Recession To Push More Than 400,000+ Illinoisians into Poverty, Report Finds

May 12, 2009

Heartland Alliance's Mid-America Institute on Poverty released a new report last month finding that as many as 405,000 more Illinoisans are likely to have been pushed into poverty as a result of the recession.

The 2009 Report on Illinois Poverty- the only annual comprehensive analysis of poverty indicators in the state - notes that nearly 1.5 million state residents were already living in poverty way beforethe recession began.

The projected increase, based on expectations that national unemployment will reach 9 percent this year, would represent a 27 percent bump in the number of people living in poverty over the past two years.

Media outlets from around the state have published the report's findings. Check out stories placed by VDC from Associated Press, Daily Herald, and the Peoria Journal Star. Complete list of media coverage can be found on the VDC Blog.