Policy Advocacy
Many voices are stronger than one.
We mobilize our members and allies to advocate for policies that help end homelessness, create affordable rental housing, promote sustainable homeownership, and affirmatively further fair housing. We work to increase federal, state, and local investments in proven housing programs, as well as to develop new and innovative policy solutions. On our own and through coalition work, we have been able to secure a multitude of policy victories in Springfield and Washington, D.C., that benefit renters and homeowners.
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Action Center
With your help, we can expand access to affordable housing, prevent and end homelessness, and create an Illinois where everyone has good, stable homes.
2026 Policy Agenda
Our annual policy agenda serves as a roadmap for our state & federal advocacy to ensure every Illinoisan has a stable place to call home.
Latest Policy & Organizing News
Our Chicago: Community Summit to Reflect on 50 Years of the Fair Housing Act
Leah Demarest and Rachel Schwartz are AmeriCorps VISTAs at John Marshall Law School Fair Housing Legal Clinic and Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, respectively. April 2018 marks 50 years since the passage of the federal Fair Housing Act. In...
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...