Metropolitan Family Services' Public Policy team has been making positive and powerful changes for families for decades.

Legislation that we've helped to pass includes:

• The Predatory Home Loan Practices Act of 2007 responded to the escalating failure of sub-prime loans in Illinois. The act helps home borrowers receive mortgage counseling and requires that the lenders verify that borrowers can afford the home they are buying.
• The Illinois EITC Expansion of 2007 repaired a flaw in the existing Illinois EITC statute which had kept several groups of working families, including foster parents, from receiving their full tax credits.
• The Energy Assistance Act of 2006 was developed as a result of the all-time high prices for heating gas during winter 2006. This act created a special fund that would help lower-income families avoid gas disconnection and maintain heat throughout the winter.
• The Payday Loan Reform Act of 2005 established fair lending rates and other safeguards for payday loans in Illinois.
• The Rental Housing Support Program of 2004 created a state-funded rental assistance program to make rents affordable for families earning 30 percent or less of the area median income (around $19,000 a year for a family of four).

Today Metropolitan continues to develop and promote legislation that benefits low- and moderate-income families in Illinois.

Click here for our Advocacy Calendar.