Poverty In Illinois Jumps Over Last Decade

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Sep 29, 2010 2:00PM

Data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that the number of people living at the poverty in the state of Illinois has increased from its level of 10.7 percent in 1999 to 13.3 percent in 2009, an increase of 24 percent. While the overall increase was mirrored that of the national level, the state's rate of those living below the poverty level is still lower than the national rate which was 11.3 percent in 2000 and increased to 14.3 percent last year.

As for Chicago, according to the information from Heartland Alliance, the poverty rate in the metro area increased from 19.6 percent in 1999 to 21.6 percent last year for a total of 603,218 people living below the poverty rate. The number of children living below the poverty rate in the metro area stood at 205,403 last year. More local breakdowns, by states in the Midwest and by Illinois counties, are available at the Heartland Alliance's website.