Community Development, Cook County, IL | Cook County Economic Development

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Housed within the Department of Planning and Development, Community Development places its focus on developing and sustaining viable communities within Cook County, Illinois.

About Our Programs

Please click here for the latest information on our 2014 CDBG and ESG Application process.

The purpose of the federal Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) is to undertake eligible activities that will carry out the primary objectives of Title 1 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended. These objectives are designed to provide decent housing, a suitable living environment, and to expand economic opportunities primarily for persons of low and moderate income. Low and moderate income is defined as persons making 80% or less of the area median income.

Emergency Solutions Grants Program (ESG)

The Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) regulations (effective January 5, 2012) revise the regulations for the Emergency Shelter Grant and rename it the Emergency Solutions Grant. These revisions, coupled with the name change, reflect the HEARTH regulations’ greater focus on creating permanent residential solutions for people who are at risk of homelessness and for people who have experienced homelessness. Cook County receives formula ESG funds from the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Through a competitive application process, funds may be awarded to successful non-profit applicants to carry out the purposes of the Emergency Solutions Grant Program. Designed to create greater coordination with the Continuum of Care, the ESG Program provides funds for outreach to unsheltered persons, emergency shelters, homeless prevention for those at risk of becoming homeless, rapid re-housing for those going from being homeless to having a permanent housing solution, and for Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS)—the web based, client data base that HUD-funded programs are required to use.