* The economic news isn’t getting any better…

A new U.S. Census Bureau study reports that 785,000 Cook County residents do not have health insurance. That’s 17 percent of the overall population. Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin (D) actually suspects the figure, based off a 2005 census report, is low.

* Percentage-wise, the highest numbers of uninsured are centered mostly in southern Illinois, a high poverty area that is almost always overlooked…

PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION UNINSURED
Cass County 21.8 percent
Calhoun County 21.4 percent
Jackson County 20.6 percent
McDonough County 20.2 percent
DeKalb County 20.1 percent
Stark County 20.1 percent
Jo Daviess County 20.0 percent
Henderson County 19.9 percent
Cumberland County 19.2 percent
Scott County 18.9 percent

* But if you look at population numbers, there are tons of uninsured in suburbia…

NUMBERS OF PEOPLE UNINSURED
Cook County 784,930
Du Page County 106,015
Lake County 101,020
Will County 82,311
Kane County 75,606
McHenry County 40,432
Winnebago County 38,202
Madison County 34,874
Champaign County 30,031
St. Clair County 26,629

The full list of all Illinois counties can be found at this link.

* The lack of adequate health insurance often results in financial devastation…

Facing debilitating health problems, Goldner refinanced his Highland Park home repeatedly only to wind up with a $729,000 mortgage on a house that eventually sold for $450,000.

* More horrible news…

On the brink of the cold-weather months, more than 56,000 natural-gas customers in the Chicago area remain disconnected for lack of payment. That’s up 36% from last year, putting pressure on utilities and local officials to get disconnected households back online before winter begins in earnest.

Peoples Gas and Nicor Inc. are offering new programs to help customers who are behind on their bills. In a pilot that began last month, Peoples has stopped shutting off customers as long as they pay 60% of their monthly bill. For two weeks last month, Nicor offered to reconnect customers who paid half of their outstanding debt and agreed to a payment plan for the rest. Some 1,400 took advantage of the offer.

With the souring economy making it increasingly difficult for people to pay their bills, consumer advocates say the programs are not enough. While federal heating assistance to low-income households in Illinois is up 59% from last year to $237 million, natural-gas prices are also up. For the November-to-March period, Peoples forecasts the gas bill for a typical Chicago household will rise 11%, to $1,183.

* And state and local governments are feeling the economic pinch…

Local governments are bracing for deeper budget shortfalls as the financial crisis hammers everything from sales tax revenue to pension funds.

The state’s cash on hand in the first quarter of fiscal 2009, ended Sept. 30, plunged 75% to a record low $188 million amid slowing tax revenue, state Comptroller Dan Hynes says. Its unpaid bills ballooned 31% to $1.8 billion, also a record. That could further delay already tardy payments to vendors and crimp access to people who rely on state services such as Medicaid.

“We expect this to get worse,” Mr. Hynes says. “We expect to unfortunately continue on the path of breaking these dubious records going forward.”

Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Friday asked the federal government to provide financial assistance to Illinois and other states to defray budget deficits.

* Mayor Daley claims the economic crisis is behind his bid to raise taxes yet again…

Mayor Richard Daley on Saturday blamed the economy for his new proposals to raise taxes on downtown parking and sports tickets to balance the city budget.

“Everyplace is being affected; this is a very tough economy and it’s going to be here about three or four years. It’s not going to go away,” he said. “I’m not happy with [the economy], no way—nobody can be happy with the economy. These are minor things we are looking at.”

* But there still seems to be plenty of tax money for the mayor’s friends and family…

City Hall has another multimillion-dollar deal in the works for Mayor Daley’s nephew and his business partners.

* And the budget woes aren’t having an impact on hizzoner’s PR budget…

At a time when Daley is cutting more than 1,000 workers to plug a $469 million deficit, he is also spending millions to promote the city’s image and manage the message coming from City Hall.

The city employs more than 50 representatives across various departments in the Daley administration, at a cost this year of $4.7 million. In addition to that in-house army, the city has funneled millions more to private spin doctors.

* Related…

* Sen. Dick Durbin says it will be two weeks before the government will spend a penny of the $700 billion in the bailout plan, adding the turnaround won’t happen overnight.

* In bailout, Chicago asks: Where’s mine?

* Democratic committeemen with Cook County jobs

* Board Wants Delay On Transit Fair Hikes

* Illinois Attorney General Backs Sheriff’s Eviction Moratorium

* Foreclosure workouts not working, AGs tell banks

* Accredited Sues Illinois Sheriff Over Eviction Standstill

* Sheriff’s eviction policy saves little guys from unfair suffering

* Trend of Medicaid pay increases is expected to end as states struggle

* Daley considering increased taxes on parking, ballgame tickets

* City budget shortfall gets worse

* Mayor’s Warning: Economy Will Get Worse (Video)

* Daley Announces Parts of Budget Plan

* Tower trumps slowdown

* AT&T Planning to Boost Wireless Service

* Machinists union confirms start of Boeing talks to end strike