On Tuesday, the Kane County Board OK’d a new housing and community development plan for 2025 to 2029, which outlines how the county plans to spend money it receives from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The board also approved two reallocations of some federal funds, and the spending of pandemic-era federal rental assistance funding that expires in September.
At the county board’s Executive Committee meeting last week, Mark VanKerkhoff, the director of the county’s Development and Community Services Department, explained that federal funds come to the county through HUD, and are used for the county’s Community Development Block Grant program and the Kane-Elgin HOME Consortium’s programs.
Every five years, VanKerkhoff said, the county has to submit a consolidated plan to the federal government that outlines the projects and activities the county will use HUD money for. The other items the county board ultimately passed at its meeting on Tuesday were essentially amendments reallocating existing federal funds related to housing.
At the Executive Committee meeting, board member Deborah Allan, chair of the county’s Community Development Commission, emphasized the value these programs provide to the community.
“This is one place where we can actually make contributions toward affordable housing,” Allan said, like offering money to low-income individuals who need to make repairs on their houses, and funding projects that make apartments, townhouses and assisted living buildings available. “I know we worry about affordable housing … but these are places where we can actually make a difference, and we do.”
Kane County Board Chair Corinne Pierog said there are grants that help seniors pay to have repairs done on their houses, which she said “allows people to stay in place effectively, so that they don’t have to have the expense of selling their homes and moving into an assisted care facility.”
Just over 1,700 people in the county experienced homelessness in 2024, according to a 2025 report on homelessness from the Kane County Continuum of Care, a network of area organizations and agencies that assists individuals and families at risk of or currently experiencing homelessness. The number of seniors experiencing homelessness was higher compared to previous years, per the report.
As for any potential uncertainty surrounding federal funding for these programs, VanKerkhoff said it’s “looking promising” that federal support will be continuing for Kane County and other communities nationwide.
The county board approved the new housing plan for 2025 to 2029 at its meeting on Tuesday, along with some housing-related funding allocations.
One of those allocations is roughly $5,000 in newly-identified HUD funds for the county’s 2021 HOME-ARP, or Home Investment Partnerships Grant American Relief Plan, which provides homelessness assistance and supportive services, per the county.
The county board also OK’d the use of nearly $4 million in COVID-19 pandemic-era rental assistance funds on five affordable housing projects — money that has to be spent by the end of September.
Lastly, the board gave the green light on reallocating roughly $200,000 in Homeless and Supportive Services and Program Administrative Funds from 2020 Community Development Block Grant funds to pay for renovations at the North Aurora Veterans Memorial park.
That reallocation was passed by the county board, but generated some discussion about how the HUD funds are used at the county’s Aug. 6 Executive Committee, where all of these items were discussed before heading to the full county board for final approval.
More Top Picks Best Night Lights For Autistic Kids
Board member Leslie Juby questioned why this funding was used for a park, rather than programming that more directly addressed homelessness.
“I understand that we have to use the funds or lose the funds, but this doesn’t even seem like we’re trying to find something similar to helping people keep their houses or find homes,” Juby said at the meeting.
VanKerkhoff explained that HUD evaluates the timeline of when funds are spent and that these funds were available to be used, so staff leadership at the time recommended this reallocation. He said the funds can be spent on things that benefit low- and moderate-income families or neighborhoods, meaning this project was an eligible use of the money.
“This is a park that is widely used in the community and needs upgrades,” Allan said. “The (Community Development Commission) felt that putting money into this area would benefit a lot of people in that immediate area.”
The measure was ultimately voted on and approved by the county board at its meeting Tuesday.