“Illinois Poverty Levels Continue To Surge Upward, New Data Shows”
Author: HuffPost NewsPublished: 14 Sept 2011
According to the U.S. Census Bureau 2011 “Illinois is currently home to more poor people than was the case nearly two decades ago.” More than 1.82 million people lived at or below the poverty level in Illinois last year compared to 1.69 million in the year before, an increase of 14.1 percent from 13.2 percent in 2009 (Chicago Sun-Times, 2011). Limited access to basic needs can cause psychological and social difficulties within a family. Inadequate sources within schools in Illinois such as absence of up-to-date books, computers, insufficient healthcare, and diet affects the ability for children to obtain the appropriate education to break the cycle of poverty. Allegedly, children living within poverty are at a higher rate of continuing the cycle of poverty than children with no experience of poverty.
The poverty figures are being felt locally at food pantries, low-income resource centers and homeless shelters throughout the Chicago land area (Chicago Tribune, 2011). Shelters are serving almost double the amount of people within the last year than ever before. According to a report issued late last year by the Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights, emphasized that child poverty rates and "extreme poverty" rates -- the number of those living on less than half the federal poverty threshold -- has also been steadily on the rise over the past decade (HuffPost News, 2011). Also, according to the Associated Press, University of Chicago professor Bruce Meyer said the worst still be coming down the pike in terms of poverty levels both in Illinois and nationwide as demand continues to increase for food stamps and other government assistance (HuffPost News, 2011). Ultimately, improving education and access to adequate healthcare for the underprivileged will not only create a better learning environment for our children, it will also improve family life and assist in breaking free from the cycle of poverty, thus, lowering the poverty rate throughout the world one family at a time.
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