"Affordable" Apt. near Square

Know someone who is looking for an "affordable" apartment near the Woodstock Square?

The Corporation for Affordable Homes of McHenry County (CAHMCO) has a 2-bedroom unit available in our Renaissance Apartments at 209 Dean Street. The address is 205-2A Dean Street. The monthly rent is $600.00 a month and a $600.00 security deposit. 

If you know of anyone in need of permanent housing, direct them to Marcia Stein, Program Manager, Corporation for Affordable Homes of McHenry County, 209 Dean Street, Woodstock, IL 60098. Phone: 815-687-6723. Email: mstein@cahmco.org

Keep in mind that "affordable" has a specific meaning, and prospective tenants have to "qualify". The first question that may arise for many is, "How do I come up with $1,200 ($600 + $600) to move into this "affordable" apartment?" CAHMCO may (or may not) have an answer for you, but contact them to find out.

CAHMCO - contact info.

The Corporation for Affordable Housing in McHenry County (CAHMCO) is not in hiding; you just have to look around a little to find it.

CAHMCO closed its doors on Woodstock's north side as the result of severe financial difficulties. Business operations have been temporarily suspended, but the president of the board of directors and others are working behind the scenes to do their best to restore operations.

The President of the Board is (Ms.) Lou Ness. She is committed to affordable housing in McHenry County and served on the Board for 17 years. After an absence the Board asked her to return and assume leadership duties.

Here's how you can contact CAHMCO:

1. Write to CAHMCO at 1316 N. Madison St., Woodstock, IL 60098. Mail is being received via that address.
2. Monitor the website at www.cahmco.org Shortly, the website will carry a message for clients and other interested people about the current status of CAHMCO.
3. The Board hopes to bring the phone number back into service soon and to continue using the phone number shown on the website, (815) 206-5820. In the meantime, you'll hear a message that the line is not working. You might call it from time to time or watch the website for a new phone number.
4. Send an email to mstein@cahmco.org Provide your own contact information. I understand that e-mail address is still active.

Good luck to CAHMCO. Hope the lights are back on soon at a new location.

CAHMCO - affordable housing?

Did the economy bite the Corporation for Affordable Homes of McHenry County (CAHMCO)? Or did something else interfere with its ability to continue operations after a change in management in January.

A reader of this blog called me today, after he attempted to reach CAHMCO and found its phone number was not working.

Several calls later, I have tracked down the spokesperson for CAHMCO and am awaiting a call back. I did learn that rent checks are being accepted at the McHenry County Housing Authority, but that's all I know at this time.

CAHMCO's website is still live at www.cahmco.org; however, there is no current information on it about how it is conducting its business, or if it is.

CAHMCO - the Saga, Part 1

Or was Part 1 the first article about CAHMCO (Corporation for Affordable Homes in McHenry County) just this past Monday? OK, let's make this Part 1, since the smell of rats in the barn may persist a little longer.

The Page 1 headline in this morning's Northwest Herald was "Seidel: Politics forced my ouster".  Mary Lu Seidel was fired at last week's meeting of the CAHMCO Board of Directors. (An aside to Mary Lu: I've been fired several times, so I know what it feels like.)

Read the Northwest Herald article here: www.nwherald.com/2011/01/26/seidel-politics-forced-my-ouster/aqkx73e/  (N.B., the Northwest Herald's archiving policy is to stuff the article into a paid hiding vault in seven days; if you miss the reading window, use your Woodstock Public Library card to sneak into the vault for free). You'll see some interesting tidbits that ought to stir some of those tired, old brain cells.

On Monday, the CAHMCO website still showed Jeff Thorsen and Gay Szala as Board Members.

Today's article says that "...the Board underwent a shakeup (sic) after Seidel's firing - former president Jeff Thorsen resigned in protest, and another member became interim director."

No, I don't think that's how it was. Thorsen left the Board in November, two months before Seidel was fired.

On Monday afternoon, CAHMCO's website was changed to show that Art Wagoner is the interim Executive Director. I didn't see his name on the Board of Directors' listing on the website on Monday, so which Board Member was it who became interim director last Thursday?

Today Wagoner's title is Executive Director (the "interim" is gone). Was there a Board meeting since last week to elevate Wagoner from Interim Executive Director? Looks like he's the main man now. Executive Director is commonly a full-time, paid position. If they boot him now, won't he get unemployment and a severance package?

Another Board member left in November, but the paper didn't mention Gay Szala. Why did she leave the Board?

Don't miss this juicy part: The CEO of the McHenry County Community Foundation (MCCF), Kate Halma, had supported the formation of a new affordable housing organization in McHenry County, one to be run by Eric Koehler (hmmm, where do McHenry County residents know that last name from???) and "Chip" Eldredge. Eric is McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler's son, and "Chip" is Charles Eldredge III, identified in the article as a "real estate consultant." Does that mean real estate salesman?

Back to Kate Halma, CEO of MCCF. According to the article, she carried the banner of the new organization (McHenry County Attainable Housing Corp.) to the MCCF Board. The Board didn't bite on January 4, and it fired Halma the next day. What did she do to rub the Board the wrong way?

Affordable Housing on the Way

The Corporation for Affordable Homes in McHenry County (CAHMCO) has announced that it was awarded a $2,500,000 grant for permanent supportive housing in McHenry County. Congratulations!

CAHMCO applied for the grant on May 4 for funding by the State Neighborhood Stabilization Program. Last night at a meeting of the Transitional Youth Work Group (TYWG), which meets at the McHenry County Mental Health Board, Executive Director of CAHMCO Mary Lu Seidel explained the grant.

This grant will be of special interest to certain at-risk young adults, because they may be able to qualify for independent housing which they can actually afford.

"Supportive housing" is for 1) those who, but for housing, cannot access and make effective use of treatment and supportive services in the community and for 2) those who, but for supportive services (for example, mental health services), cannot access and maintain stable housing in the community.

A candidate, or applicant, must be in some type of program that provides case management, and the referral to CAHMCO is made by the Case Manager.

The $2.5 million is to develop and manage up to 24 housing units. These may include efficiency apartments and apartments of one or more bedrooms. These will not be "group homes". CAHMCO will buy, rehab (or build) housing on lots or properties which have been foreclosed. Real estate taxes will likely be waived on these properties, which is a big step toward making them affordable.

Rents will be affordable to people earning approximately 30% of the area median income. No monthly rent subsidies are planned. This is permanent housing (not transitional housing), but it is for transitional-age residents.

An example of rent is: for a studio apartment for one person earning $15,840/year ($7.75/hour x 51 weeks/year), the monthly rent would be $396, including utilities.

Now, that's affordable!

For more information, go to www.cahmco.org or call 815.206.5805