McHenry Co. Group Tasked With Studying Housing Costs, Other Issues

CRYSTAL LAKE, IL — Many single residents of McHenry County don’t make enough money to pay less than the recommended one-third portion of their income to cover housing costs, local officials said, which will be among the concerns studied by a new task force.

The Workforce Housing Workgroup was created by McHenry County Board Chairman Mike Buechler (R-Crystal Lake) to study the availability, challenges, and opportunities facing people who live and work in McHenry County. The group will also be tasked with looking into housing costs that the county’s workforce pays as well as the critical importance of the economic vitality of communities within the county, officials said.

The workforce reported that 25 percent of workers living in McHenry County earn $25 per hour or $52,000 or less each year. Statistics show that the median monthly mortgage payment in McHenry County is $1,782 or $21,384 per year. The median rent costs in the county are $1,250 per month or $15,000 per year, according to the American Community Survey.

In many cases, the group found that single workers often pay housing costs more than the recommended one-third of their income if they chose to live within the county limits.

“When the County Board sat down to update our Strategic Plan, we kept coming back to the same issues of our local businesses needing more workers, and workers needing more quality places where they can live in our community,” Workforce Housing Workgroup co-chair Pamela Althoff (R-McHenry) said.

Officials said that the Workforce Housing Workgroup will meet over the next year to develop a report outlining housing recommendations and best practices for the region.

Members of the Workforce Housing Workgroup include representatives from McHenry County Government, the McHenry County Economic Development Corporation, the McHenry County Workforce Network Board, Heartland Realty, Illinois Realtors, and the McHenry County Council of Governments.

“McHenry County has a reputation of being a wonderful place to work and play, but this workgroup will help us to become a place where our workers can afford to stay,” the group’s co-chair, Louisett “Lou” Ness (D-Woodstock) said.