Urbana Poverty Information

[UPDATE: The mayor of the City of Urbana responded to the Smile Politely editorial mentioned in this post below. Jump to an excerpt of the mayor's response on this post by clicking here, or go to the full response on the Smile Politely page here.]

Last month, in a followup to previous board questions on the subject, the Cunningham Township supervisor broke down poverty data in the City of Urbana by age groups and compared to other cities. From the News-Gazette:

Cunningham Township supervisor breaks down poverty stats for board
...
At Monday's monthly meeting of the township board, made up of the same people as the city council, Chynoweth returned with more detailed statistics showing that poverty rates for people outside of college age are larger in Urbana than in comparable communities...

Chynoweth's data — organized by township volunteer and University of Illinois doctoral student Allan Axelrod — shows a higher rate of poverty among Urbana residents aged 5 and under, under 18, and over 25 than among their counterparts in Champaign, Normal, Bloomington and "even West Lafayette (Ind.), which has an overall higher poverty rate," according to the memo sent to board members.

The numbers show that the poverty rate for all Urbana residents was 18.9 percentage points higher than the national rate, 8.2 percentage points higher than Champaign and 21.1 percentage points higher than Bloomington. Rates for those under age 18 are similar, and while the rate for residents over 65 is below the national average, it's the highest of the communities included.

At 17.5 percent, poverty among residents 25 and older is also much higher than other comparable communities — 5.7 percentage points higher than the national average, 5.6 percentage points higher than Champaign, 7.2 percentage points higher than Bloomington and 11.1 percentage points higher than Normal.

Full article with additional information available here. Video link here with the poverty data presented at the 5 minute 47 second mark. Some members appeared to be skeptical about how much older students, such as graduate students, may be skewing the data. Chynoweth pointed out that students in poverty may be assumed to have their needs met in spite of their income, but data on hunger suggests that isn't always the case.

Smile Politely's coverage of this issue has charted the data and provided additional information and links to helpful resources here. Excerpt:

Champaign County has a long history of being among the poorest counties in the state: In 2013, Champaign County was the 3rd poorest county in Illinois; in 2015 it was the 10th poorest. Just last year, the poverty rate in Champaign County was estimated to be at 21.4%, with well over 20,000 people living in poverty. (Poverty is often delineated by three categories: extreme poverty, poverty, and low income. For a single person, the federal poverty guideline for 2019 is $12,490 per year. Extreme poverty is about half of that.)

At a special meeting later in the month, the budget was maintained at the same levels for the office that often helps the most vulnerable. The Township Supervisor explained some of the incredible work it does in a recent "So I have to Ask" podcast interview with Elizabeth Hess (available here). A recent example of the eviction-prevention program was in the News-Gazette recently here as well. Here's a short description from the township's description:

The Supervisor's Office is the administrative office of the Township and also has the responsibility of issuing General Assistance welfare benefits to eligible persons living in Cunningham Township (City of Urbana). An additional program established at the Supervisor's Office is the Cunningham Township/City of Urbana Consolidated Social Service Grants Program which distributes grants to local non-profit agencies also serving low-income persons.

Chynoweth pointed out that maintaining current funding levels, while appreciated, leaves a longer term budget crunch coming:

Urbana mayor will urge to preserve financial commitment to social service programs
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But the city's contribution to the fund, which gives grants to local nonprofit organizations to use for services or operating costs, has been higher in the past, as Township Supervisor Danielle Chynoweth pointed out. She said a long-term goal will be to "gradually rebalance the responsibility between the city of Urbana and Cunningham Township."

Already, the township has been doing "significant deficit spending" since 2014, when the township board voted to decrease the tax levy at the direction of a prior supervisor.

Chynoweth warned the township board, made up of Urbana council members, that if the current level of funding for the township's budget continues, it will burn through its savings in no time.

"I certainly appreciate that the city is committed to keep funding to at least the level of last year," Chynoweth said. "I just want us to look long term and not be surprised in four years when the savings are gone."

Full article here. The full report on the social services funding is available here from the Urbana government website: FY 2018-2019 City of Urbana and Cunningham Township Consolidated Social Service Fund.
UPDATE: The mayor responded to the Smile Politely editorial excerpted above and offered additional information and corrections to misinterpretations of the city code. Smile Politely posted it on their website here. Below is some of the meat and potatoes:

The City of Urbana leverages millions of dollars to promote safe, decent housing for the most vulnerable low-income households, seniors, and persons with disabilities. Here are some of the ways we address this need.

1. City of Urbana staff are working with Cunningham Township, the City of Champaign, Champaign Township, and social service providers to open a year-round emergency shelter for women and families. We recognize the critical need for this emergency shelter. The City also operates a small-scale transitional housing program for women with children who are pursuing job training or education.

1. Over the years, we’ve provided funding for construction of the TIMES shelter for homeless men, remodeling of Prairie Center for substance abuse treatment and renovation of Courage Connection properties serving victims of domestic violence.

1. The City leverages funds for affordable housing construction. We’ve partnered with Habitat for Humanity to build 52 single family homes in Urbana over the past 25 years and another is in the planning stages. These homes stabilize neighborhoods and help low-income families build equity.

1. The City works with the Housing Authority and private developers to build and renovate affordable housing. Our staff helps developers apply for low- income housing tax credits and the City often donates land for these projects. Recently completed projects include: Hamilton on the Park (36 units), Highland Green (33 units) and Crystal View Town Homes (70 units). The $5.2 million Aspen Court renovation will soon be completed in east Urbana (140 units). Two more Housing Authority projects are in the planning stages. These include the 24-unit Pinewood Place on Colorado Avenue for persons with mental and physical disabilities and a new 75-unit development on Lierman Avenue. The Lierman development will include a community center, a request that topped the list in a neighborhood survey.

1. The Urbana HOME Consortium has invested over $2.5 million for down payment assistance to first-time homebuyers, Tenant Based Rental Assistance, and support for Habitat houses. The City assists low-income households with emergency home repairs, sewer lateral repairs, and whole house repairs. We sponsor neighborhood cleanups using Community Development Block Grant funds and support a community garden in east Urbana.

The Smile Politely editorial and other media posts misinterpreted sections of the Urbana City Code as targeting strategies low-income residents may use to navigate poverty. Clarifications are below.

1. The Urbana City Council repealed the panhandling/aggressive solicitation ordinance several months ago in response to concerns expressed by the ACLU over similar ordinances in the state.

1. Extended stay rooms are legal in the City of Urbana. Over the years, the City has helped people move from regular motel rooms to extended stay rooms. The latter are better equipped for long-term stays.

1. In the past 20 years, no citations have been issued for “dumpster diving.” References to removing items from collection containers are in the 1999 ordinance establishing our Multifamily Recycling Program.

City Code language can be confusing when fragments are pulled out of context. I urge you to contact me or your Alderperson if you have questions about local ordinances and practices. 

Full article here.


[Updated. Originally posted 3/8/2019 at 6:05am.]