Peoria Journal-Star
April 30, 2009
The 2009 Report on Illinois Poverty released Thursday reveals signs of increasing poverty throughout the state.
From Peoria Journal-Star:
It’s not bad luck that’s keeping this Peoria resident from the work force. He is a product of his environment – of an expanding number of Americans pushed into poverty as a result of the recession.
The former Caterpillar Inc. 6 Sigma electrical engineer, who asked that his name not be used, lost his job about four months ago. He has no retirement. He’s exhausted his savings. The Internet technology specialist applied for between five and 10 jobs that match his skill set daily throughout the United States to no avail.
An income tax refund helped make most of his bills current. But he is behind on his mortgage payment. And if his situation doesn’t change in the next 30 to 60 days, he may lose his house and everything else.
“On the way to Caterpillar each morning, probably since September when I was aware of the economic downturn, I would pray that those people who had lost their jobs would find sustenance somehow. I also prayed that I didn’t want to be one of those people,” he said.
The story is not uncommon.
In February, there was one job opening available for every five Midwesterners. The number of workers in part-time jobs because they cannot find full-time work has nearly doubled nationally since mid-2006, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
The 2009 report on Illinois Poverty released Thursday reveals signs of increasing poverty throughout the state. Poverty worsened in more than half of the state’s 102 counties even before the recession began in December 2007.
The most current poverty data from 2007, therefore, does not capture economic realities, the report’s authors wrote.
As many as 405,000 more Illinoisans are likely to have been pushed into poverty as a result of the recession.
“We’re seeing a whole new segment of people who have never been in poverty before or needed assistance, and now they’re popping up in food pantries and shelters and places that they’ve never had to go before for help,” said Amy Terpstra, a senior research analyst at Heartland Alliance Mid-America Institute on Poverty, a not-for-profit Chicago-based organization that produces the annual poverty report.