Joining Forces Lobby Day 2024

​On April 3, Joining Forces hosted our second annual Lobby Day at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield! Building on the success of last year’s event, we hosted 21 Connections for the Homeless staff, people with lived experience, and Joining Forces members to advocate for increased funding for homeless services in Illinois. 

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Advocacy Agenda 

This year’s Lobby Day agenda featured two major policy items, as well as some additional bills we were supporting: 

Increased funding for the HOME Illinois Plan 
Connections for the Homeless, Joining Forces for Affordable Housing and our statewide advocacy partners are calling for a $92.2 million increase to the HOME Illinois line item. The HOME Illinois line item supports the State’s 4 primary homeless service programs and the Illinois Office to Prevent and End Homelessness. Following last year’s historic increase in funding for homeless services, providers across the state are still struggling to provide enough services to meet the needs of people experiencing homelessness in Illinois. By providing an additional $92.2 million to the HOME Illinois line item, the state can close this service gap. ​​

The Community Safety through Stable Homes Act 
The Community Safety through Stable Homes Act (HB 5432/SB 3680) is an important bill which aims to protect renters from discriminatory local Crime-Free/Nuisance Ordinances (CFNOs). This bill would prevent local governments from using CFNOs to: 

• Force or encourage landlords to evict tenants based on alleged criminal or “nuisance” behavior. 
• Classify any emergency service contact as nuisance behavior. 
• Require or encourage landlords to use criminal background checks. 
• Require or encourage landlords to evict entire households for one member’s interaction with law enforcement or conviction of a crime. 

Amendment to the Homeless Prevention Program (HB 5564) 
​During Lobby Day, our very own Jori Kovarsky, the Supervisor of Prevention Programs at Connections for the Homeless, provided expert testimony to the House Housing Committee in support of HB 5564. This bill would increase the percentage of funding that providers can use for Administrative and Case Management costs related to operating their homeless prevention program from 15% to 20%. This is important because agencies have seen an increased amount of funding for homeless prevention services in recent years but have struggled to properly staff programs due to the 15% cap on indirect costs. This bill will allow agencies to properly staff case managers to work with participants in the homeless prevention program.  

“By the Numbers” 

Who Participated in Lobby Day? 

• We had 21 lobby day participants this year, including: 

• 10 Connections Staff Members 
• 7 Leaders with Lived Experience 
• 3 Community Members 
• 1 Housing Action Illinois Staff Member​

Who We Talked To? 

• During Lobby Day, we reached the offices of over 115 General Assembly Members, by speaking with: 

• 15 State Representatives 
• Staffers for over 30 General Assembly members 
• Left factsheets and mini houses for over 70 General Assembly Members 

What’s Next?
Over the next two months, we will continue to monitor the progress of our advocacy agenda items as the General Assembly wraps up their spring session. We are also working on a Lobby Day training workshop that can be offered year-round for everybody. Make sure to look out for calls to action to support our efforts and updates about these agenda items! 
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If you are interested in learning more about our state policy advocacy work and get involved, join the Joining Forces State Policy Committee!