Mission
Coordinating State of Illinois agency strategies and investments and partnering with the community to build a strong safety net and permanent housing for Illinoisans facing homelessness and housing insecurity.
Vision
No resident in the State of Illinois lives on the street, in a shelter or in overcrowded housing. Illinoisans earn a living wage that allows them to afford housing in their community, without fear of eviction. When a housing crisis occurs, safety nets supports allow quick resolution to stabilize housing.
Executive Order to Fight Homelessness in Illinois
In September 2021, Governor Pritzker signed the Executive Order to Fight Homelessness in Illinois (EO) effective September 03, 2021. The executive board created two new commissions within State Government and a new position to lead the work:
- Illinois Interagency Task Force on Homelessness (Task Force): The Task Force membership comprises leadership of Illinois State Agencies. The Task Force is charged with delivering a State plan on homelessness and delivering it to the Governor and General Assembly. The key purpose of the Task Force is to coordinate strategy, effort, and impact to programs for persons experiencing homelessness and housing instabilities. The Task Force will make regulatory, policy and resource changes to end homelessness. The Task Force will "make oversight recommendations that will ensure accountability, results, and sustained success; and develop specific proposals and recommendations for action."
- Community Advisory Council on Homelessness (Advisory Council): Advisory Council provides guidance and recommendations to the Task Force on the strategy and implementation of the Illinois Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness. The representation on the Advisory Council is representative of rural, urban, and suburban communities.
- State Homelessness Chief (Chief): The Chief serves as the chair of the Task Force and co-chair of the Advisory Council. The EO identifies the role of the Chief to "serve as a policymaker and spokesperson on homelessness prevention, including coordinating the multi-agency effort through legislation, rules, and budgets and communicating with the Illinois General Assembly, federal, and local leaders on these critical issues." As operationalization of the EO commences, the Illinois Office to Prevent and End Homelessness (IOPEH) is created to provide administrative support and infrastructure for the cross-agency work of the Task Force and Advisory Council.
Further advancing the work of the Executive Order, on July 26, 2023, Gov. JB Pritzker signed HB2831 codifying the Illinois Interagency Task Force on Homelessness (Task Force), the Community Advisory Council on Homelessness, (Advisory Council), and the permanency of the Office to Prevent and End Homelessness (OPEH). HB2831, codified as Public Act 103-0269, requires submission of an annual report to the Governor and Illinois General Assembly on the progress towards ending homelessness. Launched on July 1, 2022, Home Illinois 2022-2024 (pdf) provides the strategic direction of State activities towards fighting homelessness. This report includes progress on activities for the plan.
Home Illinois 2022-2024 establishes the foundational framework for Illinois to meet the goals outlined in Public Act 103-0269 (HB2831).
Interagency Task Force Membership
| Member |
Organization |
Position |
Member Since |
| Delrice Adams |
Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority |
Executive Director |
2/7/2022 |
| Dr. Tony Sanders |
Illinois State Board of Education |
Superintendent |
|
| Mary Killough |
Illinois Department on Aging |
Director |
2/7/2022 |
| Brian Durham |
Illinois Community College Board |
Executive Director |
2/7/2022 |
| Elizabeth Whitehorn |
Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services |
Director |
2/7/2022 |
| Sameer Vohra |
Illinois Department of Public Health |
Acting Director |
|
| Kristin Faust |
Illinois Housing Development Authority |
Executive Director |
2/7/2022 |
| Kristin Richards |
Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity |
Director |
2/7/2022 |
| Christine Haley* |
Illinois Office to Prevent and End Homelessness |
Chief |
2/7/2022 |
| Dulce Quintero |
Illinois Department of Human Services |
Secretary |
|
| Latonya Hughes |
Illinois Department of Corrections |
Director |
|
| Brendan Kelly |
Illinois State Police |
Director |
2/7/2022 |
| Robert Vickery |
Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice |
Director |
2/7/2022 |
| Ginger Ostro |
Illinois Board of Higher Education |
Executive Director |
2/7/2022 |
| Terry Prince |
Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs |
Director |
2/7/2022 |
| Raymond Marchiori |
Illinois Department of Employment Security |
Director |
|
| Heidi Mueller |
Illinois Department of Children and Family Services |
Director |
2/7/2022 |
| Marc Staley |
Governor's Office of Management & Budget |
Deputy Director |
2/7/2022 |
| Senator Adriane Johnson |
Senator 30th District |
|
|
| Representative Lilian Jimenez |
Representative 4th District |
|
|
| Representative Kevin Schmidt |
Representative 114th District |
|
|
*Chair
Community Advisory Council Membership
| Name |
Organization |
Position |
Appointment Expiration Date |
| Sandy Deters |
Embarras River Basin Agency |
Housing Coordinator |
2/7/2025 |
| Otha Gaston |
Chicago Lived Experience Commission |
Representative |
2/7/2025 |
| Christine Haley* |
Illinois Office to Prevent and End Homelessness |
Chief |
2/7/2025 |
| Jennifer Hill |
Alliance to End Homelessness in Suburban Cook County |
Executive Director |
2/7/2025 |
| Niya Kelly |
Chicago Coalition for the Homeless |
Director of State Legislative Policy, Equity and Transformation |
2/7/2025 |
| Brandie Knazze |
Chicago Department of Family and Support Services |
Commissioner |
2/7/2025 |
| Open |
Representative of a Behavioral Health Advocacy Organization |
|
|
| Ronald Lund |
Project Now |
Community Services Director |
2/7/2025 |
| Tamela Milan-Alexander |
EverThrive Illinois/Collaborative on Child Homelessness Illinois |
Community Engagement Director |
2/7/2025 |
| Open |
Representative of Local Unit of Government |
|
|
| John Herring |
Illinois Network of Centers for Independent Living Representative of Disability Community |
Executive Director |
|
| Open |
Representative of Local Unit of Government |
|
|
| Open |
Member at Large |
|
|
| Susan Reyna-Guerrero |
Covenant House |
Executive Director |
2/7/2025 |
| Debbie Reznick* |
Polk Bros. Foundation |
Senior Program Officer |
2/7/2025 |
| Carolyn Ross |
All Chicago |
President and CEO |
2/7/2025 |
| Open |
Representative with Lived Experience |
|
|
| Nicole Wilson |
Heart of Illinois United Way |
Vice President of Community Investment |
2/7/2025 |
| Linda Warner |
Stopping Woman Abuse Now, Inc. (SWAN) |
Executive Director |
|
| Open |
Provider of Homeless Response System |
|
|
| Open |
Provider of Homeless Response System |
|
|
| Open |
Provider of Homeless Response System |
|
|
| Open |
Provider of Homeless Response System |
|
|
* Co-Chair
For more information please visit:
Ending Homelessness
