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Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday joined officials from city and
county government and the private, non-profit sector to announce
$2 million in taxpayer funds for groups to address homelessness
in Springfield.
Chief Homelessness Officer Christine Haley said that’s just a
fraction of the total being spent statewide.
“We have about $700 million that comes to the state of
Illinois,” Haley said. “About 500, a little over $400 million is
general revenue, and then about 200 million of federal funding
that comes directed to the state.”
Pritzker explained the goal of his Home Illinois program,
launched in 2024.
“This year, we've tried to make sure that we're providing stable
funding,” Pritzker said. “I think our first year was probably
our largest year because we had to get it going.”
The first year of Home Illinois cost state taxpayers $350
million. The program cost $290 million in fiscal 2025. This
year, the program costs $263 million, but there are other funds
being spent on homelessness. Overall, including about $200
million in federal funds, taxpayers will spend $700 million this
year.
“It's about a $55 billion budget,” Pritzker said of the total
state taxpayer liability for fiscal 2026. “So, you know, when
you talk about a couple of hundred million dollars that come
from the general fund. Yeah, that's not insubstantial.”
Pritzker said the goal is to get to “functional zero.”
“Get it to a point where there is not any moment when you can,
when you will actually be completely unhoused,” Pritzker said.
Since Pritzker took office in 2019, all of state spending has
increased $16 billion annually, or more than 40%.
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