WSIL-TV
April 9, 2010
According to the Illinois Commission on the Elimination of Poverty, nearly 700 thousand people in Illinois were living in extreme poverty in 2007, that’s before the recession hit.
From WSIL-TV:
A family of four making less than 10 thousand dollars a year is classified as being in extreme poverty. According to the Illinois Commission on the Elimination of Poverty, nearly 700 thousand people in Illinois were living in extreme poverty in 2007, that’s before the recession hit.
The group held its third of three statewide hearings Thursday night at John A. Logan College in Carterville. The commission hears from people who have been impacted by poverty, or who have worked with those struggling to make ends meet. After hearing from the public the group will put together a plan to cut extreme poverty in half by 2015.
“People are eager for Illinois to invest in solutions to poverty, that is a key area of public policy concern,” said Sid Mohn, President of the Heartland Alliance and Co-Chair of the commission.
The commission was formed by the general assembly in 2008. Its goal is to have a strategic plan finished by mid-August. The commission is made up of 26 people including lawmakers, poverty advocates and people who have faced poverty themselves.
