THE LACK OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS A PERSISTENT PROBLEM—BUT ONE THAT CAN BE SOLVED!

Foreclosures continue to rise in Illinois. Foreclosure filings—default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions—were reported on 151,304 Illinois properties for 2010, up 15% from 2009 and 52% above the level reported for 2008. RealtyTrac 2011.

Sign of Hope: In July 2011, the State of Illinois will rollout the federal Hardest Hit Program, which will assist approximately 20,000 households pay their mortgage.

Renters are one of the many hidden victims of the foreclosure crisis. In 2010, there were 5,904 apartment building foreclosures in the City of Chicago. These properties contained a total of 17,467 units. Tenants in Foreclosure Intervention Project 2010 Report, Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing, 2010.

Sign of Hope: We successfully advocated for state legislation that will make it easier for tenants in foreclosed buildings to get their security deposit back.

Workers struggle to afford the rent. A full-time worker in Illinois must earn $17.38 per hour in order to afford the cost of an average two-bedroom apartment ($904) without paying more than 30% of income on housing. Out of Reach, National Low Income Housing Coalition, 2011.

Seniors, people with disabilities and others with limited incomes lack affordable places to live. In 2010, a person with a disability receiving monthly SSI payments needed to spend 115% of their monthly income—an impossibility—in order to rent an average one-bedroom unit. Priced Out in 2010, Technical Assistance Collaborative (TAC), 2011.

Sign of Hope: The State of Illinois Rental Housing Support Program helps approximately 2,500 extremely low-income households annually with rent subsidies.

Homelessness among school age children is on the rise.  During the 2009-10 school year, there were 33,367 students defined as homeless enrolled in Illinois public schools, 3.6% of all students enrolled, representing a 27% increase over three years. National Center for Homeless Education, June 2011.

Sign of Hope: Federal and state-funded prevention programs provide financial assistance that keep people in their homes.  Funded through federal stimulus funds, the Homeless Prevention and Rapid Rehousing (HPRP) Program prevented and ended homelessness for approximately 690,000 people during its first year. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2011.

Many more people live in nursing homes and other institutions than necessary. Illinois ranks second to last nationally in serving people with developmental disabilities in community-based settings. The State of the States in Developmental Disabilities, The University of Colorado, 2011.

Sign of Hope: The State of Illinois has recently settled two class action lawsuits that mandate that people in institutions will be able to make choices about where they live.

We are working to do more to solve these problems.

Updated July 2011

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