CCH’s Response to Governor Pritzker’s FY25 Budget Address 

Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) is mindful of the state’s budget constraints and Governor Pritzker’s focus on putting the state in good economic standing. With the cost of housing and other essentials rising, the state has a responsibility to prioritize the needs of the unhoused.  

Photo of IL Gov JB Pritzker

We laud the Governor’s continued commitment to the Home Illinois initiative, which addresses homelessness through a holistic approach, and understand there are several pipeline pathways needed to support people to maintain stable housing. This initiative is helping Illinois make progress in our efforts to end homelessness across the state.   

We fully support the state’s intentional focus on addressing Black homelessness. The disproportionate number of Black Illinoisans who face homelessness is one more area where we see the manifestation of systemic racism. As part of our advocacy to address this inequity, CCH will advocate for increases in funding to important, ongoing work, such as funding homeless youth, supportive housing, homelessness prevention and emergency shelters, while also dedicating $5 million in the Illinois State Board of Education budget to support the needs of students experiencing homelessness. 

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) 2023 Annual Homeless Assessment Report: Part 1: Point-in-Time Estimates, conducted in January 2023, homelessness increased by 12% from 2022. In Illinois, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) reported 58,498 students experiencing homelessness during the 2022-23 school year, a 22% increase from the year before. As of January 31, 2024, Chicago Public Schools identified 22,777 students experiencing homelessness. This represents a 57% one-year increase and the highest number ever identified at this point in the school year. School districts statewide need funding to provide services and supports to students, especially as American Rescue Plan funds are coming to an end.    

In his address, Governor Pritzker shared the story of Jasmine, a pregnant mother of five in Oak Park experiencing homelessness. Jasmine was able to receive the wraparound services her family needed through Housing Forward and is currently stably housed. He is correct in stating, “There are many hundreds of people like Jasmine out there in need of help.” CCH’s grassroots leaders and homeless and housing service providers would go further and say there are thousands of families facing similar predicaments. This is why we continue to advocate for increases in the established line items. As we have seen over the last year, not including funding in their designated line items has caused delays to service providers receiving contracts, which delays funding and being able to provide much-needed services. It means families who could have remained housed experience homelessness, it means families like Jasmine’s are sleeping in unsafe places because shelter beds are unavailable, it means a shelter hoping to hire a new staff person to support youth in their programs kept that position open for an additional six months awaiting the contracting process. Home Illinois is a great initiative, but its goal of eradicating homelessness is undermined when providers are unable to provide services due to administrative delays.  

We commend the Governor’s understanding that housing is truly a human right and that a person’s citizenship status should not determine whether they have access to safe and affordable housing. The additional $182 million in funding for migrant services in his budget proposal makes this commitment clear. The Governor and the General Assembly have shown through their actions over the past few years that they want to invest in the needs of those who are too often pushed to the margins. We look forward to working with them this year to enact a 2025 budget that continues to support all Illinoisans.  

CCH advocacy leads to passage of three bills, increased funding for housing programs

By Niya K. Kelly, Director of State Legislative Policy, Equity and Transformation

During this successful legislative session, CCH policy and organizing staff, alongside our grassroots leaders, worked on various initiatives to remove barriers for people experiencing homelessness.

Shared advocacy and organizing in Springfield resulted in increased funding for housing programs in the FY23 state budget as well as the passage of HB 5265, HB 4242, and HB 2775, bills that will support K-12 students, increase access to child care, and ban source of income discrimination for renters.

Continue reading CCH advocacy leads to passage of three bills, increased funding for housing programs

Springfield advocacy: CCH’s 2022 state legislative agenda

By Niya K. Kelly, Director of State Legislative Policy, Equity and Transformation

This year the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) is advocating for several statewide measures that would remove barriers for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. CCH policy and organizing staff, along with our grassroots leaders, are leading efforts to pass four bills that will impact students experiencing homelessness, extremely low-income families and children, and people using rental assistance or housing vouchers.

CCH is advocating for the following legislation: 

HB 5265: Financial Equity in Education for Students (FEES)

Illinois school districts are permitted to charge students and their families annual mandatory fees. Fees can include textbooks, instructional materials, and school activities. These fees can add up quickly, putting a strain on low-income parents and guardians who are trying to make ends meet. Fortunately, public school students experiencing homelessness or whose families are classified as low-income have access to fee waivers. Charter schools are obligated to waive fees for students who are experiencing homelessness under the McKinney-Vento Homelessness Assistance Act but are not required to waive fees for low-income students and their families. 

HB 5265 will create parity between students at public schools and charter schools to ensure students and families living in poverty are not burdened by financial barriers to their educations. 

Continue reading Springfield advocacy: CCH’s 2022 state legislative agenda

Learn about our recent victories in our 2021 Annual Report

CCH grassroots leaders and staff, clad in bright yellow CCH t-shirts, standing with fists raised in front of the Illinois state capitol building. Text includes the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless logo and the words 2021 Annual Report.

We are grateful for the strong coalition of people with lived experience, community members, direct-service and advocacy organizations, institutional partners, donors, and volunteers who are working every single day to prevent and end homelessness.

Five blocks in a row. Block 1: Photo of a young woman wearing a hijab, standing, speaking to a Black woman in a trucker hat, seated. Block 2: Blue square that reads: 3,000 people who experienced homelessness were reached by our community organizers and legal aid attorneys. Block 3: photo of a white man speaking to a crowd with a bullhorn. The man is wearing a yellow t-shirt with the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless logo. Block 4: Blue square that reads: 408 legal aid cases were closed by the Law Project, representing 319 clients. Block 5: two young women with brown hair from behind, seated in front of a laptop.

Strong community support contributed to CCH’s many accomplishments over the last year. Read more about our shared victories during Calendar Year 2021 in our annual report.

Blue box with white letters: Read our annual report now

CCH statement on Gov. Pritzker’s State of the State speech

“The measure of any society is how willing we are to care for those who need us.” 

Today in Springfield, Governor Pritzker began his 2022 Budget Address and State of the State with this statement from Margaret Mead, noting that this ethos has guided him and his administration as they have governed through the ravages of the pandemic.  

The Governor’s proposal for the Fiscal Year 2023 budget strives to “protect the most vulnerable” and, on many fronts, it does just that. We understand that Illinois’ fiscal outlook continues to improve. With that positive direction, Illinois should look at this moment as an opportunity to invest in our lowest-income residents, particularly individuals and families who experience housing insecurity. 

Continue reading CCH statement on Gov. Pritzker’s State of the State speech