Attorney General National Foreclosure Settlement (NFS) Experts and Technical Assistance Providers:

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Summary of Primary Assignments and New Tools

To support neighborhoods and households struggling with the ripple effects of the foreclosure crisis statewide, Attorney General Lisa Madigan has awarded $70 million from the National Foreclosure Settlement (NFS) to approximately 50 agencies and initiatives throughout the state of Illinois. To promote the overall success of these investments while promoting “best practices” and capacity building statewide, a team of experts and technical assistance providers are contributing a variety of new tools and resources as follows:



Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP):

Developed the new Homes for a Changing Region Toolkit, a new web tool to promote subregional land-use planning and investment, helping public and private sector partners to prioritize target areas and criteria for redevelopment. It further supplemented that plan with a market-based strategy Recommendations Guide. CMAP is also providing technical assistance to targeted awardees.



Metropolitan Mayors Caucus: Establishing an affordable and high-impact code enforcement strategy in Chicago’s southern suburbs that addresses the increased presence of cash investors and improves the quality of the subregion’s housing stock in collaboration with the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association, the Metropolitan Planning Council and the Center for Community Progress. Extensive research and case studies are now available for users online, via Up to Code, and are informative to other municipalities pursuing improved code enforcement strategies and an effective regulatory framework.



DePaul Institute of Housing Studies and Woodstock Institute:

Providing their expanded databases on key housing indicators and on-line mapping and data analysis tools as needed to inform all awardees in assessing target areas, progress, etc. Both DePaul and Woodstock are providing some TA to all awardees, while collecting data for broader evaluation of NFS investment impact. DePaul has developed a quarterly Cook County Housing Price Index, as well as a report on Chicago Area Housing Market Conditions in conjunction with an updated Housing Market Data Portal and interactive maps.

Woodstock has developed a data dashboard, continued to provide updated data and otherwise maintain link for the Compendium, Data portal, and Map tools (The data now covers the entire state and can be displayed at the census tract, county, Core Based Statistical Area, or state level, and include foreclosure, housing, vacancy, income, employment, jobs, and mortgage data.)





























Mission + Strategy Consulting: Promoting “best practices” for collaborations for all awardees -- and providing targeted technical assistance among particular interdisciplinary teams, as well as various awardees working in targeted locations, to ensure optimal coordination and efficiency. Click here for the Housing Collaborative Template , which contains sample agendas, job descriptions for teams and team leaders, a sample memorandum of agenda, instructions for giving feedback, and more.




The following entities also either have educational materials piloted or in development, and/or providing individualized technical assistance:

Access Living Supplementing its housing counseling in support of City of Chicago households with disabilities who have been living in neighborhoods destabilized by the foreclosure crisis, Access Living is also informing broader AG-funded training activities to improve the accessible housing opportunities available to disabled households statewide. With CAFHA and CSH, Access Living has informed the development of a webinar and various training products.

Chicago Area Fair Housing Alliance (CAFHA): Promoting nationally recognized housing strategies for affirmatively furthering fair housing and advancing Fair Housing Equity Assessments via training to all awardees, and individualized assistance for 10-12 particular awardees. With Access Living and CSH, CAFHA is developing a webinar based on its training curriculum. All CAFHA webinars can be found here on their website.





Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH):Educating revitalization awardees about integrating special needs populations into housing communities statewide, including resources available to support that work. CSH is creating new training materials for a webinar on state policy and supportive housing needs, and coordinating with CAFHA and Access Living on their materials as well. All their webinars and training materials can be found in their Training Center.


Housing Action Illinois (HAI)/NeighborWorks America (NW): Providing trainings for all teams and stand-alone housing counseling awardees as well as coordinating with Expert awardees to develop best practices to ensure consistent quality standards for the full range of housing counseling services required in foreclosure response work. Team will also provide individualized assistance to approximately 20 awardees to ensure consistent quality standards and to promote their optimal integration into the redevelopment teams to attract and prepare end buyers and renters. HAI has featured the work of AG experts and other awardees at all its annual conferences, and also posts webinars and other training activities for housing counselors and developers.

Housing Action Illinois (HAI)/ Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago (NHS): Providing comprehensive information on available technology to meet the client management system needs of housing counseling agencies in order to promote accurate data entry, streamlined reporting, and uniform outcome measurements statewide. Up to 35 grantees will also receive technical assistance and subsidies to improve their client management systems as needed. In July, HAI introduced their guide to HUD-approved Client Management Systems (CMSs). The guide profiles 17 systems side-by-side and enables housing counseling agencies to figure out which system is the best fit for them.




















Illinois Association of Community Action Agencies (IACAA): Expanding the Illinois Community Action Networks provision of housing counseling services among 15 agencies in underserved Rural communities.


National Consumer Law Center (NCLC): Developing educational materials for housing counselors and legal assistance providers to address the current barriers and communication breakdowns preventing optimal coordination, especially related to court mediation programs, and to recommend ways to work together more efficiently.


Teska Associates/Axia Development Inc: Providing a variety of real estate development assistance to targeted awardees, promoting quality and cost-effective redevelopment activities that are appropriately financed and that strategically respond to market analysis.