Another day, another reminder of how many state government initiatives rely on the increasingly unreliable foundation of federal funding.

The current example comes courtesy of an Illinois Answers Project report on the possibility 8,500 Illinoisans might lose housing through an announced change to long-term subsidies (Capitol News Illinois published the report at tinyurl.com/HousingShift).

Sidney King Pineda said the Department of Housing and Urban Development published new rules Nov. 13, shifting away from the bipartisan standard of housing-first polices. In Illinois, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, most of the 8,500 “permanent-supportive housing beds” come from private landlords likely to evict tenants who no longer have federal funds to cover rent.

“More than 1

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