HB0624ham001 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Maurice A. West, II

Filed: 4/9/2026

10400HB0624ham001 LRB104 04511 KTG 34904 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 624

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 624 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Home for Good Act.

Section 5. Findings.

(a) The General Assembly recognizes the following:

(1) The Illinois prison system releases 15,000 people each year, but without a cogent and unified statewide system to support housing security and reduce the risk of recidivism.

(2) A 2025 Loyola University Chicago Study found that between 66% and 80% of individuals incarcerated in the Illinois Department of Corrections experienced housing instability or homelessness within 3 years prior to their incarceration, making them at risk of homelessness after prison as well.

(3) Returning residents often struggle to access housing and stable jobs because of State laws and policies that permit housing discrimination against people with records. For example, the Illinois Human Rights Act only protects people with arrest records from housing-related discrimination, but offers no such protections to persons with conviction records.

(4) The current U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development policy on homelessness also creates barriers that prevent formerly incarcerated individuals from accessing permanent housing programs through the homeless system.

(5) A 2023 study of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority found that formerly incarcerated people have an average unemployment rate of 45% and lower annual wages, with Black individuals who are formerly incarcerated having the highest rates of unemployment.

(6) As a result, many people cannot comply with the conditions of release, or they turn to the underground economy to support themselves and their families.

(7) Research shows that housing instability, homelessness, unemployment, and low wages are among the factors that contribute to the nearly 40% of previously incarcerated people returning to prison within 3 years.

(8) According to a Spring 2025 Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council report, Illinois taxpayers already pay $89,408 annually for each person incarcerated in State prisons.

(9) When a person returns to prison, the total cost rises to $200,000, including direct and indirect costs, resulting in unnecessary and expensive costs for all Illinoisans.

(10) The State government has a responsibility to increase community safety and individual and family well-being by addressing the housing needs of persons leaving incarceration.

(11) Affordable, safe, and stable housing is a fundamental necessity for successful reentry and family stability.

(12) Affordable, safe, and stable housing for returning residents also improves and promotes public safety.

(13) Without a dedicated commitment of affordable, safe, and stable housing providing a mix of transitional and permanent affordable housing that is informed by the housing needs and policy perspectives of returning residents, the State is failing to meet the needs of its residents and communities.

(b) The General Assembly also recognizes that there are several independent strategies in place now that increase access to safe, affordable housing for returning residents and improve and promote public safety, including:

(1) The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA), as administrator of the Rental Housing Support Program, created the Re-Entry Program, providing 81 Reentry Rental Housing Support Program subsidies across the State with the support of housing navigators who build relationships with landlords and connect returning residents to resources to support their success.

(2) IHDA's Housing for Justice Involved Individuals Program provides grants to community organizations to acquire, build, or rehabilitate housing for the purpose of creating transitional reentry housing beds across the State, resulting in over 500 beds statewide.

(3) IHDA's Housing Task Force added "justice-involved individuals" as a priority population for IHDA's 2026 Annual Comprehensive Housing Plan.

(4) The Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act created the Restore, Reinvest, and Renew (R3) program, which reinvests a portion of cannabis tax revenue into communities in order to reduce gun violence through intervention and prevention, improve reentry and diversion services for people involved with the criminal justice system, provide access to legal representation and advice, encourage investment and economic growth, enhance youth development, and support programs that improve the social determinants of health.

(5) Through the 2026 R3 Notice of Funding Opportunity (CSFA Number 546-00-2378), the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority and the R3 Board have committed up to $35,000,000 as a set aside for reentry services, civil legal aid services, and economic development in order to provide returning residents with support and economic opportunities.

(c) It is the intent of the General Assembly to codify into law a comprehensive and unified statewide reentry program incorporating the existing reentry programs of the Illinois Housing Development Authority and the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority that:

(1) will meet a returning resident's housing needs and is community-based;

(2) includes ongoing active involvement by formerly incarcerated persons;

(3) provides a mix of transitional and permanent affordable housing units, rental subsidies, and reentry services supported by sustained and adequate funding; and

(4) will have a positive long-term return on investment for this State.

Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:

"Board" means the Home for Good Oversight Board.

"ICJIA" means the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority.

"IDOC" means the Illinois Department of Corrections.

"IHDA" means the Illinois Housing Development Authority.

"Institute" means the Home for Good Institute.

"Program" means the Home for Good Program.

"Targeted population" means persons with arrest and conviction records and persons who are currently or formerly incarcerated.

Section 15. Home for Good Program. The Home for Good Program is created as a statewide coordinated program designed to provide housing and services to the targeted population. The Program shall contain the following elements:

(1) IHDA shall be responsible for providing appropriate resources to potential applicants to acquire, develop, and rehabilitate permanent affordable housing units and transitional housing units that are designated exclusively for the targeted population. The granting and application process shall follow the existing program model of the Housing for Justice Involved Individuals Program. IHDA shall also be responsible for providing site-based rental housing subsidies to community organizations that work with the targeted population which may be used to enter into lease agreements and master lease agreements for the purpose of providing housing for program participants and tenant-based rental subsidies.

(2) ICJIA shall provide appropriate resources to community organizations who work with the targeted population. These resources shall be used to provide case management and reentry navigation services to Program participants. In addition, these resources shall be used to make supportive services available to Program participants. Services may include housing and related services, physical and behavioral health, education, family reunification and relationship building, transportation, job training, acquiring vital documents, and meeting basic needs.

(3) The Program shall require that a housing needs assessment tool is administered to all individuals exiting IDOC custody no later than 12 months prior to their release date. The assessment shall be administered by a community-based organization with demonstrable expertise in reentry services, behavioral health, and permanent and transitional affordable housing. The housing needs assessment shall determine an individual's vulnerability to housing instability or homelessness, and the assessment shall identify the individual's behavioral health needs. The purpose of the behavioral health element of the assessment is to help potential participants successfully secure housing and shall not be used as a reason to exclude potential participants from the Program.

(4) The Executive Directors of IHDA and ICJIA and the Director of IDOC shall jointly create the Interagency Home for Good Division. The Interagency Home for Good Division shall be responsible for coordinating the activities of the Program and designed to serve the housing and support service needs of the targeted population.

(5) The Executive Director of IHDA shall create the Home for Good Institute. The Home for Good Institute shall provide training and technical assistance to community organizations who intend to acquire, develop, rehabilitate, or operate permanent and transitional housing units for the targeted population. Community organizations that successfully complete the training from the Institute shall be awarded additional points on any applications for funding from IHDA, including the Home for Good Program.

(6) The Home for Good Oversight Board is created for the purposes of fostering collaboration between ICJIA, IHDA, and IDOC and between these State agencies and community-based organizations, and to ensure the equitable provision of resources for affordable housing and support services throughout the State based upon the geographic distribution of incarcerated people exiting IDOC. The Governor shall appoint members, unless otherwise specified, not to exceed 25, to the Home for Good Oversight Board. The Board shall be chaired by the chair of the R3 Board, or his or her designee, and staffed by ICJIA and IHDA personnel. Members of this Board shall include:

(A) the Executive Director of ICJIA or his or her designee;

(B) the Executive Director of IHDA or his or her designee;

(C) the Director of IDOC or his or her designee;

(D) the Reentry Director at the Department of Human Services or his or her designee;

(E) the Director of Reentry for the City of Chicago or his or her designee;

(F) the Executive Director of the Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council or his or her designee;

(G) the Chief Homelessness Officer or his or her designee;

(H) 5 reentry advocates, at least 3 of whom must be previously incarcerated; however, advocates who are officers, members, or employees of entities that receive money through the Program are not eligible for appointment to the Board;

(I) one representative of an affordable housing development organization;

(J) one representative of an affordable housing advocacy organization;

(K) one reentry researcher;

(L) 5 community members with proportional representation from urban, suburban, and rural areas throughout the State; and

(M) one person each appointed by:

(i) the President of the Senate;

(ii) the Minority Leader of the Senate;

(iii) the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and

(iv) the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.

At least 5 of the up to 25 members appointed to the Board by the Governor shall have personally experienced incarceration and reentry.

(7) The Home for Good Oversight Board shall monitor the operation of the Interagency Home for Good Division and the Home for Good Institute and ensure that the Program fosters collaboration among State agencies and community organizations, and establish a network of housing providers and service providers for the Program.

(8) The Home for Good Oversight Board shall annually submit to the General Assembly and the Governor a public report containing data on the number of persons served, the effectiveness of the Program as measured by criteria established by the Home for Good Oversight Board, the amount and type of housing made available through the Program, the return on investment generated through savings and economic activity resulting from the implementation of the Program, a forecast of the number of people exiting State prisons who are at risk of experiencing housing instability and homelessness each fiscal year, and a forecast of the number of affordable homes needed to meet the needs of Program participants.

Section 20. Rules. IHDA, ICJIA, and IDOC shall jointly adopt rules to implement this Act. The rules must describe how a housing needs assessment will be administered by community-based organizations with expertise in providing reentry services and permanent and transitional housing to persons incarcerated in IDOC no later than 12 months prior to their release date.

The rules must describe how a housing needs assessment will make the determinations described in paragraph (3) of Section 15.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.".