Homelessness on the rise in Illinois
Prepared by Connections' Senior Director of Compliance and Government Investment Kelsey Caspersen
The results of the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s annual Point-in-Time count of people experiencing homelessness in the U.S. are out, and the numbers are alarming.
Fully 86% of states experienced a rise in homelessness last year, but with the federal government threatening massive cuts to programs that have provided crucial supports to people struggling to maintain or find housing, the existing system to assist people facing housing insecurity is unable to keep up with rapidly increasing demand for services.
In Illinois, homelessness more than doubled from 2023 to 2024, while in Chicago homelessness more than tripled. In suburban Cook County, the numbers increased by a more modest 12.5%, which is the second-largest annual increase in the last decade. Much of the increase in Chicago is attributable to a dramatic rise in the number of new arrivals, many of whom were sent here by Sun Belt governors eager to score political points. But setting aside new arrivals, the number of people experiencing homelessness in Chicago still jumped by 25%.
Fully 86% of states experienced a rise in homelessness last year, but with the federal government threatening massive cuts to programs that have provided crucial supports to people struggling to maintain or find housing, the existing system to assist people facing housing insecurity is unable to keep up with rapidly increasing demand for services.
In Illinois, homelessness more than doubled from 2023 to 2024, while in Chicago homelessness more than tripled. In suburban Cook County, the numbers increased by a more modest 12.5%, which is the second-largest annual increase in the last decade. Much of the increase in Chicago is attributable to a dramatic rise in the number of new arrivals, many of whom were sent here by Sun Belt governors eager to score political points. But setting aside new arrivals, the number of people experiencing homelessness in Chicago still jumped by 25%.
Ultimately, these huge increases are evidence of a local and national housing crisis. Nationally, there is a shortage of affordable housing stock — to the tune of at least 7.5 million units across the U.S. and around 300,000 in Illinois. This shortage is made more dire by insufficient household incomes. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly consumer price index (CPI) report, the cost of living grew by approximately 22.5% since January 2020, while the cost of housing accelerated by nearly 40%. These rapid increases have ravaged the family budgets of countless households. Simply put: if there were adequate housing options (including affordable, supportive, and even market rate), experts agree that we would not be experiencing such skyrocketing increases in the rate of homelessness.
At Connections, we see the barriers imposed by the lack of affordable housing units every day. At the Margarita Inn, it takes us about nine months to find an individual or family a housing solution, and we maintain a waitlist of about 90 individuals throughout the year. We also see more and more families are seeking shelter, which reflects the 40% rise in family homelessness across the State last year. This means that the people and households who were “at the brink” or “at-risk” of homelessness a couple years ago are now homeless.
In a rational world, the growing crisis of housing insecurity would trigger major new investments in the systems we have to provide services to people in need of housing. Instead, we’re facing the threat of deep cuts in the Department of Housing and Urban Development and other federal programs that provide support to people in need of food and shelter.
Based on a recent analysis by Illinois’ Office to Prevent and End Homelessness, we know there is still a shortage of more than 4,000 shelter beds, nearly 400 transitional housing beds, more than 10,000 Rapid Rehousing beds, and nearly 11,000 permanent supportive housing beds.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations like Connections received essential funding to keep at-risk households housed with short-term eviction prevention funds as well as investments into infrastructure like the launching of critical shelter beds and rapid rehousing projects. These funds were highly successful in addressing homelessness and poverty, both of which fell during the early pandemic years.
Now, with those funds drying up and further cuts on the horizon, the scale of the crisis is predictably skyrocketing. Our country is at its all-time highest rate of homelessness. Without the necessary investments, the only thing we can know for certain is that the crisis will continue to grow.
In a rational world, the growing crisis of housing insecurity would trigger major new investments in the systems we have to provide services to people in need of housing. Instead, we’re facing the threat of deep cuts in the Department of Housing and Urban Development and other federal programs that provide support to people in need of food and shelter.
Based on a recent analysis by Illinois’ Office to Prevent and End Homelessness, we know there is still a shortage of more than 4,000 shelter beds, nearly 400 transitional housing beds, more than 10,000 Rapid Rehousing beds, and nearly 11,000 permanent supportive housing beds.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations like Connections received essential funding to keep at-risk households housed with short-term eviction prevention funds as well as investments into infrastructure like the launching of critical shelter beds and rapid rehousing projects. These funds were highly successful in addressing homelessness and poverty, both of which fell during the early pandemic years.
Now, with those funds drying up and further cuts on the horizon, the scale of the crisis is predictably skyrocketing. Our country is at its all-time highest rate of homelessness. Without the necessary investments, the only thing we can know for certain is that the crisis will continue to grow.
