In fact, the state ranks dead last on the indicators when compared to the other states in the Midwest. According to the report released by the Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights, Illinois pales in economic well-being, housing affordability, education and health insurance rates such as the number of uninsured people.

And while the state boasts the fifth-largest state economy in the country, neighboring states are making far more progress when it comes to improving those all-important indicators, the report said.

Among the bleak facts about the state revealed in the report:

- Of Illinois workers, nearly 25 percent made less than $9.28 an hour in 2004, equivalent to poverty wages for a family of four.

- From March 2001 to June 2004, the state had the fourth worst job growth rate in the nation.

- As the poverty population increased from '01-'04, state human services funding decreased - In fiscal year 2006, human services programs were cut to balance the state budget.

- Social Security is the primary income source for two-thirds of Illinois seniors.

- 12.4 percent of the state's residents live in poverty and 29 percent are living near poverty. 5.7 percent living at or below 50 percent of the federal poverty threshold.

- There are more payday loan stores in Illinois than state-chartered banks.

- Illinois continues to lose high-paying jobs and replace them with lower-paying jobs. From 1990 to 2005, the state lost 222,500 manufacturing jobs with the average pay dropping by nearly 30 percent.

Add to those glum facts the recent job losses suffered or soon to be suffered, (layoffs at Maytag, American Coal, et al) by Southern Illinoisans and the picture grows even more dim.

"People are definitely hurting," said J.R. Russell of the Marion Ministerial Alliance. "The price of everything but the paycheck is going up. We work with a lot of fixed-income people and people who have been laid off and any little bump in their personal finances can cause them to question whether they should put gas in their car or use their money to buy food. That's a bad state to be in."

Russell said the alliance, which operates a food pantry, soup kitchen and offers financial assistance when funds are available, is seeing a greater demand for services.

For instance, the food pantry used to help an average of 250 families per month. "In June, we were right at 300. That's 980 individuals. Our soup kitchen is feeding about 100 people a day. I've seen a higher demand for services lately. It's hard for us to keep our pantry stocked,' Russell said.

Susan Metcalf of Good Samaritan Ministries: A Project of the Carbondale Interfaith Council, said it is hard to judge whether or not times are tougher now than ever before, but "The general trend is upward. There just aren't the jobs here that there used to be."

And that is the crux of the matter, according to State Sen. David Luechtefeld, a member of the bipartisan Illinois Poverty Summit Steering Committee.

Defeating poverty, he said, "will take a long time, but job creation and retention is where you have to start. When you are successful in creating and retaining jobs, other things will improve as well - schools, access to health care, everything."

Unfortunately, the Okawville Republican said, the Land of Lincoln has gotten a bad reputation when it comes to its relationships with businesses and industries. "Especially since this governor (Rod

Blagojevich) took office, Illinois is viewed as not friendly toward business. I'm not saying we have to give business a free ride, but we owe them the ability to compete. But when you look at this state and its high taxes and fees, legal costs and workers' comp costs, we are not very competitive," he said.

But the Blagojevich administration claims it has done much to deflect such criticism and to help ease the poverty problem.

Tom Green, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Human Services, said the governor has dedicated more efforts to eliminate poverty than any previous administration.

The state has made money available for increased job training, raised the minimum wage, expanded access to health care (lack of insurance is one of the leading causes of personal bankruptcy), and has increased funding for education.

As a result of the Governor's many initiatives, Green said, Illinois has added more jobs since January 2004 than any other state in the Midwest - nearly 115,000.

According to the governor's office, the state led the nation in job growth in April for the first time in more than 11 years and the unemployment rate just dropped to the national average of 4.6 percent for the first time since April 1999, compared to 6.7 percent in January of 2003.

beckym (at) onecliq.net