Income-eligible suburban Cook County residents who have struggled to pay their rent during the 
pandemic can apply for a lottery rental assistance program. Money for this program will come from the federal CARES Act funds. These funds will be administered by the Housing Authority of Cook County. The application period for the lottery opens on Monday, August 10 and closes on August 18. Up to $4500 will be paid to a landlord for an eligible household selected in the lottery. Funding will be available to suburban renters with household incomes under 80 percent of the area median income Residents can review their eligibility and apply for assistance here.
News from the Reference Desk Category: Rent
Apartment Hunting
Searching for a new place in Chicago or nearby suburbs? Here are some sites you may want to try for a rental or apartment finding service:
Finding an apartment with RentSocial.com
RentSocial.com is a new website using social networking to search for an apartment. Similar to the consumer-reviewed site Yelp, users can leave remarks of buildings they currently or used to live in. You can also create your own RentSocial profile using your info from Facebook. The site gives an “activity feed,” where building owners, friends and neighbors can post messages. It’s all free of charge to users (the site makes money by charging building owners a monthly fee to be listed).