CHICAGO – The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) is reminding local community members, residents, and leaders that there is still time to participate in the development of the 2027 Illinois Housing Blueprint (Blueprint) through two opportunities: (1) take the resident survey now until July 31, 2026, and/or (2) attend one of the six remaining Community Listening Sessions across the state.
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What Is the Blueprint?
Launched in 2020, the Blueprint is a statewide initiative conducted every three to five years to assess current housing conditions, create a vision for equitable and affordable housing in Illinois, and a pathway to make that vision possible. While IHDA coordinates the Blueprint’s planning process, it is fundamentally collaborative, combining traditional elements such as community engagement with quantitative data analysis.
Illinois Housing Blueprint Survey
IHDA is asking the public to complete the Blueprint’s online survey. This opportunity allows residents to share their opinions to help IHDA understand local housing needs and goals of their community. Responses to the survey are anonymous and will be accepted through Friday, July 31, 2026. Please click here to take the survey.
IHDA has received almost 2,000 survey responses and seeks to boost that number by encouraging individuals, elected officials, and local governments to utilize the Blueprint social media toolkit to raise awareness of the survey across personal and professional networks. The more responses received, the more accurate IHDA can be in its analysis.
Illinois Housing Blueprint Community Listening Sessions
IHDA is inviting the public to attend one of the six remaining in-person community listening sessions. At these sessions, IHDA will share data and background specific to the county and region they reside in along with how it compares to other regions in the state. These sessions will provide the opportunity to ask questions and share your thoughts and ideas with staff to ensure the 2027 Blueprint reflects resident input. All attendees must register in advance.
2026 Community Listening Sessions
Region | City | Date | Time | Address |
Central Region | Springfield | Tuesday, June 16 | 10:00 a.m. | Sangamon County Health Department, 2833 S. Grand Avenue East |
North Central Region | Peoria | Wednesday, June 17 | 10:00 a.m. | Peoria NEXT Innovation Center, 801 W. Main Street |
Southeast Region | Effingham | Thursday, June 18 | 11:00 a.m. | Koerner Distributor, 1601 Pike Avenue |
East Central Region | Champaign | Thursday, June 25 | 6:30 p.m. | Champaign Public Library, 200 W. Green Street |
Northeast Region | Kankakee | Wednesday, July 8 | 2:00 p.m. | Kankakee Community College, Iroquois Room, 100 College Drive |
Northern Stateline Region | Rockford | Tuesday, July 14 | 2:00 p.m. | Comprehensive Community Solutions, 917 S. Main Street |
Additional information is available at www.ilhousingblueprint.org and members of the public may email blueprint@ihda.org with questions or comments.
About the Illinois Housing Development Authority
IHDA is a self-supporting and mission-driven state agency dedicated to financing the creation and preservation of affordable housing in Illinois. IHDA offers affordable mortgages and down payment assistance for homebuyers, provides financing for the development of affordable rental housing, and manages a variety of assistance programs to create communities where all Illinoisans can live, work, and thrive. Since it was established in 1967, IHDA has delivered more than $29 billion in state, federal, and leveraged financing to make possible the purchase, development, or rehabilitation of 335,750 homes and apartments for low- and middle-income households. For more information on IHDA programs, visit www.ihda.org.
