Safe, Secure, Affordable Housing

The best way to secure housing is to keep the income to debt-ratio at 30%. When the percentage of housing expenses grows, housing becomes unstable. When people increase this ratio, just one unexpected event (car repair, sickness, loss of employment) can spiral into the condition of homelessness.

The ability to sustain housing is directly tied to work success, emotional well-being, and community engagement.

Solution: Encourage the development of affordable housing in all new housing projects, or set aside funds in each community that stimulates new income-matched housing opportunities.

Equitable Employment and Living Wage

Living wage: What each person/family must earn to afford the basics of housing, food transportation.

1 adult, 0 children: $19.99/hour
1 adult, 2 children: $46.60/hour

Average Wage: $17.99/hour
Minimum Wage: $12.00/hour

The above formula does not work for lower middle-income individuals/families living in McHenry County.

The wage formula guarantees that people within this income structure have fewer resources, working in organizations companies that offer fewer benefits or that offer them at a rate to high to afford.

Healthcare, Physical & Emotional Well-Being

1 in 10 adults owe medical debt.
57% of Americans with medical debt owe at least $1,000 for a national total of $140 billion dollars. Medical debt is the number one cause of bankruptcy in this country.

It’s important to make health care choices from a place of care, not affordability. When people are given two choices, taking care of an illness or paying rent, an illness or affordability, an illness or having to work, we all suffer.

Solution: Single payer health care, a national health care program that is expansive and inclusive in its scale and scope of excellence. Our national, state and local vision is for everyone to fall under the blanket of healthcare, regardless of whether we are looking for physical or emotional well-being.

Food Security

McHenry County is agriculturally rich and has some of the richest fertile soil in the nation. We are the farm belt and a significant producer of food. It is perplexing that the supply of food banks has not increased as the number of people/families using the food banks has grown. St. Ann’s Episcopal Church in Woodstock in partnership with three other churches feeds over 250 families each week. This is only one food source.

Solution: increase affordable food inside grocery stores by integrating food bank items. The other solution is to increase the income level of SNAP, so marginal families are able to shop at their local stores.

Environment

The climate crisis will force people to re-assess the relationship we have to the environment.

Solution: Support the conservation district’s effort to save open spaces, encourage a wise and long-range vision for our water supply, and create outdoor opportunities for residents to explore the many ways in which their actions effect our local environement.

Partner with local farmers to integrate sustainable agricultural methods, and shop for local sources of food, including beef, pork, chickens, and other meat sources.

Partner with businesses and new construction to use green technology, providing or underwriting the integration of energy savers, thereby saving the planet solution to drive their industry.

Recycle from the point of production/consumption.

Begin to educate residents on the wise reduction of single-use plastics. Encourage grocery stores to rethink packaging options. Create an intentional partnership with The Defenders in driving recycling events county-wide, educate residents, increase the type of recycling we can source, and institute a compost, kitchen waste recycling project.