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Illinois Poverty Continues to Climb
The number of people in poverty in Illinois has grown 27 percent over the last two years.

The number of people in poverty is 1,496,248, according to the ninth annual report on Illinois poverty by the Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights (www..heartlandalliance.org/whatwedo/advocacy/reports/illinois-poverty-report-2009-final.pdf). This represents 11.9 percent of the population, and an increase of 405,000 people since 2007, according to the report.

Poverty has increased in 58 of the state's 102 counties.

In addition, 2 million Illinoisans are not poor now, but lack savings or assets and would be poor the moment they lose their job or face any other significant hardship.

Heartland Director Amy Rynall says the impoverished aren't all unemployed. Many are working, often more than one job, but their wages are too low to lift themselves and their families out of poverty. They are typically poorly educated people whose prospects for better jobs are dim, and they are in and out of poverty.

The poverty line is $22,000 for a family of four. The report finds poverty all over the state.

(Heartland Alliance, Illinois Radio Netowork)
06 27 09 by Newsroom
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