13 Illinois communities to receive housing rehabilitation grant funds

The Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity, DCEO, has announced the recipients of the 2020 Community Development Block Grant, CDBG, for Housing Rehabilitation.  

Through the program, DCEO will award $6.8 million in assistance for communities to invest in over 135 housing improvement projects. 

For communities that are still interested in applying, DCEO has issued another round of funding for the 2021 program which makes $7 million in project funds available to make additional homes healthy and safe to live in.

Housing rehabilitation grants are designed to assist low-to-moderate income homeowners with improvements to ensure safe and sanitary living conditions.  

Eligible uses of funds range from structural work to electrical, plumbing, new appliances, flooring, ADA, and accessibility accommodations and more. 

Homeowners work through the local unit of government to apply for the grant. Up to $50,000 may be spent on each home.

Southern Illinois communities which are among the grant recipients include:

The City of Carterville, $500,000. The City of Herrin, $542,000. 

The City of Marion, $542,000. The City of Orient, $500,000.

The City of Sesser, $500,000. The City of West Frankfort, $500,000. The Village of Valier, $542,000.

The CDBG Housing Rehabilitation project is funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD. 

The state-administered funds are earmarked exclusively for non-metropolitan communities that do not receive CDBG entitlement funding from HUD. 

 All grants will fund housing improvement projects for investment in low- and moderate-income households exclusively. 

Local governments applying on behalf of homeowners are required to demonstrate a need for housing rehabilitation in their town, with projects prioritized based on community impact, project readiness and coordination with other local resources to help ignite the maximum impact of housing improvements. 

“The pandemic has exacerbated the challenges many communities confront in ensuring safe, affordable and sanitary housing for residents,” said State Sen. Dale Fowler (R-Harrisburg). 

“These grants are an investment in our municipalities, helping to rehabilitate and improve housing in our neighborhoods for a stronger community infrastructure.” 

 Local governments will have two years to complete the projects and are responsible for coordinating contractors to perform the work. 

For low- to moderate-income families eligible for the projects, this ensures the homeowner does not incur debt. 

 Since the program was launched, almost $175 million in funds have been directed to support over 3,600 housing upgrade projects. 

Each local community receiving the grant will evaluate homes requesting assistance for the program, with many prioritizing investments for homes owned by seniors or those with a disability.  

All homes must be single family owner occupied and prove they are in need of assistance based on income verification. 

The application deadline for the 2021 program is Tuesday, Aug. 3, which makes another $7 million available for housing improvement projects in downstate cities and towns. 

Communities which are interested in applying for the 2021 program are advised to attend the Office of Community Development Housing Workshop, which is scheduled for March 30.

Registration information can be found on DCEO’s website at www2.illinois.gov.