Public Announcements
Winnebago County Housing Authority awarded $1.6 million federal grant to boost financial independence
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — The Winnebago County Housing Authority has been awarded a $1.6 million federal grant to help public housing residents achieve financial independence.
The funding comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Jobs Plus grant program and will be used over the next four years.
The grant will specifically benefit residents in the Collier Garden community. Under the program, residents will be able to keep rent costs flat as their earnings increase, exempting them from the standard requirement to pay 30% of their income toward rent.
The Winnebago County Housing Authority is one of 10 agencies nationwide selected to receive the grant.
Illinois Commits $156M to Housing Programs, Supporting Affordable Development and Homeownership
Illinois is directing $156 million toward housing affordability initiatives, including financing for affordable rental developments, starter-home construction and homebuyer assistance. The investment, announced by Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) on October 29, is part of the state’s Building Up Illinois Developments (BUILD) plan.
Of the total, $103 million represents new funding secured through the fiscal 2027 state budget. The programmes are intended to increase housing supply and expand access to homeownership across Illinois.
Highlights
- Illinois announced $156 million in housing investments, including $103 million in new FY2027 funding.
- $36 million in BUILD funding will supplement Low-Income Housing Tax Credit financing for 22 affordable housing developments.
- A $25 million Opening Doors programme is expected to assist approximately 3,000 homebuyers.
- New Homes Illinois will receive $3 million to support starter-home construction through local government and developer partnerships.
- A $50 million Permanent Supportive Housing funding round is scheduled to open in November 2026.
Funding Targets Affordable Housing Construction and Preservation
A significant portion of the investment will support affordable rental housing development and preservation through the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) programme.
New leader takes over at the Peoria Housing Authority
The Peoria Housing Authority now has its first full-time leader since early this year.
The public housing agency’s Board of Commissioners hired Christopher Vincent as chief executive officer, succeeding Armeca Crawford.
Vincent comes to Peoria after working for the past six years as the deputy executive director with the East Chicago Housing Authority in Indiana.
“My goal is to build on the agency’s progress, work alongside our residents, community partners and stakeholders, and improve the quality of life for the families we serve,” he said in a news release.
Vincent emerged from a pool of 30 candidates after a nationwide search. He brings more than 17 years of experience in public housing and federal housing administration to the position.
Winnebago County Housing Authority wins $1.6M grant to help residents advance their careers
ROCKFORD — The Winnebago County Housing Authority has won a competitive $1.6 million Jobs Plus grant, which will be used to help residents at Collier Garden Apartments advance their careers and build better financial stability.
The local housing authority was one of only 10 nationwide to receive the grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The program brings an on-site job center to Collier to help residents with job searches, training, career counseling, financial coaching and other employment services.
It also has financial incentives that provide residents a permissible dedication that does not raise their rent when they earn more while participating in the program. Residents pay 30% of their adjusted income as rent, which means their rent goes up as their earnings do. That means pursuing a better job can sometimes feel like a risk for residents, housing officials said.
“Too many of our residents have had to weigh a better job against a stable home. Jobs Plus takes that worry off the table,” said Alan Zais, executive director of the Winnebago County Housing Authority. “Our residents want to work and want to build better futures for themselves and their families. This program gives them the tools, the support and the confidence to do it — and it strengthens our entire community in the process.”
Illinois releases new three-year plan for combatting homelessness
CHICAGO — State leaders, service providers, and people with lived experience of homelessness gathered Thursday to mark the fifth anniversary of an executive order that established Illinois’s statewide homelessness response system, as officials formally released a new plan outlining the state’s priorities for the next three years.
Gov. JB Pritzker signed Executive Order 2021-21 on Sept. 3, 2021, creating the Interagency Task Force on Homelessness, the Community Advisory Council on Homelessness, and the Illinois Office to Prevent and End Homelessness. The order established a statewide structure intended to coordinate policy, share accountability, and build partnerships across state agencies and communities in addressing homelessness.
“Every person deserves the dignity and stability that come with having a safe place to call home,” Pritzker said. “Five years ago, I proudly launched a statewide effort to address homelessness. Since then, we’ve helped thousands of Illinoisans find greater stability and strengthened the systems that support our unhoused neighbors. With the next Home Illinois Plan, we’re building on that progress to continue our mission to end homelessness in our state.”
Vacant former Aurora Housing Authority apartment building goes up in flames; no injuries reported
A vacant former Aurora Housing Authority apartment building on the city’s east side went up in flames on Aug. 13.
The Aurora Fire Department said the cause of the fire remained under investigation.
There were no reported injuries from the blaze. The Fire Department did not say if the building remains habitable after the fire and smoke damage. The Fire Department did say the flames left “floor and roof failure.”
Attorney General Raoul, Department of Labor Urge Illinois Appellate Court to Reject Attempt to Limit Ban on Source-of-Income Discrimination in Housing
State officials said a landlord cannot sidestep Illinois' source-of-income discrimination ban by refusing to sign federal Housing Assistance Payments contracts for voucher holders.
Chicago – Attorney General Raoul and the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) today urged the Illinois Appellate Court to reject a landlord’s request to weaken the Illinois Human Rights Act’s ban on housing discrimination based on source of income.
Raoul and IDHR filed an amicus brief in Cole v. Timberbrook Realty LLC in support of a tenant who said she was evicted for using her federal Housing Choice Voucher, formerly know as Section 8 voucher, to help pay her rent. Though the landlord claimed it did not discriminate against the tenant based on her status as a voucher holder, the landlord refused to sign a Housing Assistance Payments contract, which prevented the tenant from using her voucher to pay for her rent. A landlord cannot receive payments through the federal voucher program until it signs the contract.
Illinois Housing Development Authority releases plan to create, preserve affordable housing
Illinois Housing Development Authority Opens Three Senior Affordable Housing Developments Across Illinois
Affordable housing initiative for DuPage and Will counties to be greenlit under new Ellman law
SPRINGFIELD — A new law from State Senator Laura Ellman is set to give counties additional tools to support affordable housing development and address growing housing affordability challenges facing working families and middle-income residents.
“As housing costs continue to rise faster than incomes, more families are finding themselves priced out of the communities they work and live in,” said Ellman (D-Naperville). “This law will help local governments create more housing options while supporting mixed-income communities and long-term affordability.”
House Bill 4571 allows counties with populations between 750,000 and 2 million, as well as counties with executive forms of government and populations between 650,000 and 2 million, to take additional actions to support affordable housing development and preservation.
Under the law, eligible counties could acquire property, transfer land between units of local government, sell or lease property below market rate and offer financial incentives such as grants, loans and infrastructure improvements to encourage affordable housing construction.
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Macoupin Housing Services cuts ribbons
Representatives from Macoupin Housing Services (MHS) and the Macoupin County Housing Authority (MCHA) cut the ribbons on three tax credit housing developments in the county at ceremonies held Sept. 23.
Home tours were available to area residents and local dignitaries at the 14 homes built in Staunton, nine in Bunker Hill and 15 in Gillespie. The homes were built through a low-income housing tax credit created under the 1986 Tax Reform Act. It gives incentives for the use of private equity in the development of affordable housing aimed at low-income Americans. The program is administered at the state level through the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA), which receives a fixed allocation of credits based on population.
The homes have to meet strict requirements with regard to construction standards and energy efficiency.
