12.13.16

Durbin Announces More Than $3 Million In HUD Funding For Illinois Housing And Community Development

CHICAGO – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that Chicago Housing Authority and The Village of Oak Park, Illinois will receive a total of $3,452,000 in grant funding through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The Village of Oak Park received $3 million through the Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program to spur business development and economic growth in the community. The Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) received $452,000 through the Resident Opportunities and Self Sufficiency (ROSS) Public Housing Family Self-Sufficiency (PH-FSS) Program to provide public housing residents with supportive services, resident empowerment activities, and assistance in becoming economically self-sufficient.
 
“These programs will help families gain the skills necessary to land good-paying jobs and affordable housing, and will give local development agencies the ability to help small business owners in their communities grow and thrive,” Durbin said. “I will continue fighting for federal funding that promotes the health and well-being of Illinois residents and businesses.”
 
Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program Grant
 
The Village of Oak Park will establish a business loan fund focused on lending to small and medium sized businesses. The Village will use these funds to spur expansion of existing businesses, promote neighborhood revitalization, create and retain jobs and deliver key services to the community. The Village plans to make loans to businesses for working capital, acquisition and rehabilitation activities as well as for machinery, equipment, furnishings and fixtures.
 
Section 108 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 provides for a loan guarantee component of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program. The Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program (Section 108) provides communities with a source of financing for economic development, housing rehabilitation, public facilities, and other physical development projects, including improvements to increase their resilience against natural disasters. The funds can be used by a designated public entity to undertake eligible projects, or, alternatively, can be loaned to a third party developer to undertake the projects. This flexibility makes it one of the most potent and important public investment tools that HUD offers to local governments.
 
Resident Opportunities and Self Sufficiency Public Housing Family Self-Sufficiency
 
The Resident Opportunities and Self Sufficiency (ROSS) Public Housing Family Self-Sufficiency (PH-FSS) Program promotes the development of local strategies to coordinate the use of assistance under the public housing program with public and private resources, enable participating families to increase earned income and financial literacy, reduce or eliminate the need for welfare assistance, and make progress toward achieving economic independence and housing self-sufficiency.