While long-term trends in homelessness rates have been in decline, rates started to increase in 2015. In Illinois, Governor JB Pritzker signed an executive order in 2021 establishing an Interagency Task Force on Homelessness with the goal of achieving Functional Zero homelessness state-wide.
One of the major hurdles state governments face in addressing homelessness is a lack of current and accurate data reporting. This is not because the data do not exist—some exist—but more so because the data are not shared well or even formatted in a way that facilitates sharing.
"Over the course of analyzing data for these reports it became apparent that the task of addressing homelessness at the state level requires a system to track homelessness throughout the year; and that to do so would require the state to address the barriers to collecting and managing this data in order to effectively and efficiently achieve functional zero homelessness in Illinois."