This year’s state budget once again provides only $4.5 million in operational funding for the state’s 97 Soil and Water Conservation Districts – comparable to levels from the 1990s.

The agencies combine on a rental housing study titled Out of Reach, which this year determined a full-time worker in Illinois needs an hourly salary of $29.81 to afford the market price of a two-bedroom apartment.

The point of sharing isn’t to advocate for the report’s suggestions, but to present an opportunity to explore the groundwork lawmakers and lobbyists will reference as these concepts make their way into public remarks, committee meetings and eventually legislation.