Executive Order Number 03-18

Executive Order Number 03-18 (PDF, 101 KB)

 

EXECUTIVE ORDER TO ESTABLISH COMPREHENSIVE HOUSING INITIATIVE

WHEREAS, the State of Illinois does not have a comprehensive state housing policy;

WHEREAS, quality housing at every price point is a needed asset and economic engine in neighborhoods throughout the State and integral to Illinois' ability to achieve its goals related to economic development, sensible growth, education and health care;

WHEREAS, there is a shortage of affordable housing, which threatens the viability of many communities in the State;

WHEREAS, there is a shortage of safe, sanitary and accessible affordable housing that provides adequate services for people with disabilities in this State;

WHEREAS, the State of Illinois is committed to promoting a full range of quality housing choices near jobs, transit and other amenities for all Illinois residents;

WHEREAS, various constituencies have been historically underserved and segregated due to barriers and trends in the existing housing market and/or insufficient resources;

WHEREAS, the State should facilitate the preservation of existing homes and communities as well as the creation of new housing opportunities and, where appropriate, to promote mixed-income communities;

WHEREAS, it is therefore necessary that the State develop a comprehensive and unified policy for the development of affordable housing and the development of supportive services related to housing within the State, including the allocation of resources pursuant to that policy;

THEREFORE, pursuant to the powers vested in me by Article V, Section 11 of the Constitution of the State of Illinois, I hereby order the following:

1. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE HOUSING PLAN
   During the period from the effective date of this Order through December 31, 2008, the agencies under the Governor's authority shall be guided by an annual comprehensive housing plan (the "Annual Comprehensive Housing Plan") that includes the development, preservation or rehabilitation of a range of housing options affordable to all citizens in all regions of the State, is consistent with the affirmative fair housing provisions of the Illinois Human Rights Act, and specifically addresses the following underserved populations:
   1. Households earning below 50% of area median income, with particular emphasis on households earning below 30% of area median income.
   2. Low-income seniors.
   3. Low-income persons with any form of disability, including but not limited to physical disability, developmental disability, mental illness, co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse disorder, or HIV/AIDS.
   4. Homeless persons and persons determined to be at risk of homelessness.
   5. Low and moderate-income persons unable to afford housing near work or transportation.
   6. Low income persons residing in existing affordable housing that is in danger of becoming unaffordable or being lost.
2. CREATION OF HOUSING TASK FORCE AND SUBCOMMITTEE
   1. The Annual Comprehensive Housing Plan shall be developed by a task force (the "Task Force") composed of the following persons or their designees: a representative from the Governor's Office or the Office of Management and Budget responsible for the allocation of bond volume cap for the State (the "Governor's Representative for Bond Cap"); a representative from the Lieutenant Governor's office; the Executive Director of the Illinois Housing Development Authority; the Secretary of the Department of Human Services; and the Directors of the Departments on Aging, Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Children and Family Services, Public Health, Public Aid and Transportation. The Governor may also invite and appoint representatives from the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs of Western Illinois University; and the United States Departments of Housing and Urban Development and Agriculture. The Illinois General Assembly Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate, and the minority leaders of the House of Representatives and the Senate may each appoint one representative to the Task Force. The Governor may appoint up to eighteen(18) housing experts to the Task Force, with proportional representation from urban, suburban and rural areas throughout the State. The Task Force shall be chaired by the Executive Director of the Illinois Housing Development Authority and shall be vice-chaired by a housing expert not from the government sector. The Task Force shall ensure that the Annual Comprehensive Housing Plan as adopted coordinates all housing policies within each State agency represented on the Task Force. The Task Force shall ensure that the Annual Comprehensive Housing Plan shall include, but not be limited to:
      1. Goals for the number and type of housing units to be constructed, preserved or rehabilitated each year for the underserved populations identified in Section I of this Order, based on available housing resources.
      2. Funding recommendations for housing construction, preservation, rehabilitation, and supportive services where necessary, related to the underserved populations identified in Section I of this Order, based on the Annual Comprehensive Housing Plan.
      3. Recommended State actions that promote the construction, preservation, and rehabilitation of affordable housing by private sector, not-for-profit, and government entities and address those practices that impede its promotion.
      4. Specific suggestions, options and incentives for local governments and municipalities to develop their own comprehensive housing plan for their community.
   2. The Task Force shall complete the Annual Comprehensive Housing
      Plan by December 31st of each year the Task Force is in existence and shall deliver the plan to the Governor and the General Assembly on that date or the first business day thereafter. Because of time constraints, the Annual Comprehensive Housing Plan formulated for the year 2004 will be modeled after the State's 2004 Consolidated Plan (the "Consolidated Plan") as required by United States Department of Housing and Urban Development ("HUD"). The Consolidated Plan is being filed with HUD in November of 2003 and will incorporate the various priorities set forth herein.
   3. The Task Force shall report on April 1st of each year the Task
      Force is in existence to the Governor and the General Assembly on progress made toward achieving the projected goals of the Annual Comprehensive Housing Plan during the previous 12 months and from the effective date of this Order.
   4. The Task Force shall have an Executive Committee made up of
      the following 12 members of the Task Force: the Chair, the Vice-Chair, the Governor's Representative for Bond Cap, the Secretary of the Department of Human Services or his or her designee, the Director of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity or his or her designee, and seven (7) housing experts from the Task Force as designated by the Governor. The Executive Committee shall have the following responsibilities:
      1. to oversee and structure the operations of the Task Force;
      2. to create necessary subcommittees and appoint subcommittee members, with the advice of the Task Force, as the Executive Committee deems necessary;
      3. to ensure adequate public input into the Annual Comprehensive Housing Plan;
      4. to involve, to the extent possible, appropriate representatives of the federal government, local governments and municipalities, public housing authorities, local continuum of care, for-profit and not-for-profit developers, supportive housing providers, business, labor, lenders and fair housing agencies;
      5. to coordinate, synthesize and prioritize the recommendations of the Task Force into the Annual Comprehensive Housing Plan and into the Annual Report;
      6. to draft the Annual Comprehensive Housing Plan and the Annual Report on behalf of the Task Force.
   5. A subcommittee of the Task Force (the "Intergovernmental Subcommittee") shall be formed consisting of the following members or their designees: the Executive Director of the Illinois Housing Development Authority, the Secretary of the Department of Human Services, the Directors of the Department on Aging, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the Department of Public Aid, the Department of Public Health and the Department of Transportation, and the Governor's Representative for Bond Cap. The Intergovernmental Subcommittee shall be chaired by the Executive Director of Illinois Housing Development Authority or his or her designee.
3. CREATION OF THE ILLINOIS HOUSING INITIATIVE
   1. The Illinois Housing Initiative (hereafter "the Initiative") is created for the period from the effective date of this Order through December 31, 2008. The purpose of the Initiative shall be to coordinate and streamline the allocation of available housing and supportive housing resources to make it more feasible to prioritize the development of housing for underserved populations in accordance with the Annual Comprehensive Housing Plan.
   2. The Governor directs the Intergovernmental Subcommittee to implement the Initiative by prioritizing the allocation of its resources to those priorities set forth by the Task Force in the Annual Comprehensive Housing Plan. The Intergovernmental Subcommittee shall determine a process to coordinate resources and funding allocations.
   3. As appropriate, the Illinois Housing Development Authority, in consultation with other members of the Intergovernmental Subcommittee, may coordinate the joint issuance of a Notice of Funding Availability (the "NOFA") notifying potential applicants that funding is available for developments serving certain needs as identified by the Task Force in the Annual Comprehensive Housing Plan. The NOFA will indicate the target number and type of housing units to be constructed, rehabilitated or preserved for the underserved populations identified in Section I of this Order or as otherwise identified by the Task Force in its Annual Comprehensive Housing Plan. The NOFA shall include, but not be limited to:
      1. the funding for acquisition, construction, rehabilitation or preservation costs that may be available for each type of housing;
      2. the funding for operating cost subsidies, including any rental assistance, that may be available for each type of housing;
      3. the funding for supportive services that may be available, if appropriate, for each type of housing;
      4. the eligibility requirements for applicants;
      5. the relevant program guidelines;
      6. the selection criteria and process; and
      7. the conditions that must be met by applicants and selected respondents.
   4. Recommendations for funding decisions shall be made by the Intergovernmental Subcommittee and then submitted for approval to the respective Intergovernmental Subcommittee member's agency director, secretary or board of directors, with whom ultimate authority for such an allocation of funds exists. Final funding decisions shall be made in accordance with applicable law.
   5. The Intergovernmental Subcommittee will report back to the Task Force on September 1st of each year the Task Force is in existence, identifying their progress in meeting the goals set forth by the Task Force in the Annual Comprehensive Housing Plan. In addition, each agency represented on the Intergovernmental Subcommittee shall report back to the Task Force on September 1st of each year the Task Force is in existence on the results of its resource allocations based upon the Annual Comprehensive Housing Plan and the Illinois Housing Initiative process. The annual report submitted by each agency shall include both those resources allocated to the Illinois Housing Initiative as well as other resources identified by the Intergovernmental Subcommittee.
4. IDENTIFICATION OF FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR HOUSING CONSTRUCTION, PRESERVATION, REHABILITATION, OPERATIONS AND SUPPORTIVE SERVICES
   1. For each year of this Executive Order, the Intergovernmental Subcommittee shall identify the total moneys available through the Initiative for housing construction, rehabilitation, preservation, as well as any operating/rental subsidies and supportive services where necessary. The Intergovernmental Subcommittee shall also report these identified total moneys to the Executive Committee in order to support the creation of the Annual Comprehensive Housing Plan. The funding sources may include, but are not limited to, a portion of the following federal and State funds as are available to the State and are not otherwise committed as of the effective date of this Executive Order:
      1. State Affordable Housing Trust Fund;
      2. Federal HOME Program;
      3. Federal Community Development Block Grant;
      4. Housing Choice Vouchers;
      5. Low income housing tax credits;
      6. Donation tax credits;
      7. Tax-exempt bond volume cap;
      8. State general revenue funds;
      9. Rental assistance programs, housing allowance programs, housing per diem programs, and other similar programs throughout state agencies;
      10. Federal or other moneys that may become available;
      11. Private grants, loans, and guarantees from local banks, foundations and businesses, if available and clearly allocated for this purpose;
      12. Assistance available under the federal Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program;
      13. State moneys matched by the federal government through the Medicaid program, state general revenue moneys, or other moneys for grants; and
      14. Federal or state moneys received by and appropriated to state agencies that can be used for rental or housing assistance for persons in need of affordable supportive housing.
   2. To the extent possible, the State shall encourage municipalities and other local jurisdictions, including public housing authorities, to construct, rehabilitate and/or preserve housing in their own communities for the underserved populations identified in Section I of this Order and to allocate some portion of their federal, State, or local moneys to the Illinois Housing Initiative.
      This Order shall take effect immediately upon its adoption.

Rod R. Blagojevich, Governor
Issued by Governor: __________, 2003
Filed with Secretary of State: __________, 2003