ICADC History
In the 1990’s, a recurrent theme appeared in the community needs assessments completed biannually by Community Action Agencies (CAAs) in Illinois. The assessments indicated that a lack of affordable housing existed across varying geographic areas within Illinois. Parallel to this realization was the acknowledgement of the varied capacity of CAAs to address the unmet need of affordable housing.
In response to the identified needs for affordable housing and enhanced capacity within CAAs to develop affordable housing, the CAAs and the Illinois Community Action Association (ICAA) collaborated in 1999 to create a statewide entity, the Illinois Community Action Development Corporation (ICADC). The mission of ICADC is to provide training and technical assistance (T&TA) to CAAs on affordable housing development for Illinois’ most vulnerable populations. The vision of CAAs and ICAA to create ICADC was supported with seed money from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (IDCEO) making the entity a reality.
Now in its ninth year of operation, ICADC offers a unique, refreshing approach to affordable housing development. The T&TA provided by ICADC is tailored to build the capacity of CAAs and local communities by transferring the knowledge and skills needed to develop affordable housing. The result is that CAAs and local communities gain the expertise that is needed to pursue affordable housing development projects in the future, independent of ICADC. Upon receiving T&TA from ICADC, CAAs are equipped with the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to serve as developers and property managers.