Background
Lillie joined the Metropolitan Planning Council in 2006 to advance public/private partnerships for workforce housing opportunities in metropolitan Chicago. For the four years prior to joining MPC, Lillie was a homeownership consultant for Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) of Chicago, where she worked directly with Chicago families to help them achieve their homebuying goals. She taught weekly homeownership education courses and presented "buying basics" to hundreds of attendees at special events and homebuyers fairs. Lillie also counseled clients one-on-one, and saw hundreds of buyers through the process of becoming successful homeowners. While at NHS, Lillie managed the EAH Program for the University of Chicago/ University of Chicago Medical Center. She counseled 500 employees and helped more than 150 of them purchase homes near work.
In her current position, Lillie provides support and technical assistance to the nonprofit housing agencies (REACH partners) that counsel employees participating in EAH programs. She also is focused on implementing the Commute Options Program pilot and an energy efficiency retrofit program for regional employees as well as developing new areas of EAH counseling coverage and increasing EAH opportunities throughout the region.
Lillie is a native of Arlington, VA. In 2001, she moved to Chicago to join Public Allies Chicago, an AmeriCorps program and became a Chicagoan in a snap. She resides in South Shore with her husband and son.
Articles
MPC and Illinois Association of REALTORS® partner for EAH-
- This summer, MPC co-taught two National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) courses on Employer-Assisted Housing (EAH). Sponsored by the Illinois Association of REALTORS® and Partnership for HomeOwnership Foundation, the course was available to association leadership in the Chicago region in…
Community Bank of Oak Park River Forest launches employer-assisted housing program-
- Authored with Breann Gala, MPC Research Assistant
In spring 2011, the Community Bank of Oak Park River Forest partnered with Oak Park Regional Housing Center (OPRHC) and Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) to design an employer-assisted housing (EAH) program for the staff of their west suburban…
West suburban employers, municipal staff gather to talk workforce housing-
- Mayor Anthony Calderone welcomed a crowd that tipped 60 to Forest Park’s Village Hall on July 13, setting the tone for a productive discussion by emphasizing recent collaboration between west suburban towns around housing issues. Representatives from west suburban communities, more than 20…
City of Lockport adopts employer-assisted housing-
The City of Lockport will launch an EAH initiative that includes a matching fund for area employees whose companies offer an EAH benefit, and a measure to assist with the purchase of previously foreclosed homes.
- Mount Prospect named Best Place in America to Raise Kids
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- BusinessWeek has recognized northwest suburban Mount Prospect, one of MPC’s employer-assisted housing partners, as an affordable and safe community with a great public education system.
Areas of expertise
- Homeownership consultancy
- Homebuyer education
- Employer-assisted housing program management
Education
B.A., Integrative Studies, George Mason University
