-time workers need to earn $28.81 per hour. This is Illinois’ 2024 Housing Wage according to Out of Reach, a report published jointly today by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) and Housing Action Illinois.

In many areas, including Chicago and the collar counties, as well as in the Kendall County metro area, the Housing Wage is now well above $30.

Released annually, the Out of Reach report calls attention to the gulf between wages and what people need to earn to afford their rents. The report shows that affordable rental homes are out of reach for millions of low-wage workers and other families. The report’s “Housing Wage” is an estimate of the hourly wage full-time workers must earn to afford a rental home at fair market rent without spending more than 30% of their incomes.

Other key findings from the report include:

• In the Chicago-Joliet-Naperville metro area, the Housing Wage climbs to $32.96.
• The highest Housing Wage in Illinois is in the Kendall County metro area, where it reaches $33.48.
• Even in more affordable counties, the lowest the Housing Wage in Illinois is $15.52.
• Based on the state housing wage, a person earning the state minimum wage must have 1.8 full-time job(s) or work 71 hours per week to afford a modest one-bedroom apartment.
• Based on the state housing wage, a person earning the state minimum wage must have 2.1 full-time job(s) or work 82 hours per week to afford a two-bedroom apartment.

Nationally, the 2024 Housing Wage is $32.11 per hour for a modest two-bedroom rental home and $26.74 for a modest one-bedroom rental home.

With the cost of rent growing further out of reach for those with the lowest incomes and absent an adequate housing safety net, it is no surprise that homelessness has been on the rise. Even in Illinois, where the state has invested significant resources in preventing and ending homelessness, a growing population has no place to call home.

“During the past two years, Illinois has done a great deal at the state level to invest in preventing and ending homelessness by allocating significant new state funding to eviction prevention, shelter, and rapid rehousing programs,” says Housing Action Illinois Policy Director Bob Palmer. “But we need a much higher level of federal investment to increase permanent housing solutions, such as Housing Choice Vouchers, public housing, and supportive housing to end homelessness. Unfortunately, the budget proposal just released by House Republicans reduces funding.”

The House Republican budget proposal for next fiscal year, released on June 26, would fund HUD at $73.2 billion – $2.3 billion, or about 3%, less than the current year’s funding level. An example of the impact on specific programs is that the budget proposal includes no funding for new Housing Choice Vouchers, rejecting President Biden’s proposal for $241 million in funding for new vouchers. The House Republican proposal also makes significant cuts to public housing and many other programs.

In contrast, a proposal that would increase housing affordability is the bipartisan Family Stability and Opportunity Vouchers Act of 2023, which would create 250,000 new housing vouchers targeted to low-income families with young children and provide mobility counseling services to help families find housing options in the neighborhoods of their choice.

“I have had to move three times in the last two years. Working full-time plus a side gig [job] just doesn’t cut it,” says Amanda H., who is on the Leadership Team of the Collaborative on Child Homelessness – IL with the Illinois Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. “The worry of being able to provide stable housing is beginning to trickle down to my two young children who now are beginning to not only see but feel the effects of the lack of true affordable housing. My children are experiencing anxiety from being uprooted multiple times from their home, neighborhoods, doctors, and schools.”

For additional information, and to download the report, visit: http://www.nlihc.org/oor

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About Housing Action Illinois

Housing Action is a statewide coalition that has been leading the movement to end homelessness, address the shortage of affordable rental housing, and expand homeownership opportunities in Illinois for more than 35 years. Our 180+ member organizations include housing counseling agencies, homeless service providers, developers of affordable housing, and policymakers. We bring everyone together to work toward our vision of an Illinois where everyone has a stable, good home.

For immediate release: March 14, 2024
Contact: Bob Palmer, Policy Director, Housing Action Illinois at 312-282-3959 or bob@housingactionil.org

CHICAGO, IL – A new report by Housing Action Illinois and the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes, finds that 451,737 extremely low-income renter households live in Illinois, but only 162,318 affordable rental homes are available to them, resulting in a shortage of 289,419 affordable rental homes for those with the lowest incomes.

In other words, there are only 36 affordable and available rental homes for every 100 extremely low-income renter households in the state.

For Housing Action Illinois, NLIHC also tabulated the shortage of affordable and available rental homes in Chicago. 

Chicago has a shortage of 126,165 affordable rental homes for those with the lowest incomes and only 32 affordable and available rental homes for every 100 extremely low-income renter households. Chicago has a population of 185,155 extremely low-income renter households, but only 58,990 affordable and available rental homes for people at this income level.

Housing Action Illinois is an endorser of the Bring Chicago Home campaign and believes that these data provide more evidence as to why voters should support restructuring Chicago’s Real Estate Transfer Tax (RETT), a one-time tax on properties when they are sold to create a substantial and legally dedicated revenue stream to provide permanent affordable housing for people experiencing homelessness.

“The funding created by voting yes on Ballot Question 1 in support of the Bring Chicago Home campaign will develop more rental homes that will end the homelessness of thousands of families across Chicago,” said Bob Palmer, Policy Director for Housing Action Illinois.

In the Chicago area, an extremely low-income household has an annual income of or below $33,100 for a family of four. For a single person, the annual income threshold to be considered extremely low income is $23,200 or less.

As in past reports, the data show that about three-quarters of all extremely low-income renters statewide, 74%, are severely cost-burdened, paying more than 50% of their income for housing. Severely-cost burdened renters are at risk of homelessness if they lose income, experience a rent increase, and/or have some other sort of economic crisis. In Chicago, the percentage is about the same (76%).

“The data and the moral imperative are clear: Bring Chicago Home is urgent and long overdue. Our city cannot allow this gap to grow or allow any more families to slip through the cracks due to lack of affordable housing,” said Vaughn Roland, Bring Chicago Home Political Director. ”A dedicated funding stream to address the needs of nearly 70,000 homeless neighbors will allow us to close this gap, as permanent housing is this campaign’s goal. The time is now.”

Learn more about The Gap by visiting: https://nlihc.org/gap. Learn more about Bring Chicago Home at https://www.bringchicagohome.org.

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About Housing Action Illinois

Housing Action Illinois is a statewide coalition leading the movement to protect and expand the availability of quality, affordable housing in Illinois for more than 35 years. Our 180+ member organizations include housing counseling agencies, homeless service providers, developers of affordable housing, and policymakers. We bring everyone together to work toward our vision of an Illinois where everyone has a stable, good home.