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During his State of the State address, Pritzker unveiled the
initiative Home Illinois, which focuses on helping state agencies
with housing ideas and other services. He highlighted Rockford,
where Mayor Thomas McNamara has said they have nearly eliminated
chronic homelessness.
“The state should help other communities do the same, mobilizing
every agency and every resource at our disposal so that no
Illinoisans go without a home,” Pritzker said.
Illinois Homelessness Chief Christine Haley said during a recent
House Housing Committee hearing that Illinois’ homeless population
is diverse.
“The LGBQ community, persons fleeing interpersonal violence, college
students, there are so many different faces that we see of our
Illinois residents who are experiencing homelessness throughout the
school year,” Haley said.
There are four main pillars in Home Illinois, including affordable
and permanent supportive housing, bolstering safety nets, assisting
with financial stability, and closing the mortality gap, Haley said.
In Pritzker’s budget proposal, $360 million would be directed to the
program, including $90 million to build housing and shelter units
around the state.
State Rep. Will Guzzardi, D-Chicago, is head of the House Housing
Committee. He said the committee may be responsible for determining
how those taxpayer dollars are spent.
“Let’s get together all the line items across the state budget that
touch homelessness in some way and pull them into one place and
really look at those line items and dig in and we can kind of treat
ourselves like an appropriations committee in some way and think
about where we need to spend more money and invest more resources
around ending homelessness,” Guzzardi said.
Kevin Bessler reports on statewide issues in Illinois for the
Center Square. He has over 30 years of experience in radio news
reporting throughout the Midwest.
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