Poverty rates in Illinois are still high, according to a report that was released by Voices for Illinois Children, on Thursday, March 5, 2015. The report is called the 2015 Illinois Kids Count Report.
Skribbles Child Care in New Windsor has looked at past Illinois Kids Count Reports. Voices for Illinois Children says that poverty and financial stress are impeding children's abilities to learn. They also say that Illinois' fiscal crisis is hindering efforts to get rid of childhood poverty.
During the 2014 Illinois Kid Count Report, local agencies said that poverty rates dropped from 22 to 21 percent. That number remained the same, after crews released the 2015 report Thursday.
"We've seen a lot of growth," Child Abuse Council Spokeswoman Angie Kendall said. "Some of our numbers aren't as great as we want to see them, but that just means we have opportunities to improve. I believe that because we are such a unique community on both sides of the river, that those rates can be related across the river as well."
In the summer of 2013, a similar report was given out in Iowa. It said that the percentage of children living in poverty was actually increasing.
New Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner has proposed cuts to health and child care assistance in his 2016 budget, according to Voices for Illinois Children.
The Governor's Press Secretary, Cat Kelly, said Thursday, "The state will no longer be paying for relatives to provide child care." There will be "slight increases in co-pays," and "freezing intakes for children over five years old."