MAY 15, 2007                                                                      WEEKLY REVIEW
 Provided through the Generous Support of the McCormick Tribune Foundation                                                          

In this issue:

COMPREHENSIVE FISCAL REFORM

House Representatives vote to oppose the Governor's Gross Receipts Tax

OPPORTUNITIES FOR ACTION

Workforce development, extreme poverty, income tax credits, minimum wage school health centers, TANF

New Report: Study traces effects of borrowing in lower-income markets

Previously unavailable data shows how debt hits borrowers

REAUTHORIZING HEAD START

House approves new legislation

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

• May 15-16, 2007: Financing Development: Community Housing Developers Institute (Springfield)

• May 16, 2007: Human Services Transportation Plan spring meeting (Rock Island, Mercer, Henry, Whiteside Counties)

• May 17, 2007: Illinois State Microenterprise Initiative Spring Conference (Chicago)

• May 17, 2007: Making the Connection: Basic Training (Naperville)

• May 19, 2007: Springfield Action Forum (Springfield)

• May 22, 2007: Human Services Transportation Plan spring meeting (Knox, Fulton, Stark, Peoria, Marshall, Woodford, Tazewell Counties)

• May 22, 2007: Gaining Leverage to Improve Job Quality: Lessons from Union Organizing in the New Economy (Conference Call)

• May 23, 2007: Human Services Transportation Plan spring meeting (Mason, Cass, Scott, Morgan, Menard, Sangamon, Logan, Christian Counties)

• May 23, 2007: "It's About Getting Ahead: Strategies and Options for Eliminating State Asset Limits" (Conference Call)

• May 30, 2007: Human Services Transportation Plan spring meeting (Grundy, Kankakee, Livingston, McLean, Ford, Iroquois Counties)

• May 31, 2007: Human Services Transportation Plan spring meeting (Dewitt, Piatt, Macon, Shelby, Moultrie, Champaign, Vermillion, Douglas, Edgar, Coles, Cumberland, Clark Counties)

• June 5, 2007: Human Services Transportation Plan spring meeting (Calhoun, Greene, Jersey, Macoupin, Montgomery, Fayette, Marion, Clinton, Bond, Madison Counties)

• June 5-6, 2007: Construction Management: Community Housing Developers Institute (Springfield)

• June 6, 2007: Policy Briefing on "State Budgets or Busts: The Challenges of Funding Medicaid, Pensions, and K-12 Education." (Chicago)

• June 6, 2007: Human Services Transportation Plan spring meeting (Effingham, Jasper, Crawford, Clay, Richland, Lawrence, Wayne, Edwards, Wabash, Hamilton, White, Saline, Gallatin, Pope, Hardin Counties)

• June 7, 2007: Human Services Transportation Plan spring meeting (St. Clair, Monroe, Randolph, Washington, Jefferson, Perry, Franklin, Jackson, Williamson, Union, Johnson, Alexander, Pulaski, Massac Counties)

• June 21, 2007: Community Renewal Society’s “Future Summit” (Chicago)

• June 21, 2007: Statewide Policy Caucus (Bloomington)

• September 11-12, 2007: Single-Family Development: Community Housing Developers Institute (Springfield)

• October 16-17, 2007: Property and Asset Management: Community Housing Developers Institute (Springfield)

• November 1-30, 2007: Affordable Housing Month (Public education events and activities to be held throughout the state)

COMPREHENSIVE FISCAL REFORM

Additional Resources

• HB/SB 750: Education and Fiscal Responsibility Act outlines a package of fiscal solutions that address education funding reform, the state's structural deficit, the need to adequately fund human services, and the need to pay off the state's pension debt.

• Comparison of HB/SB 750 and the Gross Receipts Tax proposal

• The Illinois Tax Climate - Written supplement to oral testimony provided by Ralph Martire to the House Revenue Committee during its subject matter hearing on tax fairness held on April 17, 2007.

• Gross Receipts Tax fact sheet shares general information on GRTs and highlights the ways in which the GRT is not the solution to Illinois fiscal crisis.

• HB/SB 750 companion bill, HB 2253, establishes a Cost of Doing Business Trust Fund for human service providers with purchase of care contracts and grant agreements. 

• The four basic principles of good tax policy and the ways in which HB/SB 750 measures up on all four counts.

•  Fast Facts on HB/SB 750

• CTBA short report on the Illinois structural deficit.

For more information on HB/SB 750, visit our website.

Opportunities for Action

 MAKING WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT A NATIONAL PRIORITY

REALIZING HUMAN RIGHTS IN ILLINOIS

INCREASING TAX REFUNDS

RAISING THE MINIMUM WAGE

EXPANDING SCHOOL HEALTH CENTERS, TANF GRANTS

Advocates at the Chicago Jobs Council, partnered with the national Workforce Alliance, are seeking organizational support for nationally-funded employment and training programs. In the coming weeks, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees will finalize bills that set funding levels for workforce development programming in FY2008. The decline in funding for employment and training programs due to changes in the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) coupled with lack of inflation-responsive adjustments have meant that Illinois residents are not getting important services. 

Illinois has lost:
▪ $8.1 million from WIA adult services

▪ $11.1 million from WIA youth services

▪ $2.5 million from adult education funding 

Without strong demonstrated broad and meaningful support for workforce training from across the country, Committee staff will understand workforce development can be last in their list of funding priorities. The Workforce Alliance is seeking at least 200 organizational supporters to send the message to Congress and the Senate that “It’s time (again) to say no to new funding cuts and communicate that workforce development must be a national spending priority.”

The Workforce Alliance has prepared a letter to the Labor-HHS-Education Committee. Click here to read the letter and sign your organization’s name by Friday, May 18.  

Earlier this year, the Mid-America Institute on Poverty of the Heartland Alliance launched the From Poverty to Opportunity Campaign, which seeks to change the way we perceive poverty, and through this transformed understanding, commit members of our society to the shared belief that life’s necessities -- such as food and shelter – are a Right, not just an entitlement. Working towards the goal of reducing the number of Illinoisans living in extreme poverty in half by 2015, the From Poverty to Opportunity Campaign is visionary but also well-founded.

HJR46, the joint resolution calling for a hearing on poverty around the state, will be heard in the State Government Administration Committee tomorrow. The names of all endorsers will be submitted to the Committee to indicate support.

If you or your organization would like to offer an endorsement for this campaign, please click here. Or email eithne@chicagohomeless.org. For more information on the campaign, visit the website.

Upcoming Training

Through a partnership with WILD for Human Rights in San Francisco, Heartland Alliance, along with other Chicago agencies, are sponsoring a free day-long workshop on using the human rights framework in your social justice work on Friday, June 15th. This is a rare opportunity to look at the human rights frame and how it can be implemented in your community and Illinois. 

View the flyer, download the application. Applications are due May 31st. Space is limited.  If you have any questions, contact Doug Schenkelberg at dschenkelberg@heartlandalliance.org.

The Coalition on Human Needs is working to expand the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to expand this benefit for the lowest-income people living in the United States.

Facts:

▪ This year, a working family with an income below $11,750 is too poor to get the refundable Child Tax Credit. That means 10 million children are being excluded from a benefit meant to assist their families.

▪ Low income workers between ages 25-64 who are not raising children are eligible for only a tiny EITC (at an average of $230), despite earning, on average, $6,050 annually.

Advocates believe that the refundable credit is one of the most powerful tools for reducing poverty, by giving a refund to those who have incomes too low to owe federal income taxes. Congress is currently writing tax legislation that would make our federal system more progressive, and some leaders are already working to ensure tax legislation has a positive effect on low to moderate income earners.

The Coalition for Human Needs is asking individuals and organizations join in telling Congress that increasing tax refunds for the poor must be a priority. To sign their organizational endorsement letter, click here. To send an email showing individual support, follow this link. The deadline is Friday, May 18^th.

For more information about these tax credits, see the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities’ fact sheet, or visit www.chn.org.

Earlier this year, the House passed a monumental bill, without any amendments, that would have gradually raised the national minimum wage to $7.25. This promised the first increase in the wage since 1997. By February 1^st, the minimum wage bill had also passed in the Senate, coupled with a business tax-break package, but nonetheless, workers foresaw an increase to the minimum wage coming in their direction. Just this month, the minimum wage bill, fatefully packaged with the Iraq supplemental spending bill, received a veto from President Bush.

The Coalition for Human Needs is urging action for this overdue wage increase. If you believe that a stand-alone minimum wage raise should be introduced in the Congress and Senate, they suggest you call your representatives today at 1-800-459-1887.

From the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health:

The Illinois General Assembly is considering two bills that could dramatically improve the lives and health of young people across the state.  SB 715 – School Health Centers – increases funding for school health centers in Illinois.  HB 949 – The Success Act – increases the base TANF grant by 15%.

SB 715:  This bill passed the Senate and is currently being considered by the House.
Last year, Illinois’ 51 school health centers reported providing services to more than 82,000 children and adolescents in 25 urban, suburban and rural counties across the state. With increased state funding, additional centers could be opened, providing many more young people access to basic medical care. 
Services include prevention, early intervention, and treatment of medical and behavioral issues that impact a student’s readiness to learn. Additionally, these clinics encourage parental involvement and serve as a conduit for strong relationships between schools, communities and health care providers.
 
For more information, visit http://www.ilmaternal.org/ICSHC.index.htm

HB 949:  This bill passed the House and is currently being considered by the Senate.
The Transitional Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program provides cash support to families, including many young parents, with minor children who have no other form of income.  In 2006, the maximum cash grant for a family of three was $369 per month, which is 28.6% of the Federal Poverty Level. These grants have been increased only once since 1994. Illinois TANF grants are substantially lower than six of the seven neighboring Midwestern states and lower, often by hundreds of dollars per month, than the TANF grants in states with similar median incomes.
 
The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) Social Services Advisory Committee unanimously recommended that the state implement 15% increases in the TANF grants each year for the next three fiscal years.  If implemented, such increases would come close to recapturing the loss in TANF grant value due to inflation since 1990 and bring grants to approximately 32% of the federal poverty level in FY 2008, 36% of the federal poverty level in FY 2009, and 40% of the federal poverty level in FY 2010. IDHS estimates that a 15% increase would cost $19 million for FY 2008.

For more information, visit http://www.thecommongood.org   

If you would like to take action, advocates at the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health are asking supporters to send a free fax to their legislators urging them to pass HB949 and SB715. To send a fax, visit http://capwiz.com/icah/state/main/?state=IL.

NEW REPORT: Study Traces Borrowing in Lower-Income Markets

"One out of every three lower income borrowers falls behind in bill payments in a typical year."

 ╫

"Over one out of every four pays more than 40% of their income every year on debt payments."

A new Brookings Institution, Metropolitan Policy Program study, "Borrowing to Get Ahead, and Behind: The Credit Boom and Bust in Lower-Income Markets," finds that when it comes to Americans borrowing more than they can manage, lower-income borrowers pay a serious portion of their income on debt payments.   

Over recent decades, communities generally shut-out of banking programs have seen increased access to credit and loans, although not without discrimination. Using Federal Reserve data and a “unique database of over 14 million anonymous credit reports supplied by TransUnion,” authors Matt Fellowes and Mia Mabanta were able to uncover variations in lending and debt across different lower-income markets.

 Some findings from the report:

▪ Over 55% of lower-income households held a total of $481 billion in debt in 2004. This is a 10% increase since 1989, with a 308% increase in the total debt over the same time period. About 27% of these households now spend more than 40% of their incomes servicing debt.

▪ The highest levels of indebtedness are found in areas of the country with the lowest cost of living. These same areas also showed the highest delinquency rates.

▪ Based on an evaluation of credit scores, potential growth in the supply of credit in lower-income markets is widely variable across the country. Improvements in credit score profiles in lower-income markets are associated with increased in credit usage, decreases in delinquency and unemployment rates, and decreases in the proportion of non-white borrowers.  

The report concludes that indebtedness is heavily influenced by citizenship status, health insurance coverage, race, and area cost-of-living. The heaviest debt burden is related to homeownership, which accounts for $7 out of every $10 owed by lower-income families, and also includes loans for furniture and appliances. Considering this is the fastest growing type of debt held by lower-income families, the authors suggest, albeit controversially, that our nation could be overly-invested in homeownership promotion-- a $116 billion industry --  without any real assessment of the viability of homeownership within lower income brackets. Is asset-building through homeownership a good idea for low income earners? 

The report also makes suggestions for several federal protocols that would help low income families get out of severe debt. These include financial education and responsibility, more stringent borrower and lender protections, and continued research into benefits and risks of lending to lower-income borrowers.  

Click here to read the full report.

REAUTHORIZING HEAD START

For more information on changes accepted and vetoed on the House’s Head Start reauthorization bill, visit the National Women’s Law Center at http://www.nwlc.org. 

House passes the Improving Head Start Act

On May 2, 2007, the U.S. House passed H.R. 1429, the Improving Head Start Act of 2007, by a vote of 365 to 48. Overwhelming Congressional approval may indicate that the federal government will reauthorize Head Start for the first time since 1998.

H.R. 1429 takes the following steps:

▪ Ends the National Reporting System, which required testing of all four year-olds enrolled in Head State;

▪ Increases set-asides for Early Head State, Migrant and Indian Head Start programs;

▪ Increases the income eligibility limit to 130% of the federal poverty level ($26,845 per year for a family of four), although no more than 20% of children may be above the poverty level;

▪ Allows programs the flexibility to serve more infants and toddlers, an estimated 10,000 more children are made eligible;

▪ Requires at least 50% of Head Start teachers nationwide to have a bachelor’s degree by 2013 (as opposed to the original provision which chose 2011).

Other amendments include student loan forgiveness for Head Start teachers who have earned a B.A. in a field related to early childhood education and commit to teaching in the program for a minimum of three years; allowing grantees to negotiate for enrollment reductions if grant amounts do not increase annually; a requirement that agencies to disclose the type of assessments used to determine progress amongst English-as-a-second-language students; and changes in training and technical assistance criteria to include consideration of barriers and special needs in rural areas.

The bill authorizes an increase in funding to Head Start of $7.35 billion for FY 2008 from $6.892 billion for FY 2007, which is considered minimal but does protect the program from being any further starved through this year's predicted federal budget cuts.

Past proposals and provisions that impeded Head Start reauthorization included turning the federal program into a state-run institution funded by block grants, making literacy testing for four year-olds permanent, and more recently, whether or not to allow faith-based programs to consider religion in hiring.

Background

Head Start is a national education and development program dedicated to children under five years old. The program focuses on increasing the school readiness of young children in low income families. Any child whose family earns below the federal poverty level can take advantage of Head Start. Since its inception in 1964, the program has served more than twenty million children. Head Start works with community organizations that receive federal dollars to spend in offering various services to children and their families. While its primary goal is geared at preparing low-income children for school, Head Start centers often provide comprehensive services such as health screenings, immunizations and other medical, dental and vision services.

According to the Center for Law and Social Policy’s nationwide assessment of child and early education programming, Illinois has 153 Head Start programs, which serve nearly 50,000 children.

Illinois 2005 Head Start programming:

▪ Nearly a quarter of enrolled children spoke Spanish as a first language,

▪  Half of the students were Black or African American,

▪ Approximately 60% of Head Start teachers in Illinois had not yet earned a Bachelor’s degree,

▪ Head Start programming served to increase medical attention, health insurance coverage and the number of up-to-date immunizations for children just a year after enrollment. About 13% more children received dental care after a year.

UPCOMING EVENTS

CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE TODAY

WHAT? Financing Development: Community Housing Developers Institute

WHEN? May 15-16, 2007

WHERE? ICAA Training Facility, 3435 Liberty Drive, Springfield, IL
Contact: nate@housingactionil.org or 312-939-6074 x 201 More info: www.housingactionil.org.  

WHAT? Human Services Transportation Plan spring meeting (Rock Island, Mercer, Henry, Whiteside Counties)

WHEN? Wednesday, May 16, 2007, 1:30 - 4:00 PM and 6:30 - 8:00 PM

WHERE? Metrolink East Pointe location, 1201 14th Avenue, East Moline, IL 61244
The same materials will be covered in both afternoon and evening meetings. For more information, contact Erica Interrante at (312) 793-3532, Erica.Interrante@illinois.gov  or follow this weblink (click on HSTP: Program Overview).

WHAT? Illinois State Microenterprise Initiative Spring Conference

WHEN? May 17, 2007

WHERE? Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, 230 S. LaSalle, Chicago
For more information or to register, email shough@uiuc.edu or call Dar Knipe at (309) 792-2500 or Kathy Johnson at 773-481-8897. To learn more about ISMI, or to become a member, contact David Gay, Chair, at 630-942-2771 or Marcy Walcer Kostis at 847-778-7535.

WHAT? Making the Connection: Basic Training

WHEN? Wednesday, May 17, 2007, 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM

WHERE? 1120 E. Diehl Road, Naperville

This training is part of the DuPage Federation on Human Services Reform workshop series, Making the Connection: Accessing Public Benefits for Low Income Persons.  For more information, to learn about other workshops, and to register, click here.

WHAT? Springfield Action Forum

WHEN? Wednesday, May 19, 2007, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

WHERE? Union Baptist Church, 1405 E Monroe, Springfield, IL

Let Your Voice Be Heard: Make your voice heard about the roadblocks to opportunity in our communities.
Click here for a flyer. To Register, call the Illinois Coalition for Community Services at 1-800-281-1523 or e-mail Nancy Tegtmeier at nancyiccs@aol.com.
 

WHAT? Human Services Transportation Plan spring meeting (Knox, Fulton, Stark, Peoria, Marshall, Woodford, Tazewell)

WHEN? Tuesday, May 22, 2007, 1:30 - 4:00 PM and 6:30 - 8:00 PM

WHERE? Central Illinois Area on Aging, 700 Hamilton Blvd., Peoria, IL (Parking is available behind the building, or use church parking lot across the street.)
The same materials will be covered in both afternoon and evening meetings. For more information, contact Erica Interrante at (312) 793-3532, Erica.Interrante@illinois.gov  or follow this weblink (click on HSTP: Program Overview).

WHAT? Gaining Leverage to Improve Job Quality: Lessons from Union Organizing in the New Economy

WHEN? Tuesday, May 22, 2007, 2:00 - 3:15 PM

WHERE? Conference call with the Center for Law and Social Policy
Featured speakers include Nancy Mills, Executive Director of the AFL-CIO Working for America Institute, Neal Kwatra, Deputy Director, Strategic Affairs, UNITE HERE, Ken Allen, Executive Director Oregon AFSCME Council 75, Fred Azcarate, Director AFL-CIO Voice@Work. For more information, visit http://blog.clasp.org/. To register, visit: http://www.clasp.org/audio_registration.php?id=393. For more information contact Angela Parker, CLASP Audio Conference Coordinator at (202) 906-8032 or aparker@clasp.org.

WHAT? Human Services Transportation Plan spring meeting (Mason, Cass, Scott, Morgan, Menard, Sangamon, Logan, Christian)

WHEN? Wednesday, May 23, 2007, 1:30 - 4:00 PM and 6:30 - 8:00 PM

WHERE? Jacksonville Area Chamber of Commerce, 155 W. Morton Ave., Jacksonville, IL (located in Community Park, right off of Morton Ave.)
The same materials will be covered in both afternoon and evening meetings. For more information, contact Erica Interrante at (312) 793-3532, Erica.Interrante@illinois.gov  or follow this weblink (click on HSTP: Program Overview).

WHAT? "It's About Getting Ahead: Strategies and Options for Eliminating State Asset Limits"

WHEN? Wednesday, May 23, 2007, 12:00 PM CST

WHERE? Conference Call
It takes more than a paycheck to get ahead. Learn strategies to eliminate or reform barriers to savings for public benefits recipients. Join Dory Rand, Supervising Attorney of the Community Investment Unit from the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, Stacy Dean, Director of Food Assistance Policy from Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and a representative from the Ohio Department of Job & Family Services.  The call in number is: 1-888-296-6500, and the passcode: 115217. For more information or to RSVP contact Meg Dunne at 312 263 3830x246 or megdunne@povertylaw.org.

WHAT? Human Services Transportation Plan spring meeting (Grundy, Kankakee, Livingston, McLean, Ford, Iroquois)

WHEN? Wednesday, May 30, 2007, 1:30 - 4:00 PM and 6:30 - 8:00 PM

WHERE? Meadows Campus Center, 24218 Gundy Drive, Chenoa, IL (Off I-55, exit at US-24; please call if you have questions about directions)
The same materials will be covered in both afternoon and evening meetings. For more information, contact Erica Interrante at (312) 793-3532, Erica.Interrante@illinois.gov  or follow this weblink (click on HSTP: Program Overview).

WHAT? Human Services Transportation Plan spring meeting (Dewitt, Piatt, Macon, Shelby, Moultrie, Champaign, Vermillion, Douglas, Edgar, Coles, Cumberland, Clark)

WHEN? Thursday, May 31, 2007, 2:30 - 4:30 PM and 6:30 - 8:00 PM

WHERE? Piatt County Mental Health Center (“The Center”), 1921 North Market Street (Rte. 105), Monticello, IL
The same materials will be covered in both afternoon and evening meetings. For more information, contact Erica Interrante at (312) 793-3532, Erica.Interrante@illinois.gov  or follow this weblink (click on HSTP: Program Overview).

WHAT? Human Services Transportation Plan spring meeting (Calhoun, Greene, Jersey, Macoupin, Montgomery, Fayette, Marion, Clinton, Bond, Madison)

WHEN? Tuesday, June 5, 2007, 1:30 - 4:00 PM and 6:30 - 8:00 PM

WHERE? Montgomery County Senior Center, Route 127, Taylor Springs, IL (less than 1 mile south of Hillsboro)
The same materials will be covered in both afternoon and evening meetings. For more information, contact Erica Interrante at (312) 793-3532, Erica.Interrante@illinois.gov  or follow this weblink (click on HSTP: Program Overview).

WHAT? Construction Management: Community Housing Developers Institute

WHEN? June 5-6, 2007

WHERE? Abraham Lincoln Hotel and Conference Center/President Abraham Lincoln Museum, Springfield
Contact: nate@housingactionil.org or 312-939-6074 x 201 More info: www.housingactionil.org.

WHAT? Policy Briefing on "State Budgets or Busts: The Challenges of Funding Medicaid, Pensions, and K-12 Education."

WHEN? June 6, 2007, 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM

WHERE? Wieboldt Hall, Kellogg School of Management, 340 E. Superior St. in Chicago
The Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University will be holding this policy briefing.  The event is free, but advanced registration is required. Lunch will be served. Click here for more information.

WHAT? Human Services Transportation Plan spring meeting (Effingham, Jasper, Crawford, Clay, Richland, Lawrence, Wayne, Edwards, Wabash, Hamilton, White, Saline, Gallatin, Pope, Hardin)

WHEN? Wednesday, June 6, 2007, 1:30 - 4:00 PM and 6:30 - 8:00 PM

WHERE?  Illinois Employment Training Center (“one stop” site), 303 S. Commercial St. in the Parker Plaza, Harrisburg, IL (off of I-57 S, 30 minutes east of Marion, IL and Williamson County)
The same materials will be covered in both afternoon and evening meetings. For more information, contact Erica Interrante at (312) 793-3532, Erica.Interrante@illinois.gov  or follow this weblink (click on HSTP: Program Overview).

WHAT? Human Services Transportation Plan spring meeting (St. Clair, Monroe, Randolph, Washington, Jefferson, Perry, Franklin, Jackson, Williamson, Union, Johnson, Alexander, Pulaski, Massac)

WHEN? Thursday, June 7, 2007, 2:00 - 4:00 PM and 6:30 - 8:00 PM

WHERE?  Shawnee Community College, 8364 College Rd., Ullin, IL (Meeting will be held in the River Room in the Main Building, lot parking is available)
The same materials will be covered in both afternoon and evening meetings. For more information, contact Erica Interrante at (312) 793-3532, Erica.Interrante@illinois.gov  or follow this weblink (click on HSTP: Program Overview).

WHAT? Community Renewal Society’s “Future Summit”

WHEN? June 21, 2007, 1:30-5:30

WHERE? University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business, Rothman Winter Garden, 5807 S. Woodlawn Ave, Chicago, IL
Click here for more information.

WHAT? Statewide Public Policy Caucus

WHEN? June 21, 2007, 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM

WHERE? The Chateau, 1601 Jumer Drive, Bloomington, IL
Topics to include: 2007 General Assembly Legislative Update, Investing in Families and Other proposals, Federal Issues Update, FY08 Priorities and Activities. To register or more information on how to become a member of Action for Children call Nicole Bonilla at (773) 697-6132 or bonillan@actforchildren.org.

WHAT? Single-Family Development: Community Housing Developers Institute

WHEN? September 11-12, 2007

WHERE? ICAA Training Facility, 3435 Liberty Drive, Springfield, IL
Contact: nate@housingactionil.org or 312-939-6074 x 201 More info: www.housingactionil.org.

WHAT? Property and Asset Management: Community Housing Developers Institute

WHEN? October 16-17, 2007

WHERE? ICAA Training Facility, 3435 Liberty Drive, Springfield, IL
Contact: nate@housingactionil.org or 312-939-6074 x 201 More info: www.housingactionil.org.

WHAT? Affordable Housing Month

WHEN? November 1-30, 2007

WHERE? Public education events and activities to be held throughout the state
Contact: nate@housingactionil.org or 312-939-6074 x 201 More info: www.housingactionil.org.

For any questions on information contained in this Weekly Review,
or to JOIN OUR MAILING LIST, please contact Valerie Chepp at:
312.332.2151, vchepp@ctbaonline.org