Low Income Housing Information
Importance of Renter's Insurance
What Types of Low Income Housing are Offered in Illinois?
Illinois has faced major housing challenges for low income people since the decline in American manufacturing began in the 1980s, as the very heart of the region that has become known as the "rust belt." Because of this, efforts at developing, maintaining, and supporting affordable housing long pre-date the current economic crisis and Illinois boasts one of the best infrastructures dedicated to this issue in the United States. Though the present recession and economic crisis has hit Illinois just as much as everywhere else; Illinois was much better prepared to deal with it than many other U.S. states.
Most of the affordable housing programs in Illinois are overseen by the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA, www.ihda.org). The IHDA is the primary authority that encourages the development of affordable housing units throughout the state, and serves as the responsible authority for a number of federal and state programs, including the allocation of Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTCs), the federal HOME program, the Illinois Affordable Housing Trust Fund and the Illinois Affordable Housing Donations Tax Credit Fund. The IHDA also does some funding in its own right through the selling of its own bond issues and preferred lending agreements with private investors.
The IHDA also oversees the Rental Housing Support Program (RHS), which is the largest state-run rental assistance program in the country and works to supplement many of those unable to take advantage of the federal Section 8 housing program. The RHS operates under a series of Local Administering Agencies (LAAs) that actually operate the rental assistance measures. The IHDA simply oversees the program and issues funds to the LAAs as requested. The RHS program is based on the housing units in question as opposed to the tenants, which mean the LAAs primarily deal with landlords. However, in order to qualify, renters have to be at or below thirty percent of their local areas median income, based on figures calculated by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The range of programs offered by the IHDA is truly enormous and represents one of the government run housing support networks in the United States. People looking for housing assistance in Illinois should probably begin by visiting the IHDA website and taking time to explore all the many programs offered. Everything from old fashioned project-based urban housing (the stereotypical "housing projects") to the most modern tenant-based voucher programs that allow the recipient to live almost anywhere is available.
Beyond the IHDA and state programs, most major urban areas also have their own independent housing authorities that offer additional programs. Since Chicago serves as the anchor to the world's twenty-sixth biggest metropolitan area, it can come as no surprise that the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA, www.thecha.org) is a major organization that is comparable is size and scope to the state-wide IHDA. Since 2000, the CHA has been a national leader in the movement to stop confining low income people to undesirable urban projects, opting instead to carefully mix in low income people into the broader city and society through mixed pubic/private developments. Other major cities also have their own local housing authorities as well, though few are as dynamic as the CHA.
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