Blog

Updated September 21

By Sam Carlson, Research and Outreach Manager

Please note: Since the publication of this blog post, the Governor’s moratorium was re-issued, now expiring November 22. Though it doesn’t replace or nullify the CDC moratorium, the state moratorium has more protections and should take precedent until it expires.

Fact sheet available here 

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker’s eviction moratorium is set to expire this Saturday, September 19, if he does not issue another order continuing it. Without this state protection against evictions, Illinoisans will be relying on the federal moratorium. Announced by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) at the beginning of this month, the federal moratorium will halt most evictions of qualified tenants through December 31, 2020. 

The CDC-issued moratorium has fewer protections than previous Illinois moratoria. It is imperative that Illinois tenants understand these changes.  Continue reading Eviction moratorium 101

Horizons Creative Writing Outreach welcomed participants, grassroots leaders, staff and board to attend its annual writers showcase virtually this year. Our September 1 event, held via Zoom, featured original poetry read by grassroots leaders with lived experience of homelessness and their children.

Horizons is a creative writing outreach program offered at family shelters, facilitated by Special Projects Organizer Claudia Cabrera. Twice-a-month sessions involve more than 100 people a year.

Are you a current student or recent graduate who cares about social justice issues? Are you interested in learning more about community organizing? Are you looking to get valuable field experience to strengthen your resume?

The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless is convening a cohort of students and recent graduates to help expand our virtual organizing footprint, register voters, and pass a Fair Tax in Illinois! By participating in this cohort, you will learn key principles of community organizing, network with other students, and professionals passionate about social justice and better understand how to be civically engaged to address homelessness and other social justice issues. Participants will receive a certificate upon completion of the cohort. Continue reading CCH to convene a cohort of students to help expand virtual organizing

By Samuel Carlson, Research and Outreach Manager

On Friday, Gov. JB Pritzker issued an Executive Order that extends the Illinois eviction moratorium through September 19, 2020.

This means Illinois landlords cannot file eviction cases and a Sheriff cannot enforce eviction actions during this time.

In Cook County, limited exceptions exist only in cases where a tenant “poses a direct threat to the health and safety” of other tenants or an “immediate and severe risk to property” (First Municipal District, Extending General Order 2020-23).

At least half a million Illinois households could be at risk of eviction–a crisis disproportionately impacting Black tenants. In Chicago, landlords evict tenants far more often in majority Black neighborhoods, per recent data collected by the U.S. Census. Black and Latinx tenants are also more likely to have an eviction case result in their eviction.  Continue reading Statewide eviction moratorium extended through September 19, yet threat of increased homelessness remains

CCH is proud to be an affiliate charity for the 2020 Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Though the in-person event was canceled, many of our runners are choosing to run a virtual race between October 5 – 11. We are now recruiting additional team members to run a one mile, 5k, 8k, or half marathon distance as part of our Team to End Homelessness.

Continue reading Join the Chicago Marathon Virtual Race

On Wednesday morning, advocates and individuals with lived experience of homelessness held a virtual vigil to call out the increasing pattern of violence against people living on the streets and demand the city interrupt this pattern by making a significant investment in housing. In July, at least two violent attacks were made on individuals experiencing homelessness in Grant Park, one of which resulted in the death of 58-year-old Aaron Curry. 

Tom Gordon, a resident of an encampment in Uptown and volunteer leader with Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) shared his take on the recent violence, “We may be unsheltered and living on the streets, but we are still human beings. The murder of Aaron Curry, the daily pattern of trauma and violence that individuals like me experience – including harassment by the general public or being evicted from the only place we can call home – all of this could be prevented if the city prioritized housing. It’s not right.” Continue reading Community vigil honors life of murdered homeless man and calls on city to prioritize safety through housing by investing an additional $100 million a year