In the hierarchy of human needs, housing is basic, and there should be room for all in every community. However, there is a lack of reasonably priced housing in Illinois.
There is a shortage of 142,000 homes and needs to build 227,000 units over the next five years to keep up with demand, according to research from the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and the Project for Middle Class Renewal at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
A bill has been introduced in the Illinois House, HB 5626, that seeks to address the lack of affordable housing by increasing the abundance of such housing and thereby reducing homelessness.