Kankakee officials warn housing rehab programs face shortfall as Healthy Homes grant ends

KANKAKEE, Ill. — City staff told the Kankakee City Council Community Development Committee on Monday that several housing-rehab programs have more people on waiting lists than the city can currently serve and that a key Healthy Homes grant will expire this fall.

Barbie, an ECDA staff member, said the department is pausing additions to its general housing-rehab wait list because “we have more people on the list than we actually have funding available.” She told the committee the Healthy Homes grant funding will end in November and that staff do not know whether a new notice of funding opportunity will be issued for 2025.

The lack of certainty, staff said, affects program intake and planning. “We already know for Healthy Homes that that funding is over in November,” Barbie said. ECDA staff said they expect to exhaust current Healthy Homes funds by October and therefore will not add new applicants to the wait list until they know whether new funding becomes available.

Why it matters

The department reported long wait lists across multiple programs and said available funds will not reach everyone who has applied. That affects low-income homeowners seeking furnace, window or broader rehab work funded through Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Healthy Homes, ARPA-funded programs and other city-administered grants.

Facts and figures presented to the committee

- ECDA reported approximately 200 people on general program wait lists (excluding the lead program) and 95 individuals on the lead-specific wait list. - Healthy Homes funding is scheduled to run out in November 2025; staff said a new federal notice of funding opportunity for 2025 had not been released at the time of the meeting. - The city’s LEHI/lead program funding currently runs until October 2026, but staff said the available funds will not cover everyone on that wait list. - ECDA said it had 44 construction projects in progress across programs, 15 Healthy Homes projects in process (three completed in May), 11 active CDBG projects (one completed in May), and four MIRA projects (ARPA-funded).

Procurement and project updates

Staff reported the city opened bids for demolition on Fifth Avenue and for a public-facility project; they plan to advance the lowest responsive proposals but must verify each contractor’s federal qualifications before executing contracts. ECDA said it expects to present contracts for the demolition and other projects later in June.

On ARPA-funded MIRA work, staff described projects as more customized to homeowners and said those projects can take longer because of material choices and coordination between homeowners and contractors.

Budget and federal funding context

Barbie told the committee the city received a preliminary HUD CDBG allocation of $589,549, subject to congressional budget approval. Committee members and staff noted that HUD’s final funding and Congress’s actions could still change program amounts and the city’s annual action plan.

Committee action and administrative items

The committee approved the committee minutes and draw vouchers earlier in the meeting. A motion to approve draw vouchers was made by Alderman Swanson and seconded by Alderman Cobbs; roll call showed six ayes and the vouchers were approved.

What comes next

Staff said messaging to applicants about paused intake has begun and that they will notify applicants if additional funding becomes available after October. ECDA said it will continue to monitor HUD announcements and work with the Community Advisory Board on public-service allocations tied to the CDBG program.

Ending

City staff asked committee members to expect contract recommendations later in June and said the city will return to accepting applicants if new grant opportunities emerge.