News
In the media
Wage gap puts housing out of reach for many Illinois residents: Kendall County Chronicle, 6/10/16
Affordable housing out of reach for many in Illinois: Chicago Citizen, 6/7/16
Illinois Renters Must Earn Nearly $20 An Hour To Afford A Modest Two-Bedroom Apartment, Report Finds: Progress Illinois, 5/25/16
New Report by Chicago Urban League Highlights Housing Segregation: Chicago Examiner, 4/21/16
Judge Orders Compensation For Elderly Black Victims Of Reverse Mortgage Scam: Chicago Reporter, 01/28/16
ISU Grad Student Helps Others Find Affordable Housing: ISU News, 01/25/16
Latest News
Educating Homeowners & Renters in Spanish at Erie Neighborhood House
Léelo en español: Educando a dueños de casa e arrendadores en español en Erie Neighborhood HouseMonica Marquez is a housing counselor at Erie Neighborhood House, where she is dedicated to providing services to Spanish-speaking clients. Monica began working at Erie...
Finding the Right Formula for Service
“Home isn't where you're from, it's where you find light when all grows dark.”― Pierce Brown, Golden Son Before serving as an AmeriCorps member with Housing Action Illinois, I served as an AmeriCorps member for a year as a Literacy Tutor in the Las Vegas School...
Urge Governor Pritzker: Increase State Funding to Prevent and End Homelessness
Governor JB Pritzker will introduce his proposed budget for fiscal year 2025 on February 21, 2024. Along with partners at Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, Illinois Shelter Alliance, and SHPA, we have developed an organizational sign-on letter to demonstrate...
Changing with the Times: Cora Fulmore’s Approach to Training Counselors
When asked what brought her to the housing counseling industry in the first place, Cora describes losing a friend and realizing she needed to make a change in her own life. She left her job at a financial institution working in collections and started working at a...
Counting All Wins
Housing counseling is “almost like helping someone walk through the American dream—but it’s not all about homeownership,” says Kesha Chatman, the Division Operating Officer at Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis. “You are counseling on their finances, you are...
From Furniture Bank to Food Bank: AmeriCorps 9/11 Day of Service
Each year, AmeriCorps members around the nation support September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance by participating in day-long, direct service projects. With 40 full-year AmeriCorps members serving throughout Illinois and in 6 other states, the Housing...
Announcing the Release of CMS Guide 3.0
Housing Action Illinois is pleased to announce the release of the latest edition of our Guide to HUD-Approved CMSs (version 3.0), which profiles HUD-approved Client Management Systems (CMSs) for housing counseling agencies. This digital resource is available for free...
What Tomorrow Looks Like for PADS Lake County
PADS Lake County, the primary emergency shelter serving Lake County, has been providing critical services for 50 years to people experiencing homelessness. The agency started simply as a hotline and has grown to offer a variety of programs with shelter being their...
Affordable Housing Is Out of Reach: Tell Congress to Increase HUD Funding
Affordable housing is out of reach for the lowest income renters in Illinois.We're joining the Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding (CHCDF) and allies across the county for a national Day of Action today, June 16, to urge Congress to approve and the...
Affordable Rental Housing Is Out of Reach In Illinois
Illinois renters must earn more than $24 per hour to afford rent for a modest two-bedroom apartmentFor Immediate Release: June 14, 2023Contact: Kristin Ginger, Manager of Communications & Development, Housing Action Illinois, kristin@housingactionil.org or...
Press Releases
Report: Nowhere in Illinois Can Low-Wage Workers Afford Rent; Candidates Need to Address This Crisis
Every candidate seeking office should have a plan to address the fact that renters in Illinois must earn more than $20 per hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment For Immediate Release: June 13, 2018 For more information contact:...
Congress Should Consider the Gap in Affordable Rental Homes for the Poorest Households as They Finalize This Year’s Federal Budget
The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes, a new report released today by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) and Housing Action Illinois, finds a severe shortage of affordable rental homes for the extremely low-income (ELI) renter households across the...
Report: Eviction Filings Are Barrier to Finding Future Housing—Even for Tenants Who Are Not Evicted
39% of eviction filings do not lead to a judgment against the tenant, but these tenants still get rejected when applying to rent CHICAGO—A new report by Housing Action Illinois and the Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing (LCBH) explores how an...
Law Protecting Rent-to-Own Homebuyers in Illinois Goes Into Effect
New State Law Protects People from Predatory Contracts for Deed and Installment Sales Contracts Watch our webinar outlining the new protections. As of January 1, 2018, would-be homeowners are protected from predatory rent-to-own contracts by a new state law that...
Midland States Bank Community Development & CRA Officer David Noble Joins Housing Action Illinois Board of Directors
EFFINGHAM – Midland States Bank (NASDAQ: MSBI) today announced that David Noble, Community Development & CRA Officer, was elected to the Board of Directors for Housing Action Illinois, a statewide coalition formed to protect and expand the availability...
Housing Action Illinois Awarded $820,030 in Housing Counseling Funds: 26 Agencies to Receive Sub-Grants
HUD has awarded $820,030 to Housing Action Illinois to distribute resources to local organizations whose housing programs and services prevent foreclosures and help families rent or buy safe, affordable homes. This year’s network of 26 housing counseling...
Report: Nowhere in Illinois Can Low-Wage Workers Afford Rent; Federal Budget Would Make Situation Worse
President Trump’s proposed federal budget would increase hardship and homelessness for renters, who must earn more than $20 per hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment For Immediate Release: June 8, 2017 For more information contact: Kristin Ginger, Communications...
Legislation to Protect Rent-to-Own Homebuyers Passes Illinois General Assembly
Bill Will Protect People from Predatory Contracts for Deed and Installment Sales Contracts UPDATE: Governor Rauner has signed this bill into law, and it will become effective on January 1, 2018. State legislation to create important consumer protections for people...
New Report Shows Massive Shortage of Affordable and Available Housing for Lowest Income Households in Illinois
CHICAGO – The GAP: A Shortage of Affordable Homes, a new report co-released today by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) and Housing Action Illinois, finds a shortage of 324,178 affordable and available rental homes in Illinois for extremely low income...
What the Stopgap Budget Means for Housing and Homeless Services
Illinois' stopgap budget is a respite, but isn't enough. The Illinois General Assembly and Governor have passed a temporary "stopgap" budget for the just completed fiscal year (FY 2016) and the first six months of the just started fiscal year (FY 2017). This is a...