QUINCY, Ill. (AP) — A western Illinois housing authority is receiving $1 million to remove lead-based paint from the city's public housing.
The U.S. Department of Housing Development says the Quincy Housing Authority is among 20 agencies nationwide that have been awarded a combined $18 million.
( Chicago, August 27, 2018 ) — In a case closely watched by both LGBT and housing rights advocates, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit today overturned a lower court ruling and held that Glen St. Andrew Living Community in Niles, Illinois, can be held accountable for purposefully failing to protect lesbian senior Marsha Wetzel from the harassment, discrimination and violence she suffered at the hands of other residents because of her sex and sexual orientation.
"This is a tremendous victory for Marsha," said Karen Loewy, Lambda Legal Senior Counsel and Seniors Strategist. "She, just like all people living in rental housing, whether LGBT or not, should be assured that they will at least be safe from discriminatory harassment in their own homes. What happened to Marsha was illegal and unconscionable, and the Court has now put all landlords on notice that they have an obligation to take action to stop known harassment.
"This duty is particularly clear for senior living facilities like Glen St. Andrew, whose staff are entrusted and paid to provide a safe living environment for seniors, including LGBT residents. We are grateful that the Court understood and reinforced that understanding."
On July 26, 2018, HUD published Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016: Final Implementation of Public Housing Income Limits in the Federal Register, which placed an income limitation on public housing tenancy. The rule requires that after a family’s income has exceeded 120 percent of area median income (AMI), or a different limitation established by the Secretary based on local housing costs, for two consecutive years, the PHA must either:
For annual or interim recertifications performed on or after the applicable date of the notice (September 24, 2018), the PHA must determine whether the family’s income exceeds the applicable HUD-published over-income limit. If so, the PHA must document the family’s file. If, 12 consecutive months from the annual or interim recertification, the family’s income continues to exceed the over-income limit, the PHA must notify the family in writing that their income has exceeded the over-income limit for one year, and that if the family’s income continues to exceed the over-income limit for the next 12 consecutive months, the family will be subject to the PHA’s over-income policies. The PHA may not exempt any public housing families from the over-income limitation.
Affordable housing has been a need of Chicago residents throughout the City’s history, but that need has reached crisis proportions since the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) demolished many public housing developments between 1996 and 2010 as part of its Plan for Transformation. Subsequent City promises of replacement housing mostly have gone unrealized.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel on June 26 proposed the creation of a new Chicago Department of Housing to implement the strategies outlined in the City’s next Five-Year Housing Plan (2019-2023). The mayor is calling on the plan’s steering and advisory committee to create a new and transformative vision for housing as a core component of all neighborhoods.
According to the mayor, the new department will reflect those targeted goals as it addresses Chicago residents’ housing needs. Some wonder, however, if creating the department is a pre-election ploy made necessary by the city’s diminishing stock of affordable housing.
During Mayor Richard M. Daley’s final term in office, 2007 through 2011, the CHA averaged a little more than 840 units of housing built annually. In Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s first year of office, that number continued to fall—to 424—to about half of those built the previous year. In the following years, that number dropped to 112, then 88, and then 40 in 2014.
Daley also eliminated the City’s previous Department of Housing, placing its functions under the Department of Planning and Development.
IAHA and Nan McKay are partnering to provide IAHA members Procurement and Section 3 training. The training will be held on October 23 to 25 in Springfield, IL. You can register on the Nan McKay website, at this link.
The purpose of the training is:
This seminar focuses on HUD’s handbook 7460.8 REV 2, which includes essential information for PHAs to comply with HUD regulations. This training will help your PHA establish an up-to-date and comprehensive procurement policy. Understanding the handbook and how it relates to project-based accounting, budgeting, and management will help you delegate more procurement and contract management responsibilities and accountability to your sites. By the end of this training, you should understand how to obtain the highest quality goods and services for the right cost, delivered on time, and in compliance with applicable laws and policies. In addition, you can learn to estimate costs of goods and services, develop criteria for the analysis of proposals, and realize cost savings in your procurement operation. The training will also cover temporary regulatory changes resulting from ARRA, stimulus dollars, and the “Buy American” provision.
Understanding the handbook and implementing changes in PHA procurement policy is essential because the handbook:
PHAs need up-to-date information in order to comply with HUD's Section 3 requirements. NMA's one-day workshop will bring your agency up to speed on the most recent HUD Webcasts and guidance.
Learning objectives are:
Upon completion of the Procurement and Section 3 Course, using HUD regulations and guidance, you should be able to:
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.
