R2004-105 AUTHORIZING FUND REALLOCATION

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� CITY OF DECATUR, ILLINOIS HOME COMPETITIVE REALLOCATION contributed $50,000 in HOME funds and $125,000 in infrastructure improvements to provide sewer service to the site. The Plan Commission and City Council rezoned the site to a Planned Unit Development, despite initial opposition by neighboring residents. E. REMEDYING THE EFFECTS OF DISCRIMINATION FOR DISADVANTAGED MINORITIES Decatur is committed to overcoming barriers to affordable housing for its minority population, and particularly to remedying the effects of discrimination. The Consolidated Plan identifies bamers including credit overuse, landlord barriers, Realtor steering, and lack of financial education. To overcome these barriers,Decatur established a Fair Housing Committee in 1999. This committee is a subcommittee of the city's Human Rights Commission. Through the committee, the City developed a network of organizations and institutions committed to improving housing ' opportunities for disadvantaged minorities. Consisting of representatives of govemment, nonprofit housing organizations, lending institutions, and Realtors, the Fair Housing Committee sponsors events to increase the community's awareness of possible discriminatory practices and develops ways to address them. Its workshops focus on issues such as predatory lending, tenants' rights, local testing, the Fair Housing Act,housing rights of persons with disabilities, and assistance for minority and low-income home buyers. In 1993, the Decatur City Council adopted a new chapter of its City Code, which sets forth its policy in prohibiting unfair financial credit practices, unfair housing practices, and noncompliance with the City's affirmative action program. As a result, the City hired a Human Relations Specialist to assist persons who believe they have been discriminated against with the process of filing a complaint. The Human Relations Specialist works closely with the Fair Housing Committee to educate residents about their housing rights and what to do if they believe they have been subjects of discrimination. The City is also committed to providing financial education for its minority and low-income residents. As mentioned in Section A,Decatur has two HLTD-certified housing counseling providers, Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Central Illinois (CCCS) and the Community Investment Corporation of Decatur(CICD). This fall, the Fair Housing Committee produced a Housing Assistance in Decatur brochure,which was distributed through local organizations and institutions to provide lower income and minority residents with home ownership education. As discussed in section(D), the Neighborhood Iiousing Development Corporation (one of Decatur's CHDOs)has made significant impact toward increasing the rate of homeownership among disadvantaged minorities. As mentioned above, twenty families, the majority of them African Americans,purchased newly constructed single family homes built by NHDC in the Meadowlark development. The project eliminated many of the traditional barriers to homeownership by offering substantial purchase price writedowns, downpayment assistance, interest free second mortgages, and an extensive homebuyer counseling program. These and other efforts have increased home ownership opportunities among Decatur's minority population. The 2000 Census shows that for the first time since at least 1960, the percentage of Black or African-American owner-occupied housing units increased (40.2% of total occupied units, up from a low of 39% in 1990), and renter-occupied units decreased. PAGE 12