State Update
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. 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.
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.
In addition to the workshops and plenary sessions, Mary Kenney, Executive Director at IHDA, gave an inspiring keynote address and Senator Dick Durbin spoke of the harsh realities facing us a federal level, and told us what we could do about them.
Finally, we celebrated Housing Action Illinois’ 25th Anniversary at a reception Thursday evening where we were able to see old friends and celebrate the accomplishments made in the last 25 years.
Thank you to all those who attended and made this conference such a success! We look forward to continuing our work with you to make affordable housing a reality in Illinois!
Our New Members
Housing Action welcomes our newest individual members, Joe Alamillo of NSP Consultants, LLC. and Mike Rohrbeck of Andrea A. Raila & Associates.
Remember to thank you legislators who voted favor of the bill, Senate Bill 2412 (House Amendment #2. You can see the House and Senate votes at the following links:
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/votehistory/97/house/09700SB2412_11292011_013000T.pdf
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/votehistory/97/senate/09700SB2412_11292011_033001C.pdf
Federal Update
Congress has approved the fiscal year 2012 federal budget for the Department of Housing and Urban Development and a few other agencies, including the Department of Agriculture. President Obama signed the budget into law on November 18 along with a continuing resolution to fund other parts of the government.
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the FY12 budget provides $37.3 billion in new spending authority for HUD—$3.8 billion below last year's budget less than any HUD budget since 2003 in inflation-adjusted terms.
Among the hardest hit were funding for public housing capital repairs, the production of new affordable housing under HOME and the housing programs for the elderly and people with disabilities.
Other small victories include:
Funding for the renewal of Housing Choice Vouchers was slightly increased during final negotiations, although the budget still does not provide enough resources to guarantee renewal of all vouchers if reserve funds prove inadequate.
Homeless Assistance Grants are level-funded at the FY11 level of $1.9 billion. This should allow for renewal of all existing projects and for a small amount of money to be available for the new Emergency Solutions Grant Program, which is focused on homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing activities.
Housing Counseling program is partially restored to $45 million (half the amount in FY10) after all funding for counseling was cut in FY11.
Migrant Farmers
In mid-October, organizations through out the state met in Springfield to advocate for the poor labor conditions and lack of affordable and decent housing faced by migrant and seasonal farm workers in Illinois. Five individuals from a variety of social services agencies offered testimony at the hearing, which was sponsored by the Illinois Senate’s Agriculture and Conservation Committees, chaired by State Senator Mike Frerichs. Pressing issues that were brought up at the hearing included strengthening laws meant to protect farm workers, such as the Illinois Migrant Labor Camp Law, and to re-establish cross-function and cross-agency efforts for reviewing and addressing farm worker conditions. State Senator Toi Hutchinson also spoke at the hearing, stating that she hopes legislation that addresses the dangerous housing and labor conditions will be produced. Says the Senator: “If this were happening in another country, we would be talking about human rights violations — not an agricultural protection act — I’m talking about human rights violations.”
Year of Successes
If you're subscribed to receive Action Alerts with our HousingMatters.net mailing list, you know that 2011 has been a busy year for us. Below are just an example of the many accomplishments Housing Action Illinois has seen this year:
#Protections for Security Deposits of Renters in Foreclosed Buildings passed
#Successfully advocated to pass HB 1574 (partnership with Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law
#Funding for Emergency and Transitional Housing restored
#Cited more than 20 times in print and other media outlets
#Organized postcard and online petition campaign, collecting over 825 postcards & signatures
#Helped 2 agencies achieve CHDO status, 2 agencies become HUD certified, and helped 5 housing counseling agencies develop pre-purchase counseling curricula
#State income tax increase signed into law (as part of the Responsible Budget Coalition)
#Multi-faceted reform bill passed
#Bill passed allowing TIF funds to cover up to 100% of construction or interest costs for people with extremely low income
Help Requested
As we look forward to 2012 Housing Action requests your feedback in a number of areas. We want to help you maximize your membership so please tell us what you need!
Housing Counselor Trainings
Housing Action is currently brainstorming training topics for 2012. Was there a training you attended that's worth repeating? A topic you wish we would have addressed? We'd love to hear your suggestions. Please contact Erica at 312-939-6074 x108 or erica@housingactionil.org.
Webinar Series
Housing Action is in the planning stages of implementing a webinar series. Please follow the link to take a short survey so that we can assess your training needs. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LG5N3RH
Success Stories
Housing Action Illinois knows our members do amazing work, but we want everyone else to know too! We're looking to highlight your successes and need you to send them to us. If your organization has a recent accomplishment they want us to know about, please call or email Lauren Schroeder at (312)939-6074 x 111 or at lauren@housingactionil.org.
Membership Directory
It's that time again--Housing Action will be putting out its organizational membership directory in January 2012. Current members, now is the time to let us know if any information has changed, such as address, phone, executive director, etc. Not a member? Join by January 5 to ensure that your organization makes it into our directory. http://www.housingactionil.org/membership
Housing Matters! conference
Our Housing Matters! conference was a huge success! Over 150 policy advocates, housing counselors, housing developers and allies with a desire to promote and expand affordable housing gathered together in Chicago to learn up-to-date information and methods to better help all people in Illinois have access to decent, affordable housing.
VISTA Corner
Meet Leah McDonald, the membership and education VISTA volunteer at Bridge Communities in Glen Ellyn, IL. She’s recently completed two cool projects. She’s been working to develop a new educational curriculum to teach kids about homelessness, focusing on homelessness in the suburbs. The curriculum includes scavenger hunts and games, such as the youth
having to feed themselves with a $10 budget keeping in mind that they won’t have access to a can opener or microwave. Leah also helped coordinate Bridge Communities’ 8th annual Sleep Out Saturday, a fundraiser where church youth groups and others raise money and then sleep out in their yards or at their church. This event is held on the first Saturday every November.
When asked what her favorite part of being a VISTA at Bridge Communities she replied with, "The people. It is such a laid-back and fun atmosphere; I'm always laughing at some point in the day."
Bridge Communities is always looking for volunteers. If you’d like to get involved, please contact Amy Van Polen at 630-545-0610 or amy.vanpolen@bridgecommunities.org.
To learn more about AmeriCorps*VISTA, please visit: http://www.americorps.gov/about/programs/vista.asp
About Us
Housing Action Illinois is a statewide, non-profit, membership- based organization.
OUR MISSION: To increase and preserve the supply of decent, affordable, accessible housing in Illinois for low-and moderate-income households.
OUR VALUES: Housing is a human right. We believe in a society that promotes basic human needs such as decent and safe housing for all of its members. Public policy and government spending should ensure that the basic housing needs of all people are met.
OUR VISION: To create an environment where all Illinois residents, including people with the lowest incomes, have a voice in housing policy and community development. We seek to bring together community stakeholders such as residents, businesses, and government to work together to increase the supply and availability of affordable housing across the state.
OUR MEMBERS: Nonprofit organizations, individuals and corporations throughout the state, who care about and believe in the importance of decent, affordable, accessible housing for all our residents.
Stay Connected
The Housing Action Illinois E-newsletter is distributed every other month, and includes affordable housing news, upcoming events, tips for housing developers and counselors, and legislative updates.
Signing up for Housing Counseling Training and Technical Assistance Notices will help keep you informed of all Housing Action Illinois-sponsored trainings and technical assistance opportunities.
Housing Developer Training and Technical Assistance Notices will keep you up to date on all trainings and information that you need as an affordable housing developer.
Public Policy Advocacy Updates and Alerts summarize the latest news on housing and homelessness at the state and federal levels and provide opportunities to take action
For More Information
E-Mail: news@housingactionil.org
Phone: 312-939-6074
Website: http://www.housingactionil.org
©2011 Housing Action Illinois
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Chicago, IL 60603
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