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The Rise of Poverty in DuPage CountyAlexander R. KleinNovember 27, 2006Hinsdale Central High SchoolHonors Seminar in Writing

A History of Poverty in DuPage County

Sheila has hit a rough spot. She is a 34-year-old from Westmont, Illinois, and herhusband recently left her and their three children. It does not matter why he left, but it isimportant what he left. A family of four is expected to earn $18,100 every year to stayabove the poverty line set by the federal government (A Profile 10). Sheila, however,only makes about half that, working as a cashier at a local food mart that pays $6.50 perhour. What is she to do? Forgo medical care in order to pay for the family’s car, or buyless food to pay this month’s rent? This is not a “choose your own adventure” story; thisis a kind of real-life decision that the working poor in DuPage County have to make on adaily basis.The over 60,000 working poor residents of DuPage County are often hidden (AProfile 10). The term “working poor” has been defined as “those who make less than200% of the federal poverty level.” This means that a family of four making less than$36,200 per year (double the aforementioned poverty line) is deemed “working poor,”and is targeted as a family that needs assistance. DuPage County (which, depending onthe source, is between the eighth and thirty-eighth wealthiest county in the nation) ishome to thousands of poor who have more difficulty getting assistance and findingaffordable rental units than the poor in other, more generally poor, areas. In an areaknown for such affluence, in which the highest number of residents earn between$50,000 and $75,000 per year, it would be one’s natural inclination to wonder why thereare over 120,000 local poor residents (A Profile 11). Would there not be a substantialamount of support for the less fortunate in such an area (see Appendix B)?

Looking back at Sheila’s case, one might assume that she has many options—food pantries, government aid, educational and religious support, or used clothing stores.These resources are indeed readily available, but are limited in their abilities to assist allof DuPage’s needy residents consistently; year after year, they “have to turn someoneaway” for lack of funding, according to Martina Shera, Executive Director of HinsdaleCommunity Service. The working poor have always received assistance, but in variedamounts and ways. Where did these support programs come from, when did they start,whom do they help, and in what ways? The DuPage Federation on Human ServicesReform is different from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which isdifferent from Hinsdale Community Service. These programs, based on national, county-wide, and local platforms, strive to help as many working poor residents as possible, buttheir support has come at different times in history (see Appendix A).The call for a national effort to combat poverty came during the Great Depression,when millions of families were slipping into debt and despair. When evaluating the localbeginnings of poverty, “you’re talking about towards the end of the Great Depression”said Shera. However, President Lyndon B. Johnson’s announcement of a “war onpoverty” in his January 8, 1964, State of the Union speech is widely considered to be thefirst major recognition of the necessity of support for the nation’s working poor. His planworked in the short-term, “reducing rates of poverty and [improving] living standards forAmerica’s poor” (Siegel 1). Since then, government organizations designed to aid thepoor have come and gone, and a multitude of statewide and local institutions have startedas methods of augmenting the federal government’s aid efforts. There has always been awide range between poor and rich, especially in a capitalist country like the United