McHenry County lacks affordable housing, study finds

About one in three McHenry County homeowners, and more than half the county's renters, are living in homes they cannot reasonably afford, leaving many struggling to make ends meet, according to a study released Tuesday.

The study, conducted over the last year by a group of housing and social service agencies, confirmed what many McHenry County leaders have long suspected: while theirs may be one of the wealthiest counties in Illinois, it has few housing options for the low- and moderate-income families that make up more than a third of its population.

"It's about time we understood the degree of the crisis we're facing here in McHenry County when it comes to affordable housing," said Marc Munaretto, chairman of the county board's finance and audit review committee.

Produced by the Heartland Alliance Mid-America Institute on Poverty, The Corporation for Affordable Homes of McHenry County, the McHenry County Mental Health Board and others, the study found that there are thousands more low- and moderate-income families in the county than there are places they can afford to live.

Affordable housing is defined in the study as housing where people are paying no more than 30 percent of their income on housing expenses.

"The bottom line is that there is a lack of affordable housing," said Amy Terpstra, senior research analyst for Heartland. "Low and even moderate income families really have to stretch to meet their housing costs."

The study found that there are 22,331 households making less than $35,000 in the county, but only 9,787 housing units - both owner and rental options - they can afford. For the 12,591 households making between $35,000 and $50,000, there are only about 7,459 homes they can afford to buy.

County Board member Sandra Salgado noted that many in that latter group - namely younger individuals starting their careers - are the kind of people the county wants living there.

"These are the people we want to attract to McHenry County and it's pretty hard to do," she said.

Fixing, or at least improving, the situation will take a widespread effort by local governments, advocacy groups and the private sector, study organizers said. That effort, they said, will have to include overcoming negative public perceptions about lower-income housing, reviewing or changing zoning codes to allow more affordable housing and perhaps creating a trust fund to buy vacant land or properties for use as affordable housing.

"This requires leadership, and that's what I hope McHenry County can provide here," Sandy Lewis, executive director of the McHenry County Mental Health Board, said.

To view the study in its entirety, visit www.heartlandalliance.org/maip/ or www.mc708.org.