THE LACK OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN ILLINOIS IS A PERSISTENT PROBLEM

Workers struggle to afford the rent. A full-time worker in Illinois must earn $15.95 per hour in order to afford the cost of an average two-bedroom apartment ($829) without paying more than 30% of income on housing.
Out of Reach, National Low Income Housing Coalition, 2006.

Seniors, people with disabilities and others with limited incomes need affordable places to live.
Monthly Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments for an individual are $603. If SSI represents an individual's sole source of income, $181 in monthly rent is affordable, while the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $721.
Out of Reach, National Low Income Housing Coalition, 2006.

There is a shortage of rental units for those with the lowest incomes.
In Chicago, there is a shortage of nearly 85,000 affordable rental units for extremely low-income households.
Affordable Housing Conditions and Outlook in Chicago, UIC Voorhees Center, 2006.

There are long waiting lists to access housing subsidies.
There are currently 92,521 Housing Choice Vouchers approved for use in Illinois but another 52,969 households are on waiting lists for these vouchers.
Not Even A Place in Line, Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights, 2007.

We are losing public housing units.  63,000 public housing units available but approximately 5,000 units have been lost to demolition, conversion or abandonment since 2003. 65,184 Illinois households are on waiting lists for public housing.
Not Even A Place in Line, Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights, 2007.

Subsidized rental units are at risk of conversion to market-rate housing. By 2011, the Section 8 contracts for more than 63,000 affordable rental units across the state will expire. Based on market conditions nearly one-third are at a high-risk of conversion to market rate housing.
Chicago Rehab Network, 2007.

Foreclosures exceed the national average.
In Illinois, foreclosure filings increased by 55% in 2006, compared to the national average of 42%.*  In Chicago, foreclosures due to sub-prime loans have increased by 858% since 1993.^# *Realty Track, 2006. ^#Report on Illinois Poverty, Mid-America Institute on Poverty of Heartland Alliance, 2007.

Homelessness, often experienced by children, is prevalent in all parts of the state.
In fiscal year 2006, state-funded homeless shelter and transitional housing programs serviced 49,150 individuals served (58% in Chicago and 42% in the rest of the state). 35% of individuals served were aged 21 or younger.
Illinois Department of Human Services, 2007.

Lack of affordable housing exposes women to violence.
In 2006, state-funded Illinois domestic violence programs served 45,574 adults (96% women) and 10,074 children.* In one study, 46% of women in homeless shelters cited not having a safe and affordable housing alternative as the primary reason they remained with an abusive partner.^#
  *Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 2007. ^#Homeless in Minnesota 2003, Wilder Research Center, 2004.

Fully accessible housing for people with disabilities is in short supply. 
It is estimated that only 7.5%, or 8,466 units, of Illinois’ subsidized housing could be made full accessible to people with disabilities.
Locating Affordable and Accessible Housing for People with Disabilities in Illinois, Illinois Assisted Housing Action and Research Project, 2007.

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