Housing Action Illinois

The BUILD proposal may not have passed during the most recent legislative session, but it's not going away! In the meantime, other good things did happen on an affordable housing front. Housing Action's Bob Palmer weighs in with Capitol News Illinois:

Despite BUILD’s failure, housing advocates celebrate legislative wins Housing advocates praised funding gains this year despite the failure of Gov. Pritzker’s BUILD housing plan.

🏡 Homeownership is one of the best ways to build stability and generational wealth—but too many families face barriers & don’t have the resources that could help them succeed in buying a home. This , let’s expand access to trusted support. Start at http://mypathtohome.org

Join our team: Housing Action is hiring a Development Manager! We’re looking for someone with 5-7 years of nonprofit fundraising experience who is passionate about housing justice. Learn more: https://housingactionil.org/blog/2026/06/10/development-manager/

Chicago's new HomeGrown Purchase Assistance Grant will provide low- and moderate- income families up to $70,000 to support the purchase of a home. Learn more:

Housing program to give eligible Chicagoans up to $70,000 toward down payment The HomeGrown Purchase Assistance Grant comes at a time when homeownership is becoming increasingly out of reach for many city residents.

This June, during National Homeownership Month, we’re asking our partners for help in spreading the word about MyPathToHome.org. This free online tool connects would-be homeowners with trusted experts: HUD-approved housing counselors.
We’ve made it easy—just copy and paste from our toolkit 🛠️: https://bit.ly/mpth2026

The 2026 IL legislative session is a wrap, and although certain key proposals are still a work in progress, there's a lot to celebrate: junk rental fees banned, historic property tax reform passed, and homelessness funding protected.

Read the full rundown: https://housingactionil.org/blog/2026/06/02/2026-state-legislative-session-wrap-up

This legislative session, we successfully advocated for reforms to help protect homeowners from losing the equity they've built in their homes through Illinois' property tax sale system. These changes will help prevent situations where families lose homes worth far more than the tax debt they owe.

Learn more and hear from Housing Action's Bob Palmer in this Chicago Tribune article: https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/05/28/cook-county-tax-buyer-industry-equity-theft-reform-bill/

Thank you to the advocates, impacted homeowners, and legislators who helped make this progress possible.

Cook County tax buyer industry would be phased out in ‘equity theft’ reform bill Under a bill that cleared committee in Springfield, annual tax sales — the government’s way of dealing with delinquent property tax payments — would get a major shake-up.

Our joint letter in the Chicago Sun-Times pushes back on the idea that homelessness funding should be cut due to "lower demand." The data tells a different story: homelessness in Illinois grew from ~10,000 in 2023 to nearly 15,000 in 2025. Illinois needs more investment in prevention, shelter, and housing, not less.

Read the letter, which we authored along with partners at Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness & Institute for the Public Good (scroll down!): https://chicago.suntimes.com/letters-to-the-editor/2026/05/30/pullman-innovations-southeast-side-motorists-ai-homelessness-bears-street-vendors-cta-memorial-day