early bird registration now open:
October 16–17, 2025
Bloomington, IL
about the conference
Each year, Housing Action Illinois brings together as many as 350 housing professionals who care about expanding and protecting affordable housing and ending homelessness in Illinois. Together, we build expertise, experience, and the capacity to make our communities better.
Join us to spark connections, get the latest updates, & share ideas as we work together to create an Illinois where everyone has a good, affordable home.
The conference is held at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Bloomington, Illinois.
General Sessions
We’re excited to bring everyone together for opening and closing keynote sessions, as well as our annual membership meeting.
In 2025, we’re looking forward to welcoming Leah Rothstein, author of Just Action, for our opening keynote and National Alliance to End Homelessness’s Ann Oliva for our closing keynote.
Breakout Workshops
Each year, we bring breakout workshops related to public policy advocacy, ending homelessness, housing counseling, and affordable housing development.
In 2025, we expect to bring a robust lineup of workshop topics, including the below:*
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- Ending Homelessness & Affordable Housing 101
- Illinois Office to Prevent and End Homelessness: New Research and Initiatives
- Effective Lived Experience Councils
- Creating a Culture of Moving On from Permanent Supportive Housing
- Case Study: City of Elgin’s Unsheltered Pilot Project
- Federal Advocacy Challenges & Priorities
- What’s Ahead in 2026: State Budget & Policy Landscape
- Property Taxes: Existing Tools & New Policies Needed
- Innovative Local Policy Solutions
- Staffing with Intention: Finding the Right Fit
- Ready, Set, Go: Emergency Preparedness for Housing Counseling Agencies
- Funding Models for Housing Counseling Agencies
- Advancing Housing Equity Through the Missing Middle
- Green Social Housing
- Low-Income Housing Tax Credit 101
- 36 Questions for Civic Love
- Crisis Communications
- That Which Keeps Us Grounded
- Community Tour
*Subject to change
Reception & Networking
We celebrate recent wins and accomplishments at our Thursday evening reception. Join us to relax, unwind, and meet colleagues working to expand affordable housing and end homelessness in Illinois.
This year, we’ll enjoy a performance by a new local band. The Sweet Nothings bring the music of New Orleans and Europe to central Illinois, incorporating elements of Swing, Trad Jazz, Musette, Jazz Manouche, and many more. They have been described as a mix between The Squirrel Nut Zippers and Post-Modern Jukebox.
Featured Speakers
Leah Rothstein
Co-Author of Just Action, housing policy consultant, & researcher
Leah Rothstein is the co-author of JUST ACTION: How to Challenge Segregation Enacted Under the Color of Law, which describes how local community groups can redress the wrongs of segregation. She also writes a regular column to which you can subscribe for free at JustAction.substack.com. Leah has worked on public policy and community change, from the grassroots to the halls of government. She led research on reforming community corrections policy and practice to be focused on rehabilitation, not punishment. She has been a consultant to nonprofit housing developers, cities and counties, redevelopment agencies, and private firms on community development and affordable housing policy, practice, and finance. Her policy work is informed by her years as a community organizer and labor organizer, working on issues such as housing, environmental justice, workplace safety, and youth leadership.
Opening Keynote Session: Thursday @ 10:00am
Ann Oliva
National Alliance to End Homelessness
Ann Oliva is CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness. A career veteran of homelessness and housing policy, she is recognized as one of the foremost experts on homelessness in the nation. In her role, Ms. Oliva works closely with members of Congress and the Administration, as well as with officials and advocates at the state and local levels. As part of that role, she also collaborates closely with Alliance partners to educate the public on the real nature of homelessness and its solutions, and to advance known best practices within the homeless services sector.
Ms. Oliva previously served as Vice President for Housing Policy for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and as a Senior Policy Advisor at the Corporation for Supportive Housing. Her distinguished career is also marked by a decade of federal service at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Closing Plenary Session: Friday @ 12:00pm
PROGRAM
Full program coming soon →
Thursday, October 16
- 9:00 am – Registration & Continental Breakfast
- 10:00 am – Opening Keynote: Just Action with author Leah Rothstein
- 12:00 pm – Membership Meeting & Luncheon
- 1:30 pm – Breakout Workshop I
- 3:15 pm – Breakout Workshop II
- 5:00 pm – Reception
Friday, October 17
- 7:30 am – Registration & Continental Breakfast
- 9:00 am – Breakout Workshop III
- 10:30 am – Breakout Workshop IV
- 12:00 am – Lunch & Closing Plenary: Ann Oliva, National Alliance to End Homelessness
- 2:00 pm – End of Day
Register
Register by August 15 to save $50 with early bird registration:
Members receive $100 off conference registration.
Our 190+ members include nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and corporations, united by the vision of an Illinois where everyone has a good, stable place to call home. Join today »
2025 sponsorship
Our thanks to the generous sponsors who make our conference possible.
Interested in joining us?
Platinum Sponsor
Gold Sponsor
Silver Sponsors
Bronze Sponsors
Friends & Exhibitors
Applegate & Thorne-Thomsen
Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH)
Woodforest Bank
Woods Fund
logistics & Lodging
DoubleTree by Hilton
The conference will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Bloomington, Illinois (10 Brickyard Drive).
To reserve rooms at the discounted rate of $135 + tax, call 309-664-6446 and let the staff know you’re participating in the Housing Action Illinois conference or make your reservation online using this link →
The DoubleTree is approximately 12 minutes by car from Uptown Station in Normal and 10 minutes from the Bloomington/Normal Airport.
Requests for Accommodations
Please submit all requests for reasonable accommodations when registering for the conference. We will do our best to meet all requests regardless of when they are submitted, but to ensure that your request can be met, we ask that you let us know by August 29, 2025 by filling out the form linked in your registration confirmation email or emailing us at communications@housingactionil.org.
previous conferences
Click to see session descriptions, speakers, and selected presentations from previous conferences: