Poverty moves into the suburbs

Driven by job losses, poverty climbed sharply higher in the suburbs while declining in Chicago, overwhelming suburban social service agencies and creating a class of “nouveau poor."

“Strained Suburbs, a new report from the University of Chicago's Brookings Institution, tracked double-digit increases in the number of impoverished suburban residents ranging from 24 percent in Lake County to 86 percent in McHenry County. In between, poverty rose 43 percent in DuPage County, 54 percent in Kane County and 64 percent in Will County.

In Cook County, the number of poor people increased 7 percent, but many suburbs saw dramatically higher numbers rising to a 64 percent increase in poverty in Schaumburg and a 77 percent increase in Arlington Heights. The number of poor in Chicago dropped 0.9 percent.

“We've heard of the nouveau riche in the suburbs. Now we have the nouveau poor," said Darlene Marcusson, executive director of Lazarus House in St. Charles, a city where the number of poor jumped 112.5 percent and the number of unemployed rose 67 percent during the study, which compared 2000 to 2008.

The report's co-author, Professor Scott Allard, said the problem has been building since the 2001 recession and worsened in recent years because of the crumbling housing market, the loss of family-supporting jobs for skilled workers, and an increase in immigrants leaving cities for housing and job opportunities in the suburbs.

“There's a sense that poverty is not a suburban problem. Increasingly, it's a suburban problem, Allard said. The overall poverty rate the percentage of people who are poor remains low in most suburbs compared to Chicago's 21 percent rate, he pointed out, “so this is an emerging trend, and it will probably continue to grow a little bit.

In a reversal from 2000, the number of poor people living in the suburbs across the U.S. now exceeds those in cities by roughly 1.6 million.

Local social service agencies report seeing a “new face of poverty that encompasses people whose incomes have dropped sharply as a result of job loss. They've drained 401(k) and savings accounts, borrowed from family and friends, and can no longer afford to pay for their house, car and other bills."

“Most poor people who are working are just not able to earn enough," Allard said. “The last thing they want to do is receive help. They'd rather have a job that helps them provide for their family."

The study also found that it's tougher to be poor in the suburbs, where relatively few social service providers are responsible for large geographic areas. Those providers are being strained by budget cuts at the same time they're reeling from an influx of people needing services, some of whom have never sought help before in their lives.

“Rich people who become poor don't have the skills to be poor," said Candace King, executive director of the DuPage Federation on Human Services Reform. “I feel badly for them because they have no idea how to manage. Low-income people have a culture of inter-dependence ... and wealthier people haven't developed those reciprocal relationships.

DuPage County, the wealthiest county in the state, has the busiest office of Illinois Department of Human Services, which provides food, housing and other assistance, DuPage social service officials say.

“If you had to guess which IDHS office was the busiest in the state, DuPage would be your last guess," said Pam Terrell, director of community services for Catholic Charities Diocese of Joliet, which serves a seven-county area.

Nationally, almost half the nonprofit groups that serve suburban poor reported losing substantial government or private funding in the last year. Illinois is months behind on paying bills to many social agencies, leaving some continually on the brink of closing down.

“Try calling the Department of Human Services. See what happens. They don't even answer their phone anymore ... because the line is out the door," Marcusson said. “They can't hire more people. The state's broke. What are they supposed to do?"

Many of the nonprofit groups cited in the study expect additional funding cuts in 2011.

“If there was fat, and I don't think there was, it's gone. Now we're amputating limbs, King said. “And the problem is going to get worse.

To see the full report, go to www.brookings.edu/metro/suburban_poverty.aspx

The Associated Press contributed to this report.