Paving the Path to Homeownership for Housing Choice Voucher Holders
Since the mid-20th century, homeownership has been one of the most important vehicles for building wealth in the United States. According to research from the…
Grants
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Our Grantmaking Strategy
For more than 100 years, The Chicago Community Trust has convened, supported, funded, and accelerated the work of community members and changemakers committed to strengthening the Chicago region. From building up our civic infrastructure to spearheading our response to the Great Recession, the Trust has brought our community together to face pressing challenges and seize our greatest opportunities. Today, that means confronting the racial and ethnic wealth gap.
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Grant Recipient
HOUSING ACTION ILLINOIS
Our work plan continues key work in 5 areas that reflect the Chicago Community Trust’s focus on preserving and expanding access to affordable homeownership in communities of color. Housing Action will: - Use public education, organizing, and other strategies to support strong implementation of the federal Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and the Illinois CRA, now that the respective rules have been finalized. Additionally, we will take action to support the completion of a state-mandated disparity study to strengthen future implementation of the IL CRA, including submitting recommendations for the scope of the study. - Support implementation and evaluation of the State of Illinois Property Tax Payment Plan Task Force recommendations to establish pre-tax sale payment plan resources for Cook County homeowners with delinquent property taxes. These include launching a payment plan calculator and sending email/text reminders to help people avoid the annual tax sale and potential loss of their homes. - Advocate for a new state law that ensures counties comply with the Tyler v. Hennepin US Supreme Court decision to protect the equity of homeowners and other property owners–and do so in a way that enables more affordable payoff of delinquent property taxes than under the current system, which is based on the annual tax sale. To support this work, we will collaborate with NHS of Chicago to update our 2021 analysis of tax sale evictions, incorporating newer data we have secured from the Cook County Sheriff and the Cook County Treasurer. - Address appraisal issues, including systemic bias, through participation in NHS of Chicago’s appraisal task force and the National Appraisal Foundation’s Council to Advance Residential Equity (CARES). As part of our work with CARES, we will provide a community perspective to its deliberations, including increasing focus on consumer education and engaging with state regulatory officials to collect demographic data to make the appraisal industry more reflective of the population. - Advocate to make housing counseling an eligible use for Illinois Affordable Housing Trust Fund funding. If successful, we will urge the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) to commit $5 million in annual funding for housing counseling agencies. Illinois Community Reinvestment Act We have continued to coordinate the IL CRA Coalition to ensure that the administrative rules for the federal CRA and the new IL CRA law meet the community investment needs of low-income communities and that communities of color are the focal point of the IL CRA. We organized community-based organizations to testify at public hearings and submit public comments supporting these goals. On October 24, 2023, the three federal regulators released final updates to the federal CRA rules. The new rules make several improvements for making evaluating CRA performance in lending clearer and more transparent to the public. Another good change is that Special Purpose Credit Programs, which facilitate access to credit for persons who would otherwise not receive it, are explicitly encouraged. The new rules also evaluate banks based on their online banking services. Unfortunately, in March 2024, a preliminary injunction to block implementation of the rules was granted by federal court based on a banking industry lawsuit. However, we will move forward on education on the new federal rules so that it's understood what is at stake if the lawsuit successfully blocks the rule. For the IL CRA, groups representing regulated entities under the state law – banks, credit unions, and mortgage companies – actively opposed the initial proposed rules, released in mid-December 2022, dragging out the approval process for over 16 months. Much of the opposition was based on the examination fees, but other issues included alleged regulatory burdens, especially for smaller entities. On May 1, 2024, the final IL CRA rules were published and adopted. Through Illinois Senate Bill 3235, we are advocating for a disparity study to be conducted to identify and define places in Illinois exhibiting significant disparities concerning access to financial products, services, lending, and investments by covered financial institutions. The proposed study will analyze disparities related to protected characteristics under the Illinois Human Rights Act, including, but not limited to, race, national origin, sex, disability, marital status, and military status. The goal is for the information, findings, and other results from the study to be used as part of the IL CRA examination process of covered financial institutions. However, exactly how this may happen will be subject to subsequent rulemaking, which we will monitor to ensure that the disparity study serves its intended purpose of providing an equity lens in the IL CRA exam process. We expect this bill to pass before the end of the 2024 General Assembly session and that the fiscal year 2025 state budget will include appropriations to conduct the study. Now that the regulatory work is complete, we will undertake public education activities, including webinars and roundtables, to ensure that community-based stakeholders know about federal CRA changes and how the IL CRA will be implemented. We especially want community-based organizations to understand how they can participate in the public input components of the federal and IL CRA examinations for individual financial institutions and how to engage local financial institutions to increase their levels of community investment. Cook County Property Tax Payment Plan Task Force The task force finalized its report on March 18, 2024. Since then, we and our partners, primarily the NHS of Chicago, have been working with the Cook County Treasurer’s office to implement the recommendations. There are tentative plans for the Treasurer’s office to do soft launches of the online Payment Plan Calculator in June, after a feedback session with HUD-approved housing counselors we are organizing, and an email/text payment reminder system later in the summer. We are also working with the Treasurer’s office on marketing plans and evaluation metrics. Protect the Equity of Homeowners The Cook County Property Tax Payment Plan Task Force’s work created interest in advocating for a new state law to make sure counties comply with the Tyler v. Hennepin US Supreme Court decision to protect the equity of homeowners and other property owners – and do so in a way that enables more affordable payoff of delinquent property taxes than under the current system, based on the annual tax sale. During the first half of 2024, we have monitored state legislation introduced on this issue, including troubling legislation developed by the Illinois Tax Purchasers Association, and helped organize testimony at subject matter hearings in both the House and Senate. The Chicago Community Trust has been a key ally in this work, including by testifying at both hearings. Appraisal Bias The role of appraisal bias in contributing to reduced values in majority-minority neighborhoods, which results in a loss of wealth-building potential for Black and Latinx households, continues to gain attention on the local, state, and national levels. With this grant support, we will make linkages across these levels and identify and advocate for reforms to the appraisal process by participating in the National Appraisal Foundation’s CARES Council and NHS of Chicago’s appraisal task force. In our participation on the council, we will work with state regulatory officials to collect demographic data, such as gender, ethnicity, and education, and use this information to develop unique approaches to address appraisal issues. Housing Counseling Sector Support Community-based housing counseling agencies provide critical support for those looking to purchase a home, especially for first-time home buyers, as well as those looking to preserve this asset. We are supporting Illinois’ housing counseling sector in several ways, including working to increase funding for these agencies and ensuring that nonprofit shared equity programs can continue while still regulating predatory practices. In terms of funding, during the second half of 2023, we engaged IHDA in discussions about updating the administrative rules for the Illinois Affordable Housing Trust Fund to make housing counseling an eligible use of the funds. However, IHDA declined to move forward, citing limited staff resources. Therefore, we have decided to pursue this policy change through legislation in 2025. We were successful, however, in advocating for the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank) to continue its Community First Housing Counseling Resource Program, which started with $1 million for 2022, to fund HUD-approved housing counseling agencies in Illinois and to even increase that funding (by an additional $1 million, for a total of $2 million) for this current program year. During the first half of 2024, we also worked with Habitat for Humanity affiliates across Illinois, Community Partners for Affordable Housing, Here to Stay Community Land Trust, and the Chicago Housing Trust to understand and advocate for changes to proposed state legislation, SB 3551. This bill regulates potentially predatory “shared appreciation agreements,” aka “cash for equity” products, that are often predatory in nature; they provide homeowners with immediate funds in exchange for an ownership interest in the home. The regulatory requirements include mandatory housing counseling for homeowners considering these products. Because of some common features, the drafted legislation also necessarily regulates homeowner programs that create permanent affordability through shared equity agreements; agreed-upon changes limit predatory products without unduly restricting nonprofit shared equity programs.
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Grant Recipient
Reparations Media NFP
There is a persistent need in Chicago to enhance the stability and reach of hyperlocal, ethnic, and community-centered news platforms. Change Agents Journalism Lab is committed to addressing this gap by providing robust training and resources to emerging journalists passionate about reporting on critical issues for Chicago’s communities. Our journalism lab will immerse and mentor emerging journalists in the models not frequently taught in institutions: solutions, community and solidarity journalism. In doing so, we hope to provide a pathway for diverse young people into Chicago’s journalism community and create a more diverse media ecosystem. Emerging reporters walk away from our program — and into newsrooms across the country — with the skills to produce high-quality and inclusive reporting about marginalized communities. Alumni produce Black- and Latino-centered broadcasts, coordinate citizen-led journalism projects and now work for The Trace, PBS- and NPR-affiliates across the country, including WBEZ/Vocalo; Illinois Answers Project; City Bureau; Crain’s Chicago Business; Agence France-Presse (AFP); WBAY-TV; and Cicero Independiente. Approaching our fifth year of Change Agents, we are building upon our refined curriculum to expand the capacity and impact of the most innovative part of our journalism lab, our community engagement events that democratize access to information by bringing the Change Agents work to the public. These events are collaborations between our series creators and the community organizations they work with, they expand our reach beyond podcast listeners and extend invitations to community members to listen to the complete Change Agents audio series. For instance, after our presentation with Chicago’s People Matter and Change Agents journalist Wendy Wei at the Illinois Arts Council’s One State Conference downloads for Wei’s episode How to Tackle AntiBlackness increased by more than 1,200 downloads. This year, we are hiring a new team member to focus fully on audience and community engagement. This role will primarily provide support for the co-hosted listening events and increase the capacity to engage news consumers through the use of our newsletter and social media. We identify and collaborate with community organizations who are focused on improving their communities, providing community solutions, and are in need of more materials for raising awareness for their mission and impact in disinvested communities who suffer from persistent patterns of inequity in areas central to daily living such as housing, health, employment, education, economic investment, transportation, and public safety. A successful collaboration for the journalism lab with the journalist and community leader results in a poignant episode in our Change Agents audio series that the community organization can use to build their constituency, raise awareness, and refine their messaging about the community organization’s impact. We are seeking funds match committed funds to this position to drive sustained growth in Chicago’s disinvested communities. This grant will enable us to significantly expand our journalism training program and produce an impactful audio series that elevates the voices of Chicago residents. By democratizing news content and enhancing digital engagement, we aim to foster a more inclusive and trusted local media ecosystem.
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Grant Recipient
THE BASE (BOSTON ASTROS BASEBALL CLUB INCORPORATED)
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Grant Recipient
The Chicago Community Trust
TRHT seeks to plan, develop, and implement a series of healing and solidarity circles for key communities and civic leaders in Chicago. The intended short-term goal of this work is for program participants to gain a deeper understanding of how racism has impacted the health and economic vitality of Chicago communities and to feel a greater sense of solidarity with those who live there. From this heightened level of awareness and understanding, the intended long-term goal is for participants to leverage their political, financial, and institutional power to increase investments (both corporate and philanthropic) in impacted neighborhoods, thereby strengthening equity-driven policies, institutions, and opportunities.
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Grant Recipient
Better Future Forward
Better Future Forward (BFF) is dedicated to providing accessible, protective, and sustainable financial support to address the unmet financial needs of City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) students and alumni. The two-fold goals of this project are 1) to continue to innovate and improve BFF’s unique ISA model to best serve community college students and 2) to position BFF’s program to attract larger-scale sources of capital—both philanthropic and impact investing. By achieving both objectives, BFF will enable a much larger number of CCC students and alumni to have access to protective financial support through BFF’s program, as well as develop a blueprint for how best to equitably, accessibly, and sustainably address the financial challenges facing students across Chicago.
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Grant Recipient
Economic Awareness Council
The proposed project, Expansion of Applied Financial Capability Supports for Students at the City Colleges of Chicago, will build upon the successful initial project implementation in 2023-24 by the Economic Awareness Council (“EAC”) as well as partners, the City Colleges of Chicago (“CCC”), the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (“ISAC”), and Working Credit (“WC”). The successful 2023-2024 project addressed 4 key areas of need: understanding & management of the student financial aid process; budgeting for emergencies; credit building; and planning for students’ financial future. These four areas were addressed using the following strategies: inclusion of an expanded financial capability discussion in the financial aid process; increased opportunities for education related to financial aid, credit building, identity protection, saving and investing; one on one mentoring with peer financial educators (money mentors), Working Credit team members and ISAC Student Corp members; hands on behavioral objectives such as checking ones credit, banking, or creating a budget; referrals to ongoing financial coaching & other financial resources within the community as needed; and concrete student incentives (either saving or credit building incentives). This pilot will be supported by the continued growth and work of the financial capability planning team at City Colleges of Chicago.
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Grant Recipient
REVOLUTION WORKSHOP
Revolution Workshop’s Construction Pre-Apprenticeship Programs (our Fieldwork Pre-Apprenticeship and our new Construction Professional Pre-Apprenticeship) provide best-in-class, hands-on training to individuals from disinvested Black and Brown communities across the city. Trainees earn middle-skills certifications and are then placed into jobs and career pathways like carpenter, plumber, and electrician (Fieldwork) as well as project coordinator, assistant project engineer, estimators, and entry-level CAD drafter (Construction Professional). Yet we know that landing a job is only the first step of their journey to living-wage, family-sustaining careers. RW’s Career Growth Services is a multi-pronged approach to engaging graduates in ongoing educational, network-building, and transitional employment opportunities that will help them grow in the construction field and break cycles of poverty for themselves and their families. Through this proposal, we are requesting funding to support both our Career Growth Services initiative as well as our newest program—our Construction Professional Pre-Apprenticeship—which places graduates directly into $25/hr+ careers.
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Grant Recipient
Hire360
HIRE360 proposes support for its Training, Mentorship, & Alumni Services program to improve placement and retention in construction industry, living wage unionized apprenticeships for residents of historically under-represented communities. HIRE360 will enroll 330 individuals as candidates yearly into its pre-apprenticeship programs, and graduate (transition) 150 candidates yearly into construction industry programs. Of these 25-35 new apprentices will participate in our monthly mentorship program events. Of candidates transitioned into registered apprenticeships, 100 yearly will participate in one or more Alumni Services: Resume and Job Readiness Workshops; acquiring or renewing CPR certification; attending our annual hiring event; and/or using HIRE360’s job board. Enrolled participants (330) will average 51% Black/African American; 30% Hispanic/Latino/a; 12% White/Caucasian; 6% Multi-Racial. 1% will not disclose their racial/ethnic status.