Housing

The income of residents in Champaign and Vermilion counties has not kept pace with the increase of rent and as a result affordable housing is becoming harder to find.  

Champaign and Vermilion counties have seen many changes in their neighborhoods and housing stocks since the nation’s economic decline. Among the challenges: more renters are competing for safe and affordable housing; a growing demand is putting stress on existing assistance programs; people sometimes have strong, often negative perceptions of low-income housing.

Illinois Public Media and CU-CitizenAccess.org are taking a comprehensive look at housing issues during a day of programming Tuesday, March 27, on WILL-AM 580, WILL-TV and online.

Neighborhood of Promise: Hope Meadows in Rantoul, Ill. is an intentional intergenerational community formed to support and serve adoptive families of foster children and a model for sustainable and affordable communities.

Neighborhood of Promise from Illinois Public Media on Vimeo.

Below are selected stories of neighborhoods and issues we've covered in the past few years. 

Some neighborhoods leave pedestrians out in the street 

By Landon Cassman and Dan Petrella/CU-CitizenAccess - The city of Champaign came up with a plan 25 years ago to repair deteriorating sidewalks. 

 Below are reports and data on housing demographics that we used for these stories. 

Champaign County Regional Housing Study (December 2010) 

Vacant properties: Growing number increases communities' costs and challenges (Goverment Accountability Office November 2011) 

Interactive map: Housing demographics by cities

Use the map below to see housing demographics in cities across Champaign and Vermilion counties. 

The Housing Authority of Champaign County manages more than 440 public housing units and over 1,200 housing choice vouchers, according to the Champaign County regional housing study.

At the time of the December 2010 report, there were more than 700 households on a waiting list for assistance.

The housing choice vouchers, also known as Section 8 vouchers, are federally subsidized rental vouchers and allow recipients to move to any single-family rental with an available landlord.  About 90 percent of the vouchers in the county are clustered in Champaign and Urbana.

 In Urbana, vacant housing units more than doubled from 2000 to 2010, going from nearly 1,000 units to more than 2,100

In Champaign, the number increased almost by half, from nearly 1,500 to more than 2,200 in vacant housing units.

In Danville, the number went up a fifth, from 1,559 to nearly 1,876

Altogether, according to Census data, the number of vacant housing units across Champaign and Vermilion counties has increased 43 percent between 2000 and 2010.

The Census data show that in the two counties about 7 percent of the housing was vacant, while as of 2010 nearly 9 percent is vacant.

Renting in Chamapaign and Vermilion Counties

• From 2000 to  2010, fair market rents for a two-bedroom apartment in the two counties of Champaign and Vermilion have increased more than 30 percent.
   
•  For Champaign County, fair market rent went up from about $600 to more than $800 for a two-bedroom apartment.
•  For Vermilion County, fair market rent  increased from about $400 to $600 for a two-bedroom apartment in.

Renters

The income of residents in Champaign and Vermilion has not kept pace with the increase of rent and as a result affordable housing is becoming harder to find.

Census data from 2000 and 2010 and recent housing studies shows there are more renters, but that many can’t afford to pay fair market rent. The data and studies also reveal that the number of vacant units has skyrocketed.

“The housing needs haven’t changed. In fact, they’ve gotten worse for the people who need them,” said Thom Pollock, executive director of Crosspoint Human Services.