"Chicago homeless crisis worsens with budget cuts, mass forclosures" by Kristina Betinis from the World Socialist Web Site on December 21, 2009

This article states that the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) estimates that 21,000 people are on the streets on a given night. The Chicago Tribune recently reported that less than a quarter spend the night in a shelter and that nearly half of the homeless population is under the age of 22. The author explains that the city shelters are overcrowded and dangerous and that in a weeks time, hundreds of people can be turned away for lack of beds in Chicago. Many homeless people seeking services approach emergency shelters only as a last resort. Since the 2010 Illinois state budget for homeless services has been reduced by $12.7 million, next year is expected to be a big problem. Illinois' social services are under pressure to continue to operate even though they have not been paid by the state of Illinois since the 2010 fiscal year which was reported on Chicago Public Radio. Lack of affordable housing was the most pressing issue in regards to this problem. The lack of homeless shelters has become so extreme that the Public Action to Deliver Shelter (PADS) are resorting to nightly lotteries for beds. Those who are not selected are given a bus ticket to the city and a list of other shelters. Also, the number of people in 'deep poverty,' with incomes below half of the poverty line, will rise by an estimated 4.5-6.3 million if unemployment reaches 9 percent. Foreclosures are one of the primary reasons that there is a substantial increase in homelessness