Too often, housing advocates have contributed to the marginalization of affordable housing issues by focusing on a narrow, parochial set of interests and by failing to address the big-picture challenges. Thus, a critical component of BPI’s affordable housing work has always been to educate opinion leaders, public officials, and the public, and to build partnerships among housing advocates and between housing advocates and a diverse array of other organizations and interests.
In 2001, BPI joined forces with the Leadership Council for Metropolitan Open Communities to create the Housing Roundtable. Initially, roughly 25 organizations came together believing that the many groups concerned about affordable housing issues in Illinois could be a more effective force in Springfield and elsewhere if they coordinated some of their activities.
The Roundtable now includes more than 200 organizations and individuals from around the state, and is co-convened by BPI and Housing Action Illinois (HAI). Once a year, under BPI and HAI leadership, Roundtable participants gather to set their legislative agenda for the coming year. While each participating organization continues to pursue its own agenda, the larger group identifies a set of common policy priorities and coordinates action plans for each. Participants meet regularly to provide reports, develop strategy and identify additional areas where collective action would be beneficial. This “speaking in one voice” collaboration among affordable housing advocates and stakeholders has resulted in unparalleled legislative success since the Roundtable’s inception.
Roundtable collective action has led to passage of numerous pieces of affordable-housing related legislation. It has also helped to secure more substantial appropriations of state funds and to successfully fight efforts to divert money from the affordable housing trust fund to cover state expenses outside the fund’s scope. For example, in 2006, the Affordable Housing Trust Fund was once again targeted for “sweeps.” Housing Roundtable participants organized and preserved the Trust Fund for its intended use. As a result of this broad-based mobilization, the Affordable Housing Trust Fund was one of the few special purpose funds spared from sweeps in that year’s budget.
View the most recent Housing Roundtable Update.
View the 2008 Illinois Housing Roundtable Affordable Housing Briefing Book
Contact Susannah Levine with questions about the Roundtable.
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