Programs from the Chicago Urban League
The Chicago Urban League supports low-income residents, with a focus on the Black community, across the city with a combination of housing counseling, workforce training, youth development, and business assistance. Their services reflect the specific conditions of Chicago’s neighborhoods such as high housing costs, long-standing employment disparities, and limited access to business capital. Find details on assistance programs available from the Chicago Urban League below as well as their contact information.
The Urban League partners with the City of Chicago, HUD, local unions, corporations and philanthropic groups, which means their programs are broader and more interconnected than what many Urban League chapters in other states offer. Everything they provide is designed to increase economic stability for households, and as mentioned a focus on minority residents, that often face multiple barriers at the same time.
Housing programs, including for tenants and homeowners
The Chicago Urban League Housing and Financial Empowerment Center is a HUD-approved housing counseling agency that offers mortgage delinquency, foreclosure prevention and default counseling. They help people with pre-purchase counseling, financial coaching and workshops on budgeting too. Some of the workshops also help tenants in Chicago.
- Counselors review income, debts and local housing conditions, then help families prepare realistic budgets and action plans. The Center also runs structured homebuyer education classes. Those classes meet the requirements for down payment or closing cost assistance that many Chicago-area banks and government programs require, which means participants can move from education directly into local assistance programs. Details and current workshop dates are listed at https://chiul.org/program/housing/.
The League is also a key partner in the Take Root Chicago consortium, a citywide network of community groups, HUD-certified counseling agencies, realtors and lenders that help residents “buy, keep or fix” homes through free or low-cost services. This also includes information on grants for the Black community. This combination of HUD approval, city delegate status and consortium partnerships makes the housing program more locally integrated than many Urban League affiliates in other cities.
The Foreclosure Counseling Program’s housing counselors intervene with mortgage company loss mitigation departments on the homeowners behalf. They try to create workable plans for loan modification, in order to forestall the foreclosure. This is targeted foreclosure prevention help. Homeowners who have fallen behind on payments can attend online or in-person sessions that explain options such as repayment plans and other arrangements that may prevent the loss of a home.
- Staff help participants gather documents, communicate with mortgage servicers and understand legal time lines. In Chicago this work is tied tightly to city and state resources, which helps homeowners navigate a complex system rather than trying to do it on their own.
The First-Time Homebuyers Program gives advice and support. The aid is for prospective first-time homebuyers and it provides them the opportunity to access available incentive programs and explore new low interest mortgage loan products. The program also provides instruction on the responsibilities associated with homeownership. The Urban League provides the two-workshop as well as one-on-one coaching route required to issue a “Homebuyer Education Certificate” that unlocks down-payment assistance in the Chicago region.
Housing clients, incluidng low-income renters, sometimes need legal help, emergency assistance or city-funded programs in addition to counseling. The Urban League also helps tenants in Chicago get rent assistance. The Housing and Financial Empowerment Center can refer people to the City of Chicago’s network of Housing Counseling Centers, which includes multiple agencies across the city that focus on foreclosure avoidance, pre-purchase counseling and financial literacy.
CUL also provides counseling to current renters and tenants. They can learn about eviction prevention and legal support. There are also services for prospective renters. They can get advice on signing a lease, budgeting, credit, and affordability. A listing of affordable or market rate rentals from the City of Chicago Department of Housing and Economic Development is available as well.
Education, business development and job placement from Urban League in Chicago
CUL’s Workforce Development Center focuses on raising employment and income levels for Black Chicago residents as well as other minorities in the city. Programs include job readiness workshops as digital-skills training, which includes free internet access, computer training and coding. There are also employment placement services, trades/apprenticeship training and “Second Chance” services for formerly incarcerated individuals.
- What stands out in Chicago is the depth of sector-based partnerships and retention work. The Workforce Development Center runs a full-service placement and retention program that works both sides of the labour market: job seekers and employers. It collaborates with local unions and companies so that training lines up with real vacancies, and it stays involved after placement to help people keep jobs and move up, not just get hired.
One of the most distinctive programs in Chicago is the Community Trades and Apprenticeships Program (CTAP). This is a hands-on pre-apprenticeship initiative for people interested in the skilled trades, including construction, electrical work and renewable energy. Participants attend classes, work in labs and learn the math, safety practices and technical skills required to enter union apprenticeship programs.
- The Chicago job market has high demand for trades workers, and this program gives residents access to careers that provide long-term, stable income. Chicago’s version of this program is more extensive and better connected to union partners than similar efforts in many other Urban League locations.
The Chicago Urban League is also known for its long-running small-business development efforts. Through the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, business owners can get help with financial planning, operations, marketing and preparing bids for government or corporate contracts. The Chicago Urban League regularly works with entrepreneurs who run construction firms, food businesses, professional services companies and other enterprises operating in the city.
- One standout program is the nextONE accelerator, which supports established businesses that need guidance to grow revenues and compete for larger opportunities. This type of advanced business training is not common across most Urban League chapters, but the Chicago market has enough mid-size Black-owned businesses to support a program of this level.
Youth and family support is another central part of the Chicago Urban League’s mission. Middle- and high-school students can join year-round programs that provide academic support, mentoring and exposure to careers. College readiness, leadership development and goal-setting are combined with practical guidance on jobs, trade careers and higher education.
- Due to the fact that Chicago’s schools serve a diverse population with different needs, the Urban League’s youth team partners with school staff, community groups and local employers to keep programming relevant. Parents can join technology and digital training sessions that help them support their children academically and prepare for work themselves. Current youth and parent programs are listed at https://chiul.org/program/youth/.
Finally, the IMPACT Leadership Development Program sets the Chicago Urban League apart from most other chapters. This is a nine-month leadership initiative for mid-career professionals in the Chicago area. It includes in-depth training, mentorship, community engagement work and coursework delivered with support from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and other local partners. Many graduates go on to leadership positions in business, nonprofits and public service. Few Urban League affiliates operate a program of this scale, making IMPACT unique to Chicago.
Additional Urban League sponsored services for the unemployed, employers and jobseekers include a full-service employment and training center. There is also a career portal for general usage. The League has formed strong relationships with local employers in Cook County and training providers to offer both employment and short term internship opportunities.
Contact information
The Chicago Urban League combines direct services and strong partnerships to address some of the most persistent economic challenges facing Black and other minority residents of Chicago. There are main offices. The addresses are 4510 South Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60653, (dial 773-285-5800) as well as Englewood Office, 845 W. 69th St., Chicago, Illinois 60621, dial 773-602-3000.
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