Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) said Nov. 4 that Illinois will receive over $67 million in federal grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development for housing in urban areas, including Will and Kane counties.
“This federal investment will give local development agencies across Illinois the ability to offer affordable housing and homeless assistance to the people in their community who need it most,” Durbin said.
The funds come from four different federal grant program. The largest portion of money is from Community Development Block Grants, which seek to improve urban neighborhoods by improving access to housing and economic opportunities for people with low or moderate incomes. The HOME program funds affordable housing for low and very low income people, and Emergency Shelter Grants fund the maintenance and improvement of shelters and their services. The Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA) program funds projects that help low-income people living with HIV/AIDS find housing.
More than 60 percent of the funds will be disbursed to the state, with the remainder being divided among several county and municipal governments, including Elgin and Will, Kane and Cook counties.
HUD counted 13,107 people without housing in Illinois during a one-night survey in January. The count was down from the 14,395 counted during a similar survey in 2010.
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