| Funding
for Emergency and Transitional Housing Restored by Illinois General
Assembly
November 30, 2011
On November 29, the Illinois General Assembly approved a supplemental
appropriations bill that restores cuts to several human service programs,
including the $4.7 million cut to more than 100 nonprofit organizations
in all parts of the state funded by the Emergency and Transitional
Housing Program. Larger budget cuts restored include funding for
mental health and substance abuse programs.
Most of the money in the $270 million bill will be used to fund
the operation of seven state facilities for people with mental illness
and developmental disabilities that had been slated for closure.
(Hopefully, in the next year efforts to close these facilities and
help people move into community-based housing will come to fruition.)
The bill was passed with bipartisan support and we expect Governor
Quinn to sign the bill into law as soon as he receives it. Revenue
to pay for the bill comes from reallocating existing resources.
For this victory, we especially want to thank all the nonprofit
organizations funded by the Emergency and Transitional Housing Program
that reached out to their legislators and the media during the last
six months to communicate the impact of the cut on your ability to
provide housing and services to people experiencing homelessness.
Thanks also to the more than 370 people contact
their legislators through our action alert on HousingMatters.net.
We also greatly appreciate all the advocacy organizations that also
worked on restoring the cut, including the Chicago Alliance to End
Homelessness, the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless and the Supportive
Housing Providers Association.
Please thank you legislators who voted favor of
the bill, Senate Bill 2412 (House Amendment #2. Click on these links
to see the House and Senate votes.
Advocacy
Update and Action Alert
November 28, 2011
ACTION ALERT: Take Action to Restore State Budget Cuts to Homeless
Services
Survey Shows Funds for Homelessness Prevention Not Available This
Winter in Half of Illinois Communities
HUD Budget with Mostly Cuts Signed into Law
Housing Action Illinois Annual Conference a Big Success
Corporation for Supportive Housing 20th Anniversary Event
Click
here to read the update.
Click here to see an index of recent updates
and alerts.
Another
Hole Appears in Safety Net for People Experiencing Homelessness
November 21, 2011
Survey Shows Funds for Homelessness Prevention Not Available This Winter
in Half of Illinois Communities
Agencies that administer homeless prevention grants across Illinois
report that 55% of them will run out of funds by Dec. 31, leaving
no help for families facing homelessness, according to a statewide
survey released Monday.
In 11 years, the state's homeless prevention grant program has helped
96,231 Illinois households avoid homelessness. The average grant
in FY 2010 was $916, and 88% report they remained housed four months
after getting the one-time grant.
But state budget cutbacks have decimated the program, leaving just
$1.5 million available this year - $9.5 million (87%) less than was
funded in FY 2008.
Meanwhile, federal stimulus funds that have offset state funding
cutbacks are also running out, with 56% of agencies saying those
federal funds are depleted.
Read
the entire press release by clicking here.
Download
the report by clicking here.
General
Assembly Should Pass TIF Reform Bill During Veto Session
November 4, 2011
For more information contact: Bob
Palmer, Policy Director, Housing Action Illinois, 312-282- 3959 or bob@housingactionil.org
Housing Action Illinois is calling for the Illinois General Assembly
to pass Tax Increment Finance (TIF) district reform legislation before
the end of the Veto Session on November 10.
Senate Bill 540 passed the House almost unanimously (107-6-2) on
May 31, the final day of the spring legislative session. However,
the bill was held up in the Senate due to an unrelated amendment
added in the House at the last minute extending the property tax
incentives the Sears Corporation currently receives to keep their
corporate headquarters in Hoffman Estates.
Negotiations have been ongoing to provide some sort of incentives
for Sears to stay in Hoffman Estates in the face of opposition to
extending the property tax incentives from the local school district,
Community Unit District 300.
"If the TIF reform bill doesn't pass next week, the opportunity
to secure some improvements in the areas of reporting and transparency
and excessive use of TIFs may be lost." said Bob Palmer, Policy
Director for Housing Action Illinois. "If the General Assembly
has time to negotiate tax breaks for Illinois corporations, it should
find time for TIF reform. We don't think that the TIF reforms should
be held up because of the Sears issue. Ideally they would be dealt
with separately."
Read
the rest of the press release by clicking here.
Recession
Over, But Poor Renters Still At-Risk of Homelessness
Proposed State Budget Cuts for Shelters Would Shrink Safety Net
May 2, 2011—According to a national report released
today, the Housing Wage for Illinois is $17.38. The Housing Wage
is the hourly wage a family must earn – working 40 hours a
week, 52 weeks a year – to be able to afford the rent and utilities
for a safe and modest home in the private housing market while spending
no more than 30% of income on housing costs. Illinois’ Housing
Wage has increased 35% since 2000.
An estimated 56% of renters in Illinois do not earn enough to afford
a two-bedroom unit. The typical renter in Illinois earns $13.44 per
hour, which is $3.94 less than the Housing Wage. Illinois’ minimum
wage is $8.25.
In Illinois, among metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas, the
lowest Housing Wage for a two-bedroom apartment is $11.13 in the
metro-east Bond County metropolitan area. The highest housing wage
for a two-bedroom apartment is $19.54 in the Chicago metropolitan
area.
“Data from Out of Reach supports what we know about Illinois:
low-income families are still struggling to find decent and affordable
housing,” said Bob Palmer, Policy Director for Housing Action
Illinois. “While we work to rebuild our economy after the recession,
and reduce our federal and state budget deficits, we cannot forget
the low-income families whose basic housing needs continue to be
unmet.”
Housing Action Illinois is advocating to protect federal and state
funding for programs serving the needs of people who cannot afford
housing. For example, agencies providing emergency shelter
and transitional housing are facing the loss of more than half their
state funding, from $9.1 million to $4.4 million, under Illinois
Governor Pat Quinn’s budget proposal. In the most recently
completed fiscal year, state-funded programs served 42,068 people,
29% of them below 18 years of age.
This year, Illinois ranks as the most expensive state in the Midwest
for renters and the 20th most expensive state in the nation. The
National Housing Wage is $18.46 in 2011.
The report, Out of Reach 2011, was jointly released by the National
Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), a Washington, D.C.-based housing
policy organization, and Housing Action Illinois, a statewide coalition
formed to protect and expand the availability of quality, affordable
housing throughout Illinois.
Data for every state, metropolitan area, combined
non-metropolitan area and county in the country is available online,
at http://www.nlihc.org/oor/oor2011.
Housing
Counseling Agencies Forced to Eliminate Jobs and Assist Fewer Homeowners
in Foreclosure Due to Elimination of Federal Funding
April 27, 2011—Federally-funded housing counseling agencies in Illinois are
reeling from the fiscal year 2011 budget deal that reduced funding for their
work from $88 million to zero. In response, they are figuring out
how to cope with cuts at a time when demand for their services already
generally exceeds their resources. Supported by Housing Action Illinois,
agencies are also joining nationwide efforts to restore funding for
their work in the fiscal year 2012 budget.
Based on a survey of HUD-certified housing counseling agencies conducted
by Housing Action Illinois after the cuts became public on April
12, of the 27 responding agencies, 24 indicated that the cuts would
force them to lay off staff and/or see fewer clients. Two agencies
anticipated that they would be forced to shut down and two agencies
were uncertain of the impact.
Counseling agencies work with troubled homeowners to determine the
best possible options for keeping borrowers in their homes, and foreclosure
counseling sessions often provide homeowners with their best chance
at preventing foreclosure through a loan modification or graceful
exit.
“We have been concerned that funding would be eliminated due
to the perception among some members of Congress that efforts to
assist homeowners facing foreclosure haven’t worked, but the
data actually shows that housing counseling adds significant value,” said
Bob Palmer, the Policy Director at Housing Action Illinois, citing
a November 2009 Urban Institute released a study that found that
homeowners who received foreclosure counseling were 60% more likely
to keep their homes versus homeowners who did not receive counseling.
Housing Action maintains that the main reason why even more homeowners
in foreclosures haven’t been able to successfully work with
their lender to get a positive outcome is that the federal government
hasn’t held loan servicers and lenders accountable for implementing
programs such as the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).
According to RealtyTrac, there were 151,304 foreclosure filings
in Illinois in 2010 and recent projections suggest that there will
be an increase in foreclosures in 2011 as families and communities
continue to struggle to find relief.
The elimination of the housing counseling line item is compounded
by a 22% cut to the Community Development Block Grant program, which
provides additional funding for many counseling agencies through
their local government.
The only remaining federal funding for housing counseling agencies
is the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) Program,
which provides a small performance-based fee to a counseling agency
for each homeowner in foreclosure they assist. The program was created
in 2007 to supplement existing resources and generally provides far
less revenue to agencies than the funding that was just eliminated.
It also does not cover the costs of other services provided by counseling
agencies, such as pre-purchase and reverse mortgage counseling.
Illinois agencies impacted by the budget cuts include, but are not
limited to:
- Access Living, Chicago
- Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, Chicago
- C.E.F.S. Economic Opportunity Corporation, Effingham
- Chicago Urban League
- Community And Economic Development Association of
Cook County
- Community Investment Corporation Of Decatur
- Du Page Homeownership Center, Wheaton
- Greater Southwest Development Corporation, Chicago
- Housing Opportunity Development Corporation, Techny
- Interfaith Housing Center of The Northern Suburbs,
Winnetka
- Latin United Community Housing Association (LUCHA),
Chicago
- METEC, Peoria
- Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago
- Northwest Side Housing Center, Chicago
- Rockford Area Affordable Housing Coalition
- Rogers Park Community Development Corporation, Chicago
- South Suburban Housing Center, Homewood
- Spanish Coalition for Housing, Chicago
- The Resurrection Project, Chicago
- TSP-Hope, Springfield
- Will County Center For Community Concerns, Joliet
Housing Action Illinois has already contacted key members of the
Illinois Congressional delegation to seek their support for restoration
of the funding, including Senator Richard Durbin, Assistant Majority
Leader, and Representative Judy Biggert (R-Hinsdale), Chair of the
Financial Services Committee Subcommittee Insurance, Housing and
Community Opportunity.
Housing Action Illinois provides advocacy support and technical
assistance to HUD-certified housing counseling agencies.
49
Organizations Sign Letter to Oppose Current Year Spending Cuts to
Federal Housing Programs
March 1, 2011
On February 19, the House of
Representatives passed H.R. 1, setting funding levels for the remainder
of fiscal year 2011, which runs through September 30. Senate leadership
refused to take up H.R. 1 and the federal
government is now operating under a Continuing Resolution, which
runs through March 18.
Attention has now turned to the
Senate to see what proposal counter proposal they will make. Forty-nine
organizations signed-on to the following letter to let Illinois Senators
Richard Durbin and Mark Kirk know that their organization acknowledges
the seriousness of the budget deficit, but opposes reduction to programs
providing affordable housing and addressing homelessness.
The Letter
Dear Senator
Durbin and Senator Kirk:
As the Senate negotiates an agreement
with the House on funding for the remainder of fiscal year 2011,
we, the undersigned call for Department of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD) programs to be funded at FY10 levels at a minimum, and 3 HUD
programs must be funded at higher than FY10 levels to prevent households
from being evicted from affordable housing:
- The tenant-based Housing
Choice Voucher program requires more than $900 million over FY10
levels for renewals.
- The project-based rental assistance
program requires more than $655 million over FY10 levels for renewals.
- The McKinney-Vento Homeless
Assistance Grants requires more than $190 million over FY10 levels.
If the cuts proposed by the House
in H.R. 1 go forward they will:
- Eliminate HUD funding for Housing
Counseling to assist families facing foreclosure.
- Cut the Community
Development Fund from $4.45 billion to $1.5 billion. The vast majority
of this spending goes to Community Development Block Grants (CDBG).
- Cut Community Service Block
Grants, which funds Community Action Agencies, by 46%.
- Cut the
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program by 66%.
The federal government
does have to get the budget deficit under control and eventually
reduce it, but there are ways to do without harming the people with
the fewest resources, such as letting tax cuts for the wealthiest
Americans expire after 2012 and/or restructuring the mortgage interest
deduction as credit targeted at low and moderate-income households.
In 2008, nearly 400,000 people
in Illinois lived in HUD assisted units. The average household income
was $12,500 and 77% of these households have incomes at or below
30% of their area median income. Among the assisted households, wages
are the main source of income for 26% of households. Only 4% have
the majority of their income come from TANF or other welfare assistance.
The great majority, 64%, of households rely on other sources of income,
such as retirement or disability income.
Click on these links to access
the letters: Durbin
letter, Kirk
letter.
Mortgage Loan Servicers Need
To Be Held Accountable
Data in New Report Demonstrates that Homeowners Wait
Far Too Long for Loan Modifications
November 16, 2010—A new report released today
by Housing Action Illinois provides additional evidence to support
the position that mortgage loan servicers in the Chicago metropolitan
area are:
- Not agreeing to affordable loan modifications for the great
majority of homeowners facing foreclosure.
- Not committing sufficient resources to respond to homeowners
in an accurate and timely manner as required by the directives
for the Home Affordable Modification (HAMP) program and other
federal loan modification programs.
The report was completed as part of Housing Action Illinois’ Servicer
Accountability Initiative (SAI), which collected data on cases from
661 individual homeowners working with one of ten HUD-certified counseling
agencies in the Chicago metro area between December 2009 and September
2010.
For ten different servicers, Housing Action compiled
the number of cases that were approved and denied for a loan modification,
as well as the number of pending applications. Four servicers
accounted for 80% of all total cases: Bank of America (31%), JP Morgan
Chase (22%), Wells Fargo (14%), and CitiFinancial (13%).
Of the 516 loan modification applications submitted,
44% were approved, 16% were denied and 40% of the applications were
still pending as of the end of September. However, when the counselor
indicated what type of modification was provided, they were overwhelmingly
Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) temporary loan modifications,
not permanent loan modifications.
While federal HAMP program directives require that
servicers must acknowledge receipt of the application within 10 business
days and respond within 30 calendar days with an approval of a trial
modification, a denial of a modification, or a request for more information
this is simply not occurring.
To address the low percentage of permanent loan
modification approvals and the high number of pending cases, the
report makes 24 specific recommendations in the following areas:
- Mortgage loan servicers need to: (1) provide clear and consistent
means for communication between homeowners, housing counselors,
and servicers throughout the loan modification process; and (2)
increase their capacity to respond to loan modification applications
in an accurate and timely manner.
- The federal government needs to: (1) more effectively respond
to complaints related to servicer compliance with HAMP; (2) make
changes to the HAMP program in order to make the program more
effective and fair; and (3) develop means for holding servicers
accountable for not complying with HAMP directives.
The entire report is available at:
http://www.housingactionil.org/downloads/SAI_FINAL_REPORT.pdf
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