Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity

1) Community Services Block Grant Program (CSBG)
The Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) program was created by the federal Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981. The CSBG program is designed to provide a range of services which assist low-income people to attain skills, knowledge and motivation necessary to achieve self-sufficiency. The program also may provide low-income people immediate life necessities such as food, shelter, medicine, etc. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) administers the CSBG program in accordance with federal law and the Illinois Economic Opportunity Act. In its administration, the department places an equal emphasis on self-sufficiency efforts and providing relief for the immediate needs of low-income people. The state receives approximately $30 million annually in CSBG funding to provide employment, education, housing and emergency services to the eligible population.

2) Emergency Shelter Grant Program (ESGP)
The Emergency Shelter Grant Program (ESGP) is designed to help improve the quality of existing emergency shelters for the homeless, to help make available additional emergency shelters, to help meet the cost of operating emergency shelters and to provide certain essential social services to homeless individuals in order to provide access to not only safe and sanitary shelter, but also to the supportive services and other kinds of assistance needed to improve their situations. The program is also intended to restrict the increase of homelessness through the funding of preventive programs and activities.

3) Housing
DCEO administers the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program which is funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) http://www.hud.gov

Since the demand for housing assistance often exceeds the limited resources available long waiting periods are common. DCEO may close its waiting list when it has more families on the list than can be assisted in the near future.

HUD gives public housing authorities the discretion to establish local preferences to reflect the housing needs and priorities of its particular community. To honor the jurisdictional areas of other local housing authorities in Illinois DCEO has a residency presference. Families who live, work or have been hired to work in DCEO's jurisdiction will be given this preference.

DCEO has jurisdiction in the following counties: Alexander, Brown, Clinton, Coles, Crawford, DeWitt, Douglas, Edwards, Fayette, Hardin, Jackson, Jasper, Johnson, Lawrence, Massac, Monroe, Moultrie, Perry, Pulaski, Randolph, Schuyler, Wabash, Washington, and White.

DCEO's HCV Program Waiting List will OPEN July 1, 2008. For an application please use the contact information listed below.

For more information, contact:
Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
Section 8 Program
2309 West Main Street, Suite 118
Marion, IL 62959
(618)993-7226
TTY users please use Illinois Relay Services 7-1-1 then (618)993-7226;Cietta.Gower@illinois.gov