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Committee advances resolution to let Kankakee City seek HUD certification for housing counseling
Summary
The Community Development Committee voted 5–0 to forward a resolution authorizing Kankakee City’s ECDA to offer HUD-certified housing counseling; staff said HUD approval would allow city-run pre-purchase, rental and homelessness counseling and enable future grant opportunities.
The Kankakee City Community Development Committee on March 2 voted unanimously to advance a resolution authorizing the Economic and Community Development Agency (ECDA) to offer HUD-certified housing counseling, a step staff said is needed for the city to use federal funding for counseling services.
Barbie Watson, an ECDA staff member presenting the item, said the department has provided counseling services in the past but has not been a HUD-certified agency. “We have submitted our application to HUD and the last thing that they need is this resolution,” Watson said, explaining that certification would allow the city to operate a broader suite of counseling services and pursue additional HUD-funded opportunities.
Watson and other staff described three initial counseling tracks the city plans to offer on a soft-launch timeline: pre-purchase counseling to prepare prospective homebuyers, rental counseling aimed at reducing evictions and tenant–landlord conflicts, and counseling to assist people exiting homelessness into stable housing. Staff said Marina, the city’s CDBG program manager, passed the HUD counselor exam and would begin one-on-one counseling during the program’s initial phase.
Committee members discussed funding options for any future down-payment assistance tied to counseling. Watson said the city previously relied on a community bank sponsorship (Midland) to fund a down-payment assistance program; that sponsorship ended when the bank’s funding ran out. She said there is no current city-funded down-payment assistance program and that any revival using Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds would bring federal regulatory requirements.
Alderman Cobbs moved to advance the resolution to the full City Council; Alderwoman Noble seconded. A roll-call vote recorded Alderman Prud, Alderman Baron, Alderwoman Swanson, Alderman Cobbs and Alderwoman Noble as voting in favor; the motion passed and the item will appear on the next council agenda.
Watson said the ECDA plans a soft launch potentially in April and a broader start in May aligned with the city’s fiscal year, using a one-and-a-half-year CDBG startup strategy and pursuing sponsorships and future HUD or Housing Action Illinois opportunities for operational funding. Committee members asked staff to provide the presentation materials and demographic slides; staff agreed to circulate them.
The committee’s advance does not itself grant HUD certification; it authorizes the city to operate housing counseling pending HUD recognition and enables staff to meet HUD’s administrative requirements and timelines. The resolution will be considered by the full City Council at its next meeting.
