Report shows poverty is up
Poverty is growing, especially in the suburbs, according to a study of the Chicago region being released today.
High-priced housing, transportation costs, and low wages all contribute to rising poverty rates in Will County and other suburban areas surrounding Chicago, according to the 2007 Report on Illinois Poverty.
"We've seen family wages stagnate, and we've seen median income decline," said Amy Rynell, director of the Chicago-based Illinois Poverty Summit, which is releasing the study.
The report's findings are similar to others that have found growing numbers of the nation's poor living in suburbs that have traditionally been considered areas of middle-class stability and affluence.
In the Chicago region, two of five people in poverty live in the suburbs, according to the report.
In Will County specifically, 32,500 people lived in poverty in 2005 for a poverty rate of 5.1 percent.
The Will County poverty rate was on the low end of seven counties included in the report. Cook County had the highest poverty rate at 15 percent. DuPage and McHenry counties had the lowest rates at 4.9 percent.
But the Will County poverty rate, according to the study, has grown from 4.9 percent in 1999.
And, the numbers of people at low-income levels in Will County grew by nearly 20 percent in the same period, second only to DuPage County where the low-income rate grew by 24.6 percent.
The report cites federal guidelines defining poverty at incomes ranging from $10,210 for a single-person household to $20,650 for a family of four. Low-income is defined as income up to twice the poverty level.
The increase in poverty rates has come at a time of rapid economic development in Will County.
But some factors spurring development also could be hurting those with lower income.
Sandi Perzee, business manager at MorningStar Mission, a Joliet center that provides meals, beds and other services for the poor, said the cost of housing is driving many people into poverty.
"They can't afford apartments anymore," said Perzee, noting the average monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment tops $900 in Will County.
Perzee said the numbers of people using the mission this winter are "the highest it's ever been."
The Interfaith Food Pantry in Plainfield also reports growing numbers of people seeking help.
"People are getting laid off, losing their jobs, or they can't get a job," said Mary Dickerson, coordinator for the Plainfield service. "They come to the pantry."
The loss of manufacturing jobs -- down 22 percent in the Chicago region -- has taken a toll on income, according to the 2007 Report on Illinois Poverty.
While factories have shut down or shed workers, there has been an "explosion of service sector jobs," Rynell said. "These jobs are a rapidly growing part of the suburban economy, but they certainly don't pay families wages to meet their basic needs."
The median household income in Will County, according to the report, has fallen from $72,960 in 1999 to $68,414 in 2005. The report cited declines in median income in all seven Chicago-area counties as well as a statewide decline in median income from $54,616 to $50,260.
The Illinois Poverty Summit is an initiative of the Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights.
