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* Dean Olsen at the Illinois Times…
In 2023, the Springfield metro area posted the highest Black poverty rate in Illinois – 40.3% – and the fourth-highest Black poverty rate among more than 240 other metro areas in the United States with 10,000 or more Black residents. Springfield’s metro area includes all of Sangamon and Menard counties.
In 2017, Springfield metro’s Black poverty rate was 40.8% – the highest in the state, and the 11th highest in the country. The Black poverty rate dropped by less than one percentage point in Springfield between 2017 and 2023. It dropped by larger amounts in the Bloomington, Champaign, Chicago, Peoria, Rockford and Kankakee metro areas, as well as statewide and nationwide.
The gap between Black and white poverty rates in the Springfield area actually increased by one-third. In 2017, the Black rate was 3.7 times higher than the white rate, but it was 4.8 times higher in 2023 because the white poverty rate dropped from 11% in 2017 to 8.28% in 2023.
The gap between median annual income for Black households ($33,112) and white households ($80,191) in the Springfield metro area was the second-largest in the country in 2023 for areas with 5,000 or more Black households. Black median household income in the Springfield area was almost 59% lower than median household income for whites. […]
When adjusted for inflation, Springfield’s Black median household income in 2023 was actually $23 lower than in 2017. In contrast, white households experienced an inflation-adjusted gain of $1,135, or 1.4%, in median household income between 2017 and 2023. […]
Meanwhile, inflation-adjusted Black median household income in the Decatur area rose by more than $6,400, or 21%, between 2017 and 2023. Black household income rose by more than $5,100, or 11%, in the Chicago area, and by almost $3,300, or 8.6% in Champaign-Urbana, while remaining about the same in the Rockford area.
Everybody at the Statehouse needs to be paying attention to these awful Springfield trends. Go read the rest.
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, May 13, 25 @ 9:22 am
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Springfield: The city that looks like redlining never ended.
Comment by Candy Dogood Tuesday, May 13, 25 @ 9:57 am
Sangamon County pays $3M for state’s attorney salaries and $1.1M in public defense salaries.
When the previous public defender advocated for more resources, he was told by a county official that “some folks around here don’t want an even playing field.”
You can see that sentiment play itself out all over Springfield, I think.
https://sangamonil.gov/Portals/0/Departments/Auditor/Docs/Salaries/Employee%20Pay%20Rate%20Report%202024-12-01%20%282%29.pdf
Comment by Stephanie Kollmann Tuesday, May 13, 25 @ 10:16 am
Segregation is still a huge problem. Totally insane.
Comment by jolietj Tuesday, May 13, 25 @ 10:50 am
==Segregation is still a huge problem.==
Springfield’s Mayor and most of the City Council would say their plan is working.
Comment by don the legend Tuesday, May 13, 25 @ 12:03 pm
It always really annoyed me that a fancy YMCA was built way out on the west side while the downtown Y was left to rot. That’s the kind of decision making that leads to these kinds of trends.
Comment by Excitable Boy Tuesday, May 13, 25 @ 1:09 pm
Where is all the cannabis tax money going? I thought this was supposed to help with ways to uplift black communities with grants, programs for housing, job training, business loans, child care etc. Ive honestly never heard of one thing this money has ever funded.
Comment by BluegrassBoy Tuesday, May 13, 25 @ 1:25 pm
=== Ive honestly never heard of one thing this money has ever funded===
Try the Google. Or, better yet, DuckDuckGo.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, May 13, 25 @ 1:26 pm
Read the article, but can’t remember if it mentioned the incredible difference in neonatal death rates between Blacks and whites.
In the 1980’s they were horrendous.
Comment by cal skinner Tuesday, May 13, 25 @ 3:16 pm