Elgin receives additional $400K state grant to shelter homeless in hotel

The city of Elgin has received a second $400,000 state grant for its Unsheltered Pilot Project to house and feed homeless people at the Lexington Inn and Suites.

City officials credited state Rep. Anna Moeller, a Democrat from Elgin, with securing the Illinois Department of Human Services funding under the Housing and Supportive Services Legislative Add-Ons program. The first grant was awarded in 2025.

“The grant helps cover housing and operational costs, enabling the city to connect program participants with case management and supportive services through the Association for Individual Development (AID),” city spokesperson Josie Beecher-Crotty said.

The long-term goal is for the city to purchase the hotel, located at 1585 Dundee Ave., and bring in an outside nonprofit agency to take over program operations.

Officials are reviewing the responses it received to a proposal request through which the city announced it was seeking “an experienced, mission-aligned organization to assume ownership and operation of a 96-room hotel as a low-barrier, non-congregate homeless shelter with wraparound services and 24/7 staffing.”

“The city continues to evaluate its options as it works toward a solution that best meets the needs of program participants and the community,” Beecher-Crotty said.

The Unsheltered Pilot Project also received a $1.8 million state grant, which pays for both housing and case management, she has previously said.

Elgin launched the initiative after it shut down a large homeless encampment due to dangerous conditions in 2024. Some of the homeless residents were moved into the 50 city-rented rooms at the Lexington, and the city continues to house people there now.

Beecher-Crotty said between 32 and 41 residents currently live there and receive services to help them resolve the situations that made them homeless so they can eventually return to being self-sustaining.

Any expansion of the program depends on who the city selects to run it, the amount of funding available and service capacity, Beecher-Crotty said.

While the city has provided shelter, AID, Ecker Center for Behavioral Health and other nonprofits have provided other services, including job training, mental health assistance, counseling, case management and meals.