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, December 12, 2011: Finding common ground; Schaumburg, Thornton bridge differences with school exchange
"It makes you less ignorant -- you're not just living in a bubble," said Schaumburg High senior Brittany Tamason, who said she knows of some Schaumburg kids who won't even travel to downtown Chicago, let alone to Harvey, which is plagued by high poverty and a high crime rate.
Chicago Sun-Times, December 7, 2011: School kids need help getting basics
"Well, the folks at General Growth Management have made sure those needy children at New Sullivan will each receive a Christmas gift, thanks to the company's participation in the Chicago Sun-Times' annual 'Season of Sharing' program."
Chicago Tribune, November 23, 2011: Number of elderly poor in Chicago increasing
"On a national level, the poverty rate for the elderly (65 and older) is 9 percent using the traditional measure, and 16 percent using a supplemental measure (developed by the Census Bureau). If we were to apply the supplemental measure to poverty levels in Chicago, the rate would be above 20 percent."
Chicago Tribune, November 17, 2011: School lunches get major upgrade
"It's astonishing enough that notoriously picky high schoolers would have something nice to say about the food in their cafeteria. But these meals containing premium ingredients are provided for free to low-income students or sold for $2.25 at most."
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 31, 2011: Illinois officials defend schools in face of ills 80 percent of districts fail to meet federal goals for improvement.
"The Illinois state standardized test results released today show the gap in performance between different groups of students is narrowing at the elementary school level, particularly because of gains among African-American, special education and low-income students. "
Chicago Sun-Times, October 31, 2011: (Editorial) Don't go overboard on longer school day
"Given a student population that is 86 percent low-income and behind academically, it is shameful how long Chicago has carried on with a diminished schedule. Emanuel has gone after the longer-day prize in his signature, take-no-prisoners way."