South Suburban Youth Trade Program Faces Funding Cliff as State Grant Expires

A youth workforce program that has trained more than 120 young people in construction, culinary arts and other trades across Chicago and south suburban Cook County is set to lose its state funding on August 31, leaving organizers scrambling to keep the program alive. Save Our City, Save Our Future, based in Oak Forest, pays participants $17 an hour and covers professional certifications, food, transportation, uniforms and safety equipment — all of it now at risk as the group's state contract runs dry.

The nonprofit is categorized under the Illinois Youth Investment Program, a state initiative meant to help young people ages 16 to 24 gain work experience and career skills. As reported by FOX 32 Chicago, current funding pays participants only through August 31, and fall programming is now on hold. Partnership Director Catherine McDowell said the program gives young people resources and structure they might not otherwise have.

A Waiting List Growing While the Clock Runs Out

More than 40 young people are currently on a waiting list for the program, according to the outlet's reporting, even as the organization faces its own uncertain future. Participants who have made it through the program have earned OSHA certifications and credentials in culinary arts, real estate and property management, working up to 20 hours per week while learning trade skills alongside financial literacy, conflict resolution and professional development training.

Among those affected is 17-year-old Cornelius Harris and 19-year-old Dajon Dillard, both cited in the outlet's report as participants whose paths through the program illustrate what is at stake if funding disappears. Robert Harper, who founded Save Our City, Save Our Future in 2024, said he wanted to give young people resources and skills. The organization's lifetime state contract has exceeded $591,000, including more than $389,000 for fiscal year 2025 alone.

State Says the Money Was Never Meant to Be Permanent

Governor JB Pritzker's office told the outlet that the funding organizations like Save Our City, Save Our Future relied on was a one-time budget addition rather than an ongoing annual appropriation. The Illinois Department of Human Services communicated the funding structure and grant end dates to participating organizations, per the governor's office. Pritzker's office added that the governor remains committed to investing in youth skill development, meaningful experience and paychecks, even as organizers report that workforce development funding has been cut.

The state's broader firearm violence prevention infrastructure, which encompasses youth development funding, still has $45 million in preserved funding statewide for youth employment and violence-prevention programs. Illinois's Fiscal Year 2026 budget allocated $110 million to maintain level service funding for the Department of Human Services' Office of Firearm Violence Prevention, according to the State of Illinois, covering Community Violence Interventions, Youth Development and Community Convenors. But the discretionary, one-time legislative add-ons that smaller niche providers like Save Our City, Save Our Future depended on were not renewed.

Grant Caps Squeeze Small Nonprofits

Under Illinois Youth Investment Program guidelines, grant awards are capped at up to $6,900 per youth served in short-term employment and up to $15,000 per youth in long-term employment, with individual organization grants capped at $1 million, according to Illinois Department of Human Services guidance. Grant agreements under the relevant funding opportunity established an initial award cycle ending March 31, 2026, with an option for a single renewal through March 31, 2027 — a rigid schedule that leaves little room for organizations to plan multi-year cohorts. Save Our City, Save Our Future says it needs at least $550,000 annually just to maintain its current programming.

The funding gap comes against a backdrop of stark local need. A May 2025 study by the Alternative Schools Network and the University of Illinois Chicago Great Cities Institute found youth unemployment topping 80% in several Chicago neighborhoods. UIC's Great Cities Institute has separately estimated that every out-of-school, jobless youth without a high school diploma in Cook County costs state and federal governments roughly $197,000 in future lost tax revenue and public spending — a figure that adds up to $9.5 billion across Cook County over affected youths' working lives, according to CBS News.

Other Funding Streams Offer Only Partial Relief

Other government and philanthropic dollars are flowing into Chicago-area youth violence prevention work, though none directly plug this program's gap. Cook County awarded $5 million in violence intervention grants to nine community organizations in June, part of a four-year, $110 million commitment to street outreach, case management and job training, according to FOX 32 Chicago. U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth secured $1.5 million in federal spending in March for Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. to support community-based youth violence prevention efforts in Chicago, per her office. In February, the Partnership for Safe and Peaceful Communities launched its 10th annual Chicago Fund, offering $1,000 to $10,000 rapid-response micro-grants to grassroots organizations across 24 high-violence Chicago neighborhoods.

For now, Save Our City, Save Our Future is turning to private donations, grants, corporate sponsors and community support to bridge the gap. The organization is planning a fundraising event and silent auction on November 14. Organizers describe the program's funding future as uncertain, even as they try to keep its doors open to the dozens of young people already waiting to get in.