SB 520-The Rental Housing Support Program is set to move in the State’s Fall Veto Session!

The Rental Housing Support Program bill would provide $30 million in new state funding to provide subsidies directly to landlords who would make housing affordable to households earning less than $19,000 a year. The program would be funded through a $10 charge on real estate recordings.

Housing advocates have been working for two years to pass this legislation and its chances of passing in the fall veto session (Nov. 8-10 & 16-18) are quite good.

We need calls to every state representative and senator before November 8^th.

Call your state legislators today. Ask them to vote yes for SB 520: The Rental Housing Support Program. This bill will make housing affordable for Illinois families with no impact on the state budget.

· The bill is no longer opposed by Cook County Board President John Stroger and is supported by Cook County Recorder Eugene Moore.

· 30% of all units that will be subsidized by the bill will be in Chicago and 21% will be in suburban Chicago. (This is very important for suburban legislators who may think that all of the money is going to Chicago.)

· The bill is supported by the Illinois Association of Realtors, the Chicagoland Apartment Association, Cardinal George, and Mayor Daley.

The lack and loss of affordable housing has become a serious problem in Illinois:

· An extremely low-income household can afford monthly rent of no more than $477, while the Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $823; and

· 1 million renters in need of housing assistance compete for 230,000 assisted-housing units.

This bill would establish a statewide low-income housing trust fund that would make rent affordable (grants would be made directly to landlords who would in turn charge lower rents) for households earning 30% or below the area median income (around $19,000 in Illinois). The program would be funded through a state surcharge of $10 on real estate documents recorded with the county recorder of deeds. The program would generate over $30 million in funding and create over 5,000 units of affordable housing each year. While Chicago and the surrounding suburbs would receive most of the dollars, downstate metro and rural areas would receive half of the units, because housing is more expensive in Chicago.

Ø Past opposition: Cook County Board President John Stroger and Recorder of Deeds Gene Moore, but the former is now neutral and the latter is now supportive

Ø Possible opposition: House members from central and southern Illinois, who may be opposed to the program because they think that only the Chicago area would benefit from it

Ø Current support: Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and the Illinois Association of Realtors

Housing is a priority of many Bishops and dioceses in Illinois and the Catholic Conference of Illinois endorsed the Rental Housing Support Program in March 2004. The bill was never called for a vote during the spring general session due to the opposition detailed above, but the bill will be reintroduced during the fall veto session (November 8, 9, & 10 and 16, 17, & 18) and most likely called for a vote. The Catholic Church supports the bill because of:

1. Our Historic Commitment. The Catholic Church believes that housing is a basic human right, intrinsic to family growth and human connectedness; however, too many families are being forced to move out of their apartments or houses, parishes and neighborhoods that they have called home for many years.

2. Our Comprehensive Efforts. Catholic Charities has been providing shelter and developing housing for decades, and while we have seen some progress over the last few years, the number of homeless families continues to rise and the number of affordable apartments continues to decline.

3. Our Community Presence. The Catholic Church has a presence in every community in Chicago and every city in the state, and we continue to see and hear that the high cost of housing is one of the most serious problems facing Illinois families.

4. Our Low-income Concern. The Catholic Church focuses its charity and justice work on those most in need, the poorest of the poor, who often cannot access government housing assistance and development programs. This program would subsidize rents for households earning less than $19,000 a year.

This bill offers a real solution to the affordable housing crisis in Illinois because it would raise the money needed to reduce rent levels and preserve affordable apartments for thousands of low-income families throughout the state; this bill also presents a real opportunity for the Catholic Church to play a significant role in helping to get it passed.