Funding for rental assistance was identified as a significant need by the Governor’s Housing Task force and in “Building for Success: Illinois’s Comprehensive Affordable Housing Plan.” The Rental Housing Support program was sponsored by Senator Iris Martinez (D-Chicago) and Representative Julie Hamos (D-Evanston). Fewer than half the states in the nation have a rental assistance program and only two other states, Massachusetts and Connecticut, provide long-term rental support. The RHS program places a $10 surcharge on real estate document recordings and is expected to generate more than $25 million dollars each year and assist an estimated 4,000 households annually.