Over 1 in 7 Illinoisans get food assistance

By Patrick Andriesen

11/01/2024

Nearly 2 million Illinoisans – or more than 1-in-7 – received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in July 2024. One-quarter of county offices reported more than 1-in-5 residents received food help.

TAGS: SNAP

Food assistance rises, with nearly 2M Illinoisans getting benefits in June

By Patrick Andriesen

10/04/2024

Nearly 2 million Illinoisans – or nearly 1 in 6 – received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in June 2024. The number of Illinoisans needing federal help with groceries was the highest since September 2023.

TAGS: SNAP

Nearly 2M Illinoisans receive federal food assistance in May

By Patrick Andriesen, Jon Josko

08/29/2024

Nearly 2 million Illinoisans – or nearly 1-in-6 state residents – received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in May 2024. Illinois ranked No. 9 in the nation for highest rate of federal food help.

TAGS: SNAP

Nearly 2 million Illinoisans get food benefits, up 13.5% since 2019

By Patrick Andriesen, Jon Josko

08/08/2024

Nearly 2 million Illinoisans – or more than 1-in-7 state residents – received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in March 2024. Alexander and Pulaski counties led the state with 34% of residents receiving SNAP benefits.

TAGS: food stamps, SNAP

Illinoisans rely on food stamps for Christmas dinner

By Dylan Sharkey

12/20/2023

This holiday season, nearly 2 million Illinoisans will rely on federal food assistance. Illinois is eighth in the country for highest reliance on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

TAGS: SNAP

1-in-6 Illinoisans rely on food stamps for Christmas dinner

By Patrick Andriesen

12/23/2022

Illinois has the 6th-highest number of residents buying their meals with nutrition benefits, and the number grew almost 11% from a year earlier.

TAGS: food stamps, poverty, SNAP

Up to 140,000 able-bodied Illinoisans may need jobs to get food stamps in 2020

By Vincent Caruso

12/05/2019

Just Cook County food stamp recipients were facing work requirements Jan. 1 if they were under age 50, able-bodied and had no dependents. Now the rules will apply throughout Illinois starting April 1.

TAGS: criminal justice reform, Donald Trump, food stamps, Foundation for Government Accountability, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, job creation, jobs, labor force participation rate, Michigan, National Conference of State Legislatures, regulations, small business, SNAP, Springfield, tax burden, unemployment, West Virginia, Wisconsin

More Illinoisans on food stamps this Thanksgiving, 50K recipients will soon need jobs

11/26/2019

This Thanksgiving, about 17,500 more Illinoisans will be using food stamps. By New Year’s, about 50,000 Cook County recipients must find jobs or lose benefits.

TAGS: constitutional amendment, Cook County, Donald Trump, DuPage County, food stamps, Illinois, JB Pritzker, link card, Midwest, progressive income tax, SNAP, social services

Illinois is more dependent on food stamps than any other neighboring state

08/23/2019

Illinois has a higher percentage of its residents on food stamps than its neighboring states, and has seen a much slower decline in food stamp recipients following the recession.

TAGS: employment, food stamps, jobs, SNAP, unemployment, welfare

This Thanksgiving, food stamps will buy nearly 14 percent of Illinoisans’ meals

11/21/2018

Food stamp participation has seen an encouraging decrease, but lagging economic growth leaves Illinois ranked highest among neighboring states in SNAP enrollment.

TAGS: food stamps, SNAP, unemployment

Unlocking Opportunity: How Occupational Licensing Reform Would Promote Equitable Empowerment in Illinois

Illinois finds itself at a crossroads: will it empower minorities and poor people to unleash their potential, or will it perpetuate an inequitable status quo? For far too many Illinoisans, opportunity is unfairly and unnecessarily out of reach. Illinois ranks in the bottom ten among all states in social mobility and last among Midwest states...

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Unlocking Opportunity: How Occupational Licensing Reform Would Promote Equitable Empowerment in Illinois

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Martin Sahagun

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

CBS Chicago: Illinois’ highest-paid superintendent receives $400K per year to oversee 1,200 students