Decatur Herald & Review
December 9, 2008
The first demographic portrait of smaller-sized counties and cities since Census 2000 shows that Central Illinois was losing ground economically even before the current downturn.
From Decatur Herald & Review:
The first demographic portrait of smaller-sized counties and cities since Census 2000 shows that Central Illinois was losing ground economically even before the current downturn.
Christian, Coles and Fayette counties, which include Taylorville, Pana, Charleston, Mattoon and Vandalia, all experienced significant reductions in their median household incomes and significant increases in their poverty rates, according to multiyear estimates released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.
“This follows the trend we’ve been seeing at the state level the last couple of years,” said Amy Terpstra, senior research analyst for the Mid-American Institute on Poverty of Heartland Alliance in Chicago. “People have less and less money in their pockets to buy the things they need to get by.”