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
A Moment in Our Movement
In February, four generations of Housing Action AmeriCorps Network alumni attended the Illinois Affordable Housing Forum, a statewide affordable housing conference hosted by Illinois Housing Council. The Forum brings together housing industry leaders from across...
2024 Policy Agenda
Each year, Housing Action Illinois works on a broad range of issues aligned with our core mission of creating an Illinois where everyone has a good, affordable place to call home. Below are some of our priorities for the 2024 Illinois General Assembly session, as well...
Community Safety Through Stable Homes Act Coalition Introduces Legislation with Senator Villa and Representative Ford to End Discriminatory Housing Practices
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 12, 2024 CONTACT: Zindy MarquezDirector of Communications312.202.3657 (office)zmarquez@clccrul.org SPRINGFIELD, IL – On Friday, February 9th, the Community Safety Through Stable Homes Act Coalition joined Senator Karina Villa (25th...
Changes to Illinois’ Senior Citizen Real Estate Tax Deferrals Increase Affordability of Program
Applications are due March 1, 2024 for this property tax deferral program. Starting with property taxes due in tax year year 2023, which are due in 2024, a change in state law has permanently lowered the interest rate for eligible seniors who defer some or all of the...
Service is a Journey, Not a Destination
Ten years ago, I started my journey of service. I first joined AmeriCorps VISTA in 2014 as a Summer Associate in Prescott, AZ. I went on to serve two consecutive, year-long AmeriCorps VISTA terms, the first of which focused on creating a culinary and gardening program...
Enough for All
As we work to end homelessness for both Illinoisans already experiencing homelessness and new arrivals, we must stay united and focus on housing as a basic human need for all.A Shifting Landscape Since August 31, 2022, more than 30,000 people who are asylum seekers,...
A New Start as a Housing Counselor
Verdene Sims has always had a desire to help people, so after retiring from a career in telecommunications, she decided to start doing something entirely different and wanted to commit herself to doing something that would support others. She says, “I wasn’t sure...
Affordable Housing Special Assessment Program: New State Law Creates Property Tax Incentive to Create and Preserve Affordable Rental Homes
2025 Update! This state law was amended during the 2025 General Assembly session, as part of the revenue bill, HB 2755. (See the changes starting on the bottom of page 1,064.) These provisions went into effect immediately upon being signed into law on June 16, 2025,...
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...
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...