Duckworth, Durbin Announce $7 Million In Federal Funds For Housing For Low-Income Illinoisans With Disabilities

WASHINGTON (CBS) -- U.S. Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Richard Durbin (D-Illinois) on Wednesday announced $7 million in federal funding to create rental units for low-income Illinois residents with disabilities.

The funding will go to the Illinois Housing Development Authority. It comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities program.

"Expanding access to affordable housing is crucial to helping Illinoisans with disabilities stay safe during this public health crisis and secure financial stability," Duckworth said in a news release. "I'll keep advocating with Senator Durbin for federal investments to help at-risk communities obtain the affordable housing they deserve and need."

"Everyone deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. This federal funding will provide critical housing support, allowing low-income adults with disabilities to live as independently as possible," Durbin said. "Senator Duckworth and I will continue working to provide federal assistance during this challenging time."

In the news release, Duckworth and Durbin took Senate Republicans to task, saying the HEALS Act COVID-19 proposal that the Senate GOP has proposed "attacks" the disability community.

The senators said the HEALS Act fails to provide "desperately-needed" funding for Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services and guts the Americans with Disabilities Act protections for workplace accommodations.

Last week, Duckworth called the HEALS Act an "offensive proposal" through which "Senate Republicans will be complicit in the mass institutionalization of vulnerable individuals with disabilities and the inevitable deaths that results from being forced to forgo home services for dangerous group settings."