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Ad Hoc Committees

Ad Hoc Committees
DuPage Council on Strengthening the System for Mental Health and Substance Use Care

Mission

The DuPage Council on Strengthening the System (DCSS) is a collaborative effort between the DuPage County Board and the DuPage County Health Department, comprised of experts in mental health and substance use disorder treatment, recovery, criminal justice, public health, prevention, and education. Its members encompass local and state elected officials, community stakeholders, and individuals with lived experiences.

Tasked with advising DuPage County's elected and community leaders, the Council aims to raise awareness about mental health and substance use issues. Its primary focuses are developing essential programs, bolstering infrastructure, and crafting policy recommendations. Additionally, it will address other pertinent matters as they arise.

The Council commits to providing annual updates to both the County Board and the DuPage County Board of Health. The Council convenes regularly, at least quarterly or more frequently as needed, and ensures ongoing engagement and adherence to the Illinois Open Meetings Act.

Goals

  • Professionally and comprehensively assess mental health and substance use disorder needs and disparities within DuPage County.
  • Advocate for effective and actionable policies, initiatives, and programs at the local and state levels.
  • Increase awareness of the need for resources and destigmatize mental health and substance use treatment and recovery.
  • Measure success from desired programs and initiatives.

Membership

The Council is co-chaired by DuPage County Board Chair Deborah Conroy and DuPage County Health Department Executive Director Adam Forker. The Council is comprised of members appointed by the DuPage County Board Chair. These members are a cross-section of state and local officials, behavioral health specialists, first responders, judicial officials, health care system representatives, and individuals with lived experiences. Members include:

  • State Sen. Karina Villa
  • State Rep. Terra Costa Howard
  • County Board Member Paula Deacon Garcia
  • County Board Member Greg Schwarze
  • County Board Member Cindy Cronin Cahill
  • County Board Member Sam Tornatore
  • DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin
  • DuPage County Coroner Dr. Richard Jorgensen
  • Judge Paul A. Marchese
  • DuPage County Public Defender Jeff York
  • Fire Chief Keith Krestan
  • Chief of Police Roy Newton
  • Dr. Daniel Sullivan
  • Felicia Miceli
  • Jarret Burton
  • Jeff Geiger, Northwestern Medicine – Central DuPage Hospital
  • Sheryl Bates, Northshore Edward-Elmhurst Health
  • Cara Siebert
  • Jennifer Hess
  • Dr. Natasha Dolgin
  • Geri Kerger

Meeting Format

Meetings will occur quarterly or as needed, in person, at the Linda A. Kurzawa Community Center at 115 N. County Farm Road, Wheaton. Interested community members are invited to attend the Council meetings, which will be open and announced on the DuPage County and DuPage County Health Department websites.

You can view previous DCSS meeting agendas and minutes here.

Initiatives

2024 DuPage County Mental Health Summit

The DCSS Committee will host the County's first ever Mental Health Summit in September. This groundbreaking event, inclusive of all age groups, aims to raise awareness on mental health and substance use challenges while working to combat stigma. The Council has worked tirelessly to bring awareness to mental health issues and continues to fight to provide every resource they can to the residents of DuPage County. Whether it's a struggling high school student, a parent grappling with a child's addiction, or a senior citizen navigating persistent sadness, the goal of the event is to offer hope, inspiration, and resources to the participants.

Date: Saturday September 7, 2024
Location: County Auditorium – 421 County Farm Rd. Wheaton, IL 60187

More information to follow.

Ad Hoc Housing Solutions Committee

In 2023, County Board Chair Deborah Conroy established the Ad-Hoc Housing Solutions Committee to further the conversation about developing housing programs and funding for the production and sustainability of new housing units to support the County’s workforce. Contents of this page reflect information developed and reviewed by the Committee in consultation with various local organizations to create new housing programs and funding sources.

County staff worked directly with several groups on attainable and workforce housing funding and housing programs:

  • Staff held several meetings with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) and Collar Counties on the 2023-24 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing grant application. The grant could result in up to $10 million dollars for DuPage County and the region, with funds earmarked for programming and assisting in housing production. The counties and CMAP submitted their grant application in October 2023 and expect to hear back in early 2024.
  • The County formed a cohort group, consisting of City of Chicago; Mecklenburg County, N.C.; the County’s consultants, Grounded Solutions Network and Up For Growth; the DuPage Federation on Human Services Reform; and the DuPage County Mayors and Mangers Conference. The cohort, administered by Grounded Solutions Network and the “ForEveryonehome” program, would begin to incubate and develop a housing program that includes management ideas and a long-term sustainable housing program. Cohort meetings have been held monthly and DuPage County staff has worked on an analysis of raw building and housing data for the County.

Meeting Presentations

Meeting YouTube Videos

  1. March 2023 Presentation by Kristen Faust Executive director of the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA): See attached PP presentation and YOUTUBE video beginning at time stamp: 9:00 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sCxmWAxpuQ
  2. April 2023 Presentation by Mary Keating Director, Community Services for DuPage County: See attached PDF presentation and YOUTUBE video.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY7uIamkXXo
  3. May 2023 Presentation by Paul Hoss, Planning and Zoning Administration Coordinator, See attached PDF presentation and YOUTUBE video.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-H2m3Z89yA
  4. August 8, 2023, Presentations by Chicago Housing Trust; Community Partners for Affordable Housing; Cook County Land Bank Authority, Bloomington Normal CLT
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jtq7cBf0e20
  5. August 22, 2023, Presentations by Pulte Homes; Fox Valley and DuPage Habitat For Humanity and Grounded Solutions Network
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwQqS5mOdiA
  6. October 24, 2023, Presentations by Financial Organization Discussion James Gray, Managing Director, Cornice & Rose International, LLC, Local Government Insights - City of Naperville Allison Laff, Deputy Director, Planning & Development, TED Business Group, City of Naperville
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpTNcI04_VI

Grounded Solutions Cohort

The County formed a cohort group consisting of City of Chicago; Mecklenburg County, N.C.; the County’s consultants, Grounded Solutions Network and Up For Growth; the DuPage Federation on Human Services Reform; and the DuPage County Mayors and Managers Conference.

Meeting Dates:

  • Thursday, October 19, 2023, 9:30 AM-10:30 AM ForEveryoneHome - DuPage County Monthly Meeting
  • Thursday, November 16, 2023, 9:30 AM-10:30 AM ForEveryoneHome - DuPage County Monthly Meeting
  • Thursday, December 21, 2023, 9:30 AM-10:00 AM ForEveryoneHome - DuPage County Monthly Meeting
  • Thursday, January 18, 2024, 9:30 AM-10:30 AM ForEveryoneHome - DuPage County Monthly Meeting

Related Research and Articles

The “bill” herein, which has been referred to committee but has yet to receive a vote, would effectively ban hedge funds from owning any single-family homes within 10 years of its passage.

The bill is one of several pieces of legislation introduced in recent years in an attempt to address private equity purchases of housing, although the other bills are all at the state or local level.

Among them is a North Carolina bill that would ban any single entity from owning more than 100 homes in counties that have above 150,000 residents. Every home owned above 100 would result in a daily fine of up to $100. In its report, PESP referred to the bill, which was referred to committee over a year ago but has never received a vote, as “one of the most stringent regulations of corporate landlords ever attempted by any state government.”

A bill in Minnesota, HF685, would ban corporate entities from converting single-family homes into rentals. Introduced in January 2023, the bill hasn’t received a vote but has been picking up support: it has 18 authors as of this writing.

Minnesota has been particularly impacted by private equity landlords. In 2022, Next City covered a group of tenants in single-family homes in Minnesota putting their rent in escrow rather than paying their private equity landlord, Pretium Partners, which was failing to provide needed repairs. Pretium was the subject of a lawsuit by the state’s attorney general, Keith Ellison.

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