Illinois
State Government
Governor
J.B. Pritzker (D)
State Senate
40
Democrats,
19
Republicans
State House
78
Democrats,
40
Republicans
Economic well-being - Illinois
Extreme poverty rate
0.1
Food insecurity
0.1
Minimum wage
15.0
Percent of working families under 200% of the poverty line
0.3
Poverty rate
11.6%
Unemployment rate
4.4
Number of Black or African American children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment
Number of Hispanic or Latino children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment
Percent of individuals who are uninsured
6.9
Poverty by demographic - Illinois
Child poverty rate
0.1
Number of Asian and Pacific Islander children below 200% poverty
28000
Number of Black or African American children below 200% poverty
204000
Number of Hispanic or Latino children below 200% poverty
312000
Senior poverty rate
10.6 %
Women in poverty
6,308,481
Chicago Tribune, January 29, 2013: All-day kindergarten gaining traction in Chicago area
"Officials are working out the details now and looking for a way to lower costs before kindergarten registration begins in March, Superintendent Donn Mendoza said. Fees for low-income students are expected to be waived, possibly based on their eligibility for free or reduced-price lunches, he said."
Chicago Tribune, January 27, 2013: Remarkable Woman: Amy Thomas Elder
"It's a program of the Illinois Humanities Council in partnership with the University of Chicago's Civic Knowledge Project, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Bard College's (New York) Clemente Course in the Humanities. Since the late Earl Shorris founded the course in 1995, believing the humanities could provide a path out of poverty, the model has been used around the world."
Chicago Sun-Times, December 31, 2012: (Editorial) Real hurdle to education reform is poverty
"There is nothing easy about trying to boost academic outcomes for poor kids. That is why we've supported a range of aggressive interventions for the Chicago Public Schools over the years, including school closures, charter openings, turnarounds, improved teacher evaluations, a longer school day and changes to teaching tenure, hiring and firing rules."
Chicago Tribune, December 26, 2012: Number of homeless students rises, but money to help them evaporates
"Schools across Illinois have experienced a double whammy in recent years. As the number of homeless students continues to rise -- 22 percent during the past two years -- state and federal funding for homeless education has fallen 64 percent since peaking in 2009. With government support flat-lining, experts worry that cash-strapped schools won't have enough resources to meet the demands of the growing population."
Chicago Tribune, December 19, 2012: Some schools in Dist. 203 may get all-day kindergarten next fall
"Half of the elementary schools in Naperville Unit District 203 may offer all-day kindergarten next year, under a proposal that won initial support from most school board members Monday. District officials say they would like to implement the program at its seven Title 1 schools, which are those that receive federal funds to assist low-income students."
Chicago Sun-Times, December 06, 2012: Vocabulary skills: More poor kids at loss for words
"That's according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which for the first time Thursday reported vocabulary scores pulled out from the reading tests given to fourth-, eighth- and 12th-graders nationwide. Which is troubling, experts say, since vocabulary is essential to reading comprehension, and poverty keeps rising in Illinois. More than half the state's 1.95 million schoolchildren qualified for free or reduced lunch in 2012."