Victims of the economy… who are the true victims of the economy? Today in Illinois, a report from the Heartland Alliance announced that 250,000 more Chicago-area people were forced into poverty because of the economy.

Joblessness was a strong contributing factor to this. More people are visiting food pantries, because they are out of work, rent takes a large portion of their income and even when working low-wage paying jobs don’t cover expenses.

Illinois’ unemployment rate is approximate 9% right now and this affects those who are working as well as those who aren’t.