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.
Previous Legislative Summaries
- 2025 Illinois General Assembly Wrap-Up
- 2024 Illinois General Assembly Wrap-Up
- 2023 Illinois General Assembly Wrap-Up
- 2022 Illinois General Assembly Wrap-Up
- January 2022 Lame Duck Session Wrap-Up
- 2021 Illinois General Assembly Wrap-Up
- January 2021 Lame Duck Session Wrap-Up
- 2020 Illinois General Assembly Wrap-Up
- 2019 Illinois General Assembly Wrap-Up
- 2018 Illinois General Assembly Wrap-Up
- 2017 Illinois General Assembly Wrap-Up
Louder Together: Multi-Sector Partnerships
To truly change our affordable housing ecosystem for the better, we need to bring together not just housing advocates but also people, organizations, and interest groups from beyond the housing field. This is why Housing Action Illinois has joined the national Opportunity Starts at Home campaign, a project of our allies at the National Low Income Housing Coalition, and why we are working with advocates in pediatric health care, refugee resettlement, and the disability rights sector to raise up affordable housing as an issue that matters to all of us.
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Join our action network to stay informed and urge your elected officials to support renters and homeowners.
Learn More
Dig into our publications, which share research and analysis on issues related to affordable housing.
Latest Policy & Organizing News
2015 General Assembly Session Update
General Assembly Leaves Next Year's Budget Half Complete On partisan votes, with only Democrats voting yes and all Republicans voting no, the General Assembly passed a $36 billion “spending plan” for fiscal year 2016. No “revenue plan” was passed, leaving the budget...
Illinois House Hearing on Homeownership
On May 20, the Illinois House Economic Development & Housing Committee, chaired by State Representative Marcus Evans, held a hearing titled Single Family Homeownership – Affordability, Stability and Economic Impact. Bob Palmer, Policy Director for Housing Action...
Despite Renters in Illinois Needing to Earn $18.78 Per Hour in Order to Afford a Basic Two-Bedroom Apartment, House Budget Defunds National Housing Trust Fund
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 19, 2015 at 12:00 p.m. CT CONTACT: Bob Palmer, Policy Director, Housing Action Illinois, 312-282-3959 (cell) or bob@housingactionil.org Renters in Illinois need to earn $18.78 per hour in order to afford a basic two-bedroom apartment,...