he Moline Housing Authority and its subsidiary organization, the Moline Housing Development Corporation, broke ground on Parkview Apartments, a 22-unit permanent supportive housing project, on Wednesday, June 10.
Public Announcements
Illinois releases new three-year plan for combatting homelessness
Sep. 9, 2026
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
Aug. 26, 2026
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
Aug. 26, 2026
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
Aug. 26, 2026
New Policies Focus on Cost Containment, Serving Vulnerable Populations,and Statewide Equity
By Tribune Staff • The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) has published its 2027-2028 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP), which establishes the rules and criteria governing Illinois’ Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, the state’s primary tool for financing the creation and preservation of affordable housing. The new QAP is part of Governor Pritzker’s broader housing strategy to address Illinois’ housing from multiple facets: maximizing limited federal resources for affordable housing while also supporting the conditions needed for more homes of all types to be built in communities across the state. Together, these efforts advance the goal of ensuring every Illinoisan has access to safe, stable, and affordable housing.
Illinois Housing Development Authority Opens Three Senior Affordable Housing Developments Across Illinois
Aug. 26, 2026
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New options for independent senior living available in Champaign, Fairview Heights, and Hillside.
CHICAGO – In recent weeks, the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) celebrated with its partners the grand opening of three residential senior developments located in northern, central, and southern Illinois that received IHDA funding. These developments collectively supply more than 160 affordable housing units, enabling Illinoisians to remain within their communities they call home. The three developments will provide much-needed rental options in regions that have experienced limited housing capacity, increased rents, and lengthy waiting lists.
“Illinoisans of all ages deserve access to quality, affordable housing options designed to help them thrive,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Nobody should have to leave the communities they love to receive the support they need later in life. By leveraging tax incentives to encourage developments, IHDA is helping local communities deliver long-term, affordable housing that allow seniors to stay rooted in the neighborhoods they’ve shaped.”
Affordable housing initiative for DuPage and Will counties to be greenlit under new Ellman law
Jul. 13, 2026
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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Moline breaks ground on 22 permanent supportive housing units
Jun. 17, 2026
John Afoun, executive director of the Moline Housing Authority, said the complex will serve those on the Moline Housing Authority’s waitlist. That list includes 1,030 people, he said.
“There is a tremendous need for housing nationwide and here in the Quad-Cities,” Afoun said. “We believe a little drop of water makes a mighty ocean. We may not be able to address all the housing needs, but the little we can do goes a long way."
Chicago pushes $21M home-purchase program, state expands its own
Jun. 17, 2026
(The Center Square) – Affordable housing continues to be an area Illinois leaders seek to address through expanded taxpayer-funded spending at multiple levels of government in the state.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson touted what he said was a success in beginning to build new affordable housing through new policies, which he said would create generational wealth – which he noted would be particularly impactful for the city’s African American population while at a city Juneteenth event.
A release earlier this month announcing the ‘Homegrown Purchase Assistance Program’ explained that the new program would be funded through an existing $1.25 billion Housing and Economic Development Bond taken out by Johnson’s administration.
Housing Authority of Jeff Co welcomes National Housing Compliance
Jun. 17, 2026
MOUNT VERNON — The Emma J. Hawthorne Family Training & Activity Center in Mount Vernon has received a $5,000 donation from National Housing Compliance.
On Tuesday, the Housing Authority of Jefferson County (JCAC) welcomed several representatives from National Housing Compliance to tour the Emma Hawthorne Center, visit with the public, and play games with the kids. During the visit, the representatives presented the $5,000 donation to the Emma Hawthorne Center, which will be used to purchase new supplies and provide a stipend for a summer employee, said Michele Williams, HAJC President/Chief Executive Officer.
The HAJC operates the Emma Hawthorne Center at 1000 S. Ninth St. in Mount Vernon, a facility that offers educational and recreational programming for local youth. National Housing Compliance is the contract administrator for the State of Illinois, on behalf of HUD.
“It’ll be used to buy supplies for the students, the kids that are coming in here,” Williams said of the donation. “We can also (use the funds) to pay someone a stipend if they helped out over the summer. … We really appreciate them (National Housing Compliance) for helping us with the Emma Hawthorne Center, for helping bring in updated supplies because our supplies were outdated.”
Gov. Pritzker signs Illinois $55.9 billion budget
Jun. 17, 2026
SPRINGFIELD, Ill.—With a focus to aid struggling families, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signs the $55.9 billion budget for 2027’s fiscal year.
“I’m proud to sign Illinois’ eighth consecutive balanced budget — one that lower costs for everyday Illinoisans, protects our state’s fiscal health, and continues our economic progress,” stated Governor JB Pritzker. “Working families need relief, and this budget delivers by investing in housing, food access, education, our healthcare system, and other necessities that make life more affordable.”
Illinois will use around $10 billion on education and provide tens of millions to help feed families who no longer qualify for SNAP benefits.
Instead of next month, the state’s increase for the gas tax pauses for six months.
Illinois Housing Development Authority Promotes Homeownership Assistance Programs
Jun. 17, 2026
June is National Homeownership Month, and the Illinois Housing Development Authority is encouraging residents to explore programs designed to make buying a home more affordable.
The agency says it has helped more than 3,100 Illinois residents become homeowners this year through 32 million dollars in down payment assistance.
IHDA offers housing counseling, pre-purchase education courses, and several down payment assistance programs for eligible homebuyers. The agency's newest program, Access Home, provides up to 15-thousand dollars in down payment and closing cost assistance for first-time buyers.
Federal Indictment Charges Former Chicago Housing Authority Director and Construction Company Owner With Engaging in $4.8 Million Kickback Scheme
Jun. 10, 2026
CHICAGO — A former property director for the Chicago Housing Authority was given more than $421,000 in kickbacks from the owner of a construction company in exchange for steering that owner more than $4.8 million in construction and renovation work at CHA properties, according to an indictment returned today in federal court in Chicago.
The indictment accuses RYAN ROSS, formerly a Director in the CHA’s Property and Asset Management Department, of receiving the kickbacks in 2023 and 2024 from VANESSA RHODES, the President of Bell’s Better Buildings, Inc., a Chicago company that did business as Twenty Eleven Construction, Inc. In exchange for the kickbacks, Ross used his official position as a Director at the CHA to fraudulently award construction, renovation, and other work to Twenty Eleven Construction and another company affiliated with Rhodes, the indictment states. As part of the scheme, Ross and Rhodes also caused Rhodes’s husband to falsely represent himself to CHA property managers as an employee of the affiliated company who would purportedly complete the work on CHA units, the indictment states.
Macoupin Housing Services cuts ribbons
Sep. 29, 2016
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.
