Gov. J.B. Pritzker used the release of a report on Black homelessness in Illinois to press the case for his proposal to increase funding on efforts to address the issue in next year’s budget by $50 million, which would go toward additional rental assistance, legal aid and new programs.
The report included an analysis of the historical factors influencing higher rates of homelessness within Black communities compared with white people as well as short- and long-term policy recommendations to reduce inequities. Christine Haley, whose position of Illinois homelessness chief was created three years ago by Pritzker, called the report a “launchpad” to continue work toward reducing rates of homelessness, particularly among Black people.
The budget Pritzker proposed in February, which remains under negotiation in the General Assembly until a vote scheduled for late May, would increase spending on the state’s Home Illinois Plan to End to Prevent and End Homelessness, an initiative under the Illinois Department of Human Services, to $250 million from $200 million.