Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot and the Departments of Housing (DOH) and Family and Support Services (DFSS) announced an expanded Housing Assistance Grant program and a new online portal to assist Chicagoans who have been adversely impacted by the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. This new round of assistance, funded through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the greater philanthropic community, includes more than $33 million of relief for renters and property owners and provides eviction counseling for low-and moderate-income Chicago households impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.  

The platform of housing supports will be available through a new online portal – chi.gov/housinghelp – that will direct residents to the resources and programs that the City is providing to best suit individual needs and prevent widespread homelessness, foreclosure and eviction due to COVID-19-related financial hardships. The Chicago Housing Assistance Portal will help route Chicagoans to the most appropriate of the four housing assistance programs available: DFSS Rental Assistance Program; DOH COVID-19 Housing Assistance Grants; DOH Mortgage Assistance Program; or the Illinois Housing Development Authority Statewide Housing Assistance, which will begin taking applications August 10. Those financially impacted the hardest will be eligible for Chicago Housing Assistance grant funding that has been set aside for the lowest earners.