The DuPage County Human Services Committee will vote Tuesday, July 7, on renewing the intergovernmental agreement that channels federal Community Development Block Grant funds to Downers Grove for the next three years.

Resolution HS-R-0015-26 would continue Downers Grove's participation in the CDBG program for federal fiscal years 2027 through 2029, with one automatic renewal allowed. Committee Chairman Greg Schwarze will preside over the 9:30 a.m. meeting.

What CDBG funds pay for locally

DuPage County's CDBG program supports capital improvements in low-to-moderate income neighborhoods, public facility upgrades for nonprofits, and social services grants with a minimum application threshold of $60,000. Those services focus on housing navigation, rent and mortgage assistance, case management, and tenant-based rental assistance administration, according to the county's Community Development Commission.

The agreement is the legal mechanism through which CDBG entitlement money flows from HUD to the county and then to participating municipalities like Downers Grove. Because the village sits within a designated urban county, it cannot apply separately for the state's small-cities CDBG program, according to Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity guidelines.

The specific dollar amount Downers Grove receives annually was not available in public documents reviewed for this article.

Why the renewal is happening now

Federal law requires urban counties to requalify with HUD every three years. A new HUD notice issued May 15, CPD-26-08, tightened the rules: joint agreements can now only auto-renew for one additional three-year cycle, capping any agreement at six years before the parties must formally re-execute it. The previous policy allowed indefinite auto-renewal.

Mary Keating, DuPage County's senior community development official, will present the resolution to the committee.

Also on the July 7 agenda

The committee will also consider a parallel agreement renewal with the City of Wheaton (HS-R-0016-26) under the same terms and acceptance of three Illinois Department of Human Services grants totaling $313,830 for housing capacity expansion, supportive housing, and rapid re-housing programs.

How to weigh in

The July 7 meeting includes a public comment period at the start of the agenda. If the committee approves the resolution, it would still need full DuPage County Board approval before submission to HUD. The County Board meeting date for that final vote has not been announced.