State of Social Well-being Report

The State of social well-beingROCKFORD METROPOLITAN AGENCY FOR PLANNING

February 2013

RockfordRegion

VITAl SIGNSRegional Plan for Sustainable Development

2 | Rockford Region Vital Signs: The State of Social Well-being of the Rockford Region

This report was prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The contents, views, policies and conclusions expressed in this report are not necessarily those of the above agencies.

REPORT PREPARATIONS COMPLETED BY:

Genevieve Borich, GenX & Associates Steve Ernst, Rockford Metropolitan Agency for Planning

Additional contributions by RMAP staff.

| 3Index

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword and Introduction ....................................................Page 4

Executive Summary .............................................................Page 9

Why Equity is Important to Sustainability.................................Page 16

Vital Signs Social Data Analysis .............................................Page 31

Biodiversity ...........................................................................Page 32

Built Environment ..................................................................Page 32

Civic Vitality ..........................................................................Page 41

Culture .................................................................................Page 53

Economic Development ........................................................Page 55

Education .............................................................................Page 74

Energy .................................................................................Page 86

Food ...................................................................................Page 87

Health ..................................................................................Page 91

Housing ...............................................................................Page 101

Safety ..................................................................................Page 111

Technology ...........................................................................Page 116

Transportation .......................................................................Page 117

Waste ..................................................................................Page 122

Water ...................................................................................Page 122

Conclusions .........................................................................Page 124

Appendix: Additional Visualizations ........................................Page 126


FOREWORDIn 2010, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Partnership for Sustainable Communities awarded the Rockford Metropolitan Agency for Planning (RMAP) a $600,000 grant to create a Regional Plan for Sustainable Development (RPSD) and a “data commons” that would house regional indicators and sustainability metrics. With RMAP as the grantee, the sustainability initiative is known as the Rockford Region Vital Signs project. This report, “The State of Social Well-being of the Rockford Region” is the first of three reports that will document the research and indicator data for 16 distinct areas of sustainability, collectively representing an assessment of current conditions in Boone and Winnebago counties.

Vital Signs is led by a local consortium of over 30 regional agencies agreeing to support and align their strategic plans and long-range visions to the final sustainability plan. The RMAP Policy Committee also formed a Steering Team of nearly 100 community leaders to help develop regional goals for the sixteen areas of sustainability and to recommend a governance structure empowered to implement the RPSD upon its submission and acceptance by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Many individuals have contributed to the development of the Vital Signs project. In particular the grant management staff wish to recognize the significant contribution of the Winnebago County Geographic Information System (WinGIS) for their technical expertise and assistance with deployment of the Vital Signs website and the open data platform on which it resides.

This report was prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The contents, views, policies and conclusions expressed in this report are not necessarily those of the above agencies.

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THE SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP

In 2009-2010 three federal departments came together to form the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, including the Department of Transportation (DOT), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). With HUD as the lead agency this federal partnership is guided by “Livability Principles” that seek to enhance the sustainability of local communities. The principles are:

1. Provide more transportation choices

Develop safe, reliable and economical transportation choices to decrease household transportation costs, reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil, improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote public health.

2. Promote equitable, affordable housing

Expand location- and energy-efficient housing choices for people of all ages, incomes, races and ethnicities to increase mobility and lower the combined cost of housing and transportation.

3. Enhance economic competitiveness

Improve economic competitiveness through reliable and timely access to employment centers, educational opportunities, services and other basic needs by workers as well as expanded business access to markets.

4. Support existing communities

Target federal funding toward existing communities—through such strategies as transit-oriented, mixed-use development and land recycling—to increase community revitalization, improve the efficiency of public works investments, and safeguard rural landscapes.

5. Coordinate policies and leverage investment

Align federal policies and funding to remove barriers to collaboration, leverage funding and increase the accountability and effectiveness of all levels of government to plan for future growth, including making smart energy choices such as locally generated renewable energy.

6. Value communities and neighborhoods

Enhance the unique characteristics of all communities by investing in healthy, safe, and walkable neighborhoods—rural, urban, or suburban.

Foreword


IMPORTANCE OF BEING A SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY

The term sustainability may mean a lot of things to a lot of individuals. Yet, being a sustainable community is universal to all residents. The goal of community sustainability is for residents committing to incrementally make better decisions and habits in the short-term, with the aim to keep the social, economic, and environmental well-being of their community thriving in the long-term.

VITAL SIGNS BACKGROUND

This narrative, “State of Social Well-being in the Rockford Region”, is the first of three reports being released as a part of the Rockford Region Vital Signs initiative – a three year program to create the Metro’s first Regional Plan for Sustainable Development. This report is being released first as a critical charge for this initiative is to engage traditionally underserved people in the Region. The story of the State of Social Well-being serves to tell the account of equity in the community and the broader implications on the Metro as the whole if the disadvantaged remain so. The mission of this report is two-fold: 1) to broadly explore the idea of social well-being within the greater context of community sustainability and social-equity trends and 2) taking the pulse of the social trends of the community’s well-being. The information shared within this report is not intended to stand on its own, but as a story of the region’s well-being as a whole. Conditions described by each social well-being measurement can interact, exacerbate other measurements – as such it is important to note this report attempts to show relationships between indicators, not causation.

The second and third reports (The State of Economic Well-being and The Environmental Well-being, respectively) will be released in late 2012 and early 2013. Collectively these three reports will serve as the backbone of the current conditions analysis of the final regional sustainability plan submitted to HUD for this initiative.

This process to develop a regional sustainability plan is based first and foremost on taking the social, economic, and environmental pulse of the Rockford Region. Once community leaders know the strengths and weaknesses of the region’s sustainability and well-being, it is

| 7Foreword

the belief they can be more strategic in determining what needs to be done to improve the community. These three reports will allow community leaders from diverse backgrounds, for perhaps the first time in concert, to have a clear picture of the region’s interworking parts. The hope is the regions’ leaders may then begin a conversation on how to improve the region’s sustainability by being “on the same page”.

VITAL SIGNS DELIVERABLES

The Vital Signs project includes five agreed upon deliverable products to HUD. They are (in no particular order):

• An open data platform consisting of a “data commons” that contains publicly-available and privately-purchased data sets to help document the current conditions of the region and to guide future performance measurement of sustainability implementation. As of the writing of this document this work is essentially complete. The Vital Signs website is www.ourvitalsigns.com.

• A regional governance model that empowers the region to compete, receive and implement sustainability initiatives and to plan for the entire metro area. RMAP has already received “Preferred Sustainability Status” from HUD, but currently the RMAP Policy Committee is only empowered to act on behalf of the census-defined urban areas within the two counties. As of this writing the recommendation of a regional governance model is before the RMAP Policy Committee.

• A formal regional analysis of housing, defined for grantees as a “Fair Housing Equity Assessment” by HUD. Additionally, RMAP has agreed to also include a regional “Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice”. This additional work will position entitlement grantees within the region (City of Rockford, Rockford Housing Authority) to align their HUD-required plans with a regional focus.

• A toolkit of model codes, ordinances, policies, incentives and agreements known as “implementation tools” that can assist the implementation of the RPSD.

• The final Regional Plan for Sustainable Development document. This plan document will have a 20-year horizon and include strategies and action steps for all levels of the region including local governments, businesses, non-profits, neighborhoods and individual citizens.


EXECUTIVE SUMMARYBelow is an overview to the social well-being (or equity) data presented within this report. Equity is a vision where every child within the Rockford Metropolitan Region has a chance at growing up healthy and living a self-sufficient and happy life and that every adult, with perseverance, can look forward to a decent retirement. Achieving equity does not prescribe everyone within the region be the same; in fact the differences in the residents adds to the vitality as a whole. Instead, achieving equity aims to eliminate barriers that harm some residents and not others. Or, as described recently within Boston, Massachusetts’ Equity Report situations that are “unfair, preventable, systematic, and grounded in social, political, and historical factors.”

Each equity topic described below can be found on the Rockford Region Vital Signs website by visiting www.ourvitalsigns.com and navigating to the data topics and visualizations in the menu bar.

CONCENTRATIONS OF POVERTY• The area experienced a 208% increase in poverty from 2000 to 2010

• The City Rockford has a poverty rate of 23%, twice that of State of Illinois

• Child poverty rates in the City of Rockford nearly doubled in last decade and are twice as high as state and nation

• Nearly 40% of children are in poverty in the City of Rockford

• Experts say that once a neighborhood’s poverty level hits a 10-20% threshold the neighborhood hits a tipping point where crime levels increase, home-owners don’t maintain properties, property levels begin plummeting, etc. Once a neighborhood hit this level the amount of aid and investment needed to pull the neighborhood out of poverty is large monetarily and long-term. The areas in the community that have hit this tipping point are referred to as “threshold neighborhoods”.

HOUSING• Older housing is highly concentrated in threshold neighborhoods due to being in

cities’ older cores

• Older housing takes more funds to maintain and to fix

• Within the Rockford Region neighborhoods with older housing lost population probably largely due to those who can move from poor neighborhoods do – those that are left don’t have a lot of resources

• Neighborhoods with older housing also have higher property crime rates

• These same neighborhoods have a lower percentage of home ownership and higher concentrations of minority and low-income residents

| 9Executive Summary

• Neighborhoods with subsidized housing tend to have higher minority populations, less white collar jobs, less aggregate income, higher growth in poverty rates, and less growth in property assessment values

REMNANTS OF SEGREGATION • Long-term segregation can lead to racial disparities in health and lack of access to

education and employment opportunities

• In the Rockford Region 63% of Blacks would need to move to achieve integration or whites and other minorities would need to move in to the neighborhoods where blacks are concentrated to un-do segregation

• National studies show blacks tend to suffer from higher levels of social isolationism than other races creating barriers to their formal engagement in the community

• National studies also show Hispanic’s language barriers and stronger family units seem to be the main reasons for low-levels of their engagement in the community

DISEASE OF OBESITY • Rockford Metro has the 4th highest obesity rate in the nation

• The area has low levels of fruit and vegetable consumption among its residents

• The area also has high levels of diabetes and alcohol consumption among its residents

BIRTH STATISTICS • 84% of black infants are born to unmarried mothers in Winnebago County

• High levels of low birth rates are occurring within the Rockford Region, leading to higher levels of health issues, missing school more often, higher dropout rates, higher incarceration rates, and higher unemployment rates

SINGLE PARENTS AND CHILDREN IN POVERTY• Locally female-led single-parent households are much more common than male-led,

especially in poorer neighborhoods

• Within the Rockford Region Hispanics have a much higher rate than whites and blacks to have married household units intact

• There appears to be a relationship between Blacks and Hispanic having higher rates of single-parent households and poverty but an inverse relationship for whites

• National studies show single-parent households have only one income to support family needs and less time to help support children in their rearing as there is only one breadwinner; depression rates are higher among unmarried and poorly educated single-parents and they demonstrate lower parenting skills in certain areas

• Locally Blacks have much higher propensity to have broken households than whites or Hispanics


MINORITY ENROLLMENT AND LOW-INCOME STUDENTS • National studies and local data shows poorer households spend less on kids, with

a direct relationship between child spending and a child’s educational attainment, eventual income earned, propensity for crime, marriage success, etc.

• There appears to be a direct relationship in the region between minority enrollment and low-income students

• Locally segregation continues in schools in a new form -- higher-income and white families are attending private schools and suburban school districts. This leaves minority and poor children behind in RPS 205 with a shortage of peers with stable influences

ATTENDANCE, TRUANCY, AND GRADUATION• Locally there is an inverse relationship between attendance and low-income students,

especially for minorities

• National studies show a child growing up in poverty is many times more likely to have prolonged exposure to stress in their home life. This leads to slowing of a child’s brain development from the chemicals released from the prolonged stress reaction.

• Over time this leads to higher levels of health issues and a developmental disadvantage in developing non-cognitive skills such as ability to focus, perseverance, etc.

• And, this leads to a higher propensity for truancy, which leads to higher dropout rates, higher unemployment, and lower income

• Locally there is a much lower graduation rate for minorities

UNEMPLOYMENT RATES FOR METRO• In the Rockford Region blacks have a 29% unemployment rate

• 20-24 year olds in the area have a 23% unemployment rate

• There is nearly a 5x higher unemployment rate for dropouts than for those with bachelor’s degrees within the Region

• In the Rockford Region for those with less than a high school diploma the unemployment rate is 22.9%; with a high school diploma 12.5%; some college 11.8%; bachelor’s degree is 5.6%

INCOME INEQUALITY• National studies show as the portion of transfer payments increase within a resident’s

income, in general wealth decreases within a region

• Average per capita income declined for most neighborhoods even though total income increased, especially in neighborhoods with high poverty. This is direct evidence of income inequality increasing within the Rockford Region.

• National studies show perpetuating concentrated poverty over time causes the average income rate of all residents within a region to be lower

IMPORTING POVERTY• Residents are moving between the two counties within the Metro; residents are also


moving to Cook County

• Average income of residents moving in to Winnebago County is lower than residents moving out of Winnebago County

• Average income of residents moving in to Boone County lower than those moving out, but not as low as Winnebago County’s

THE PLANNING PROCESS

Sustaining a community isn’t the same thing as having a sustainable community. The RPSD for the Rockford Region aims to:

• Create a higher quality of life for residents

• Establish 21st-Century economic strategies for businesses, economic development and wealth creation

• Maintain world-class sustainable environmental systems for the physical environs, including the built infrastructure

The Social report is intended to:• Broadly explore the idea of social well-being within the greater context of community

sustainability and social equity

• Engage traditionally marginalized communities including low income citizens, people of color and limited-English speaking residents

• Reference data collected by the Vital Signs grant management team to inform the regional conversation of social equity

• Reference professional journal articles to provide current research to assist the understanding of the data sets

• Lead to the formation of goals, objectives, action steps and policies to maximize the effectiveness of the RPSD

• Show relationships between indicators and suggest areas for further study, but not confirm causation

The second and third reports (The State of Economic Well-being and The Environmental Well-being, respectively) will be released by early 2013. Collectively these three reports will serve as the grant deliverable of current conditions, and inform the final RPSD. Elected officials and community leaders can use the current conditions as a benchmark to measure performance of the region’s diverse initiatives and programs, and help initiate the conversation of sustainability in the greater regional context.

As seen on pages 12-13, sustainability “Districts” were established as the basic unit of measurement for the Vital Signs project. Districts are based on census block groups and were defined for urban,


District Numbers

Source: Rockford Metropolitan Agency for Planning Date: 2012.

| 13Vital Signs Sustainability Districts


suburban and rural geographies within the region. Urban districts were formed from 2-6 census block groups combined so that they encompass approximately one square mile, which is considered the basic walkability standard. Suburban districts were formed from 1-2 block groups, and in many cases, were already one square mile in size. Rural districts were formed from one census block group. The RPSD will have distinct goals, objectives and action steps for urban areas different than suburban, and suburban different than rural. A map of the Vital Signs Districts is on page 9. Urban districts can be found within the City of Rockford, the City of Loves Park, the City of Belvidere and the City of South Beloit. The area delineated by the combination of urban and suburban districts is substantially the same as the census-defined urban area that governs the traditional planning area for RMAP as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO).

CURRENT STATUS

This report is the beginning the region’s sustainability playbook – developed by households, neighborhoods, organizations, businesses, and governments FOR the region’s households, neighborhoods, organizations, businesses, and governments.

Once the three reports are released the community’s leaders serving on the Vital Sign’s Steering Team will develop high-level goals for the Regional Plan for Sustainable Development, or RPSD. This phase is scheduled to be completed by April of 2013. In addition, with the release of each report the data covered with the narratives will be released to the online data portal at www.ourvitalsigns.com. Several “Data Day Training Sessions” will be held for community members to understand the Vital Signs site, hear about the usefulness of community data, and learn how to explore the information online so that it is useful to the region.

Finally, Topic Teams will be formed of community members from diverse backgrounds and expertise to help shape the tasks and strategies of the playbook. Collectively these strategies will help ensure the region’s sustainability goals are achieved in 20 years. This phase will be completed the fall of 2013. The RPSD plan will be finalized and adopted by early 2014.


SPEAKUP! AND GET INVOLVED

All interested parties have a role and are ambassadors for the Vital Signs project. Vital Signs is using several forms of community engagement including committees, public meetings, open houses and social media.

In addition, Vital Signs has secured a web-based tool called MindMixer that allows input in a “digital town hall meeting” format. Input and feedback opportunities on all aspects of the Vital Signs project are available at http://speakup.thevitalsigns.com. Ideas can be for households, neighborhoods, businesses, organizations, or local governments to make the community more sustainable. The website allows interested parties to submit, vote and comment on sustainability topics. The engagement results will inform the Topic Teams that community members may join to help identify and develop targeted strategies for the region to improve sustainability and well-being.

HOW ELSE CAN I HELP???• Get informed. There will be extensive outreach and events that you can partake in

to learn what we’re doing and to obtain more information on sustainability is about in general.

• Spread the word. Tell your friends, family, and co-workers about what we’re doing, help us teach them about how sustainability is important to the region, and talk about how this plan is important for the collective and individual futures.

• Join a Topic Team in 2013. We will be forming topic teams you can join and help identify and develop opportunities and strategies for the region to improve the sustainability and well-being.

• Be sustainable. Households, neighborhoods, businesses, organizations, and local governments don’t need to wait for the playbook to be adopted before trying to be more sustainable. Do your part and begin helping the region be more sustainable, now.


WHY EQUITY IS IMPORTANT TO SUSTAINABILITY Examining the social well-being of the region helps preserve and grow the people, culture, relationships, and safety of the community. Social well-being often circles around the discussion of equality. Since the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, there has been a common emphasis on equal opportunity for all, regardless of race, ethnicity or gender.

The discussion now mainly circles around the pros and cons of the dispersion of income. With this debate comes heated political discussions about income redistribution policies including welfare and the tax structures. Some Americans are of the opinion that those who have more have some way contributed more, and that those with less have not contributed as much to society in one shape or form.

Yet, often Americans attribute social value to people’s position within society – in other words, effort is attributed to those already successful. There is another view held by other Americans that no one should be too poor to afford necessities of life, or the view of equity. Equity means having the same access to resources needed to be successful in life. As such, the discussion about income distribution is really about dealing with those on the lower end of the income scale and their lack of equitable access to resources needed.

Businesses are commonly not champions for equity issues as many are opposed to interference with the markets. When a region attempts to improve their economic situation it is often in direct opposition with local efforts to curb poverty. Yet, there is a significant body of literature stating that prolonged poverty and perpetuating inequities actually hinders the growth of income AND wealth for all within a region. In other words, the economic well-being of a region is directly tied to its social and equitable well-being.

And, because of federal policy, financial lending practices, and societal norms, poverty has often been physically concentrated in pockets within America – the Rockford Region included. When poverty is concentrated and grows beyond a certain threshold a tipping point is hit. Those living in poverty have a very difficult time breaking out of it, and the broader community is burdened with playing defense with

| 17Equity in Community Sustainability

the increased need for public services by the less fortunate. Ultimately the taxes needed to provide for this increase in public services is paid by the smaller concentration of the more fortunate households. This burden forces a community to divert resources promoting policies that stunt growth overall (programs to deal with unemployment, crime, etc.). The environmental or physical well-being of a region is also directly tied to its social well-being. To ensure the future economic and environmental well-being the region must also examine, in detail, the state of social well-being. One cannot be examined and planned for without the others.

THE DEBATE ABOUT INEQUALITY AND GROWTH

One of the greatest challenges to equity within a community is achieving a reduction of poverty while having a larger distribution of income AND have high economic growth. Having some income inequality is valuable for a region as it generates incentives for resources to be channeled into more efficient uses; creates market signals for resources to be reallocated across industries, occupations, and regions; creates labor specialization and human capital accumulation; and promotes entrepreneurship, risk taking, and innovation.

However, there is a tipping point when having too much income inequality is bad. When a region is not equitable to its residents they are not able to access needed resources to be successful in life. When there is a loss of one type of capital among the lower classes (social, environmental, or economic capital) there are losses experienced in the other classes. This creates a vicious cycle of disintegration. It is at this point that there are four types of exclusion that then come in to play for those in poverty:

Those in poverty often experience: • Economic exclusion - Exclusion from the formal labor market often results with

informal labor market jobs (cash only or off the books of employment). Those in poverty can remain outside the connections of stable, better-paying jobs often found in the formal employment network.

• Social exclusion – Living in poverty makes traditional social contact difficult and reduces the ability to afford to fully participate in society. This can occur because individuals in poverty don’t have a lot of resources to share.

• Spatial exclusion – Concentrated poverty is occurring in aging urban core neighborhoods where resources and middle-and upper class residents have left for


Districts w

ith Poverty O

ver 15%*The districts enclosed w

ith a thick black line in all maps contained w

ithin this report indicate districts w

ith poverty above 15%.

Source: U

S C

ensus Bureau

Date: 2010


more affluent areas. Those in poverty may experience hardship due to social and physical immobility.

• Institutional exclusion – Those in concentrated poverty experience exclusion from key resources and institutions for life success (i.e. quality schools). Instead those living in poverty are forced to navigate a different set of institutions centered on social services. Capital is often not available for business starts, entrepreneurship, and overall economic growth.

For the Vital Signs project analyses of concentrated poverty a tipping point of 15% was used at the district level. All maps and visualizations on the Vital Signs website have a solid black outline showing all districts that have 15% or higher poverty rates.

When poverty levels remain high over the long-term there is lower per capita personal growth and overall community wealth (gross metro product or GMP). An upward trend to middle class often results in increased long-run economic growth because there is more human capital (i.e. education), infrastructure accumulation, and social capital. This is especially true if there is sufficient income mobility. Personal income rises and overall community wealth improves.

Some startling statistics of American income inequality: • The U.S. now has the third-worst income inequality among advanced industrial

nations.

• Between 1947 and 1976 the top 10% of U.S. wage earners took home 33% of the nation’s pre-tax income.

• By 2008 that share had increased to 48% of the nation’s pre-tax income.

• The bottom 20% of U.S. households received just 3.2% of all household income in 2011, while the top 20% of households took home 51.1%.

Beyond the challenges of getting ahead, downward mobility is a serious risk. Only 6% of children born to poor parents (those in the bottom fifth of income earners) grow up to become rich (entering the top fifth of income earners) while nearly half of them (46%) remain just as poor. According to Business Insider, if you lose your job today, there is a 70% chance you won’t find a job in the next month.


THE CHALLENGES BROUGHT BY CONCENTRATED POVERTY

Concentrated poverty is a regional issue. With a 208% increase in poverty from 2000 to 2010, the Rockford Region is at the heart of this spreading cancer. When poverty in concentrated within a region, especially on a long-term basis, the severity of problems are multiplied by both middle and upper-class communities and those in poverty. Studies show that when a neighborhood reaches a tipping point of 10-20% poverty, its ability to function falls apart. The Rockford Region is not alone in this pattern.

• The poverty rate for children living in the United States increased to 22% in 2010, so one out of every five U.S. children is living in poverty.

• American households led by a single mother have a 31.6% poverty rate while the poverty rate for adults overall is only 13.7%.

• Nationally, those with less than a high school diploma are nearly four times more likely to be unemployed than those with a Bachelor’s degree.

• 54% of working age adults in the U.S. in extreme poverty have only a high school diploma or less.

• One out of five working-age Illinois residents living in extreme poverty work at least half the year.

The map on page 18 shows the neighborhoods in the region that are at or above the 15% threshold for household poverty. The redder the neighborhood the higher the household poverty rate. The reddest neighborhoods have poverty ranging from 31% to 69% of households. The districts enclosed with a thick black line in all maps contained within this report indicate districts with poverty rates above 15%.

Poor neighborhoods in America located in the nation’s in core cities are in danger of falling into a cycle of worsening conditions. The Vital Signs initiative intends to monitor and investigate these trends over the lifetime of the Regional Plan for Sustainable Development.

The cycle of worsening conditions in a neighborhood reaching the threshold of 15% poverty or higher may include:

• Legacy of racial segregation perpetuates due to defunct policies, lack of effective support systems, and poor social norms (especially for African Americans)

• Residents in neighborhoods of poverty lack monetary resources to participate in society

• Poor residents with low and unstable income face powerful social strains

• Social networks shrink -- social isolation and dislocation ensues

• Interpersonal communications connecting folks with information and resources are

| 21Equity in Community Sustianability

broken

• These areas have a greater propensity for single-parent households with more family instability and welfare dependency

• Higher rates in teen pregnancy ensues

• Dropping out of high school common due to stress from home life

• Extensive joblessness occurs

• Higher crime rates, exposure to crime and violence become the norm

• Amount of contaminated or defunct properties grows

• Properties are assessed at lower rates

• Housing abandonment occurs more often

• Businesses disinvest from lack of suitable workforce, lack of room for expansion from older infrastructure, and access to regional transportation systems

• Buying power is diminished with falling retail demand and lack of accessible retail to live a quality lifestyle

• Stereotyping can reduce quality of resources flowing to that neighborhood

• Weak regional political support deteriorates public infrastructure and public service delivery

• Poor residents experience less access to private, non-profit or public institutions that work to improve quality of life

• Regionally higher property and retail tax rates ensue to support greater social needs, which drain resources from education, quality of life improvements, etc.

• Accelerated flight of economically and socially mobile residents

• Out-migration and separatism of higher-educated residents and those with disposable incomes reinforces segregation

Children of challenged neighborhoods can be left with little exposure to positive role models and peers both within school and within adulthood. Generations of families in poverty are exposed to very different social norms than the middle class. Upward social or economic mobility is difficult for these families. Economically speaking, areas of concentrated poverty have a more difficult attracting and retaining businesses because affluent areas can offer lower tax rates, maintained properties, lower crime rates, more affordable land, abundant parking, and access to regional transit systems.

Despite this unbalanced relationship between neighborhoods, more-affluent areas are also affected by concentrated poverty in the region. Studies have shown average income rates are lower for individuals across the region when pockets of concentrated poverty persist. Highly educated employees are difficult to attract and retain. Cultural resources and institutions suffer and a larger share of local tax revenue


is needed to provide for the less fortunate.

Studies have shown that even with prolonged, extensive investment neighborhoods challenged with concentrated poverty still face an uphill battle. Federal and state financial resources are limited and it is crucial to intervene early to prevent neighborhoods from sliding past the tipping point (neighborhoods above the 10-20% poverty rate). Organizations meant to combat poverty in neighborhoods are built on funding allocations (mainly federal) that are proportional to the amount of poverty. Communities are not rewarded for moving residents out of the cycle of poverty. Systemically, social programs are built to maintain poverty, not reduce it. The status-quo level of concentrated poverty has, in effect, established a “Poverty Standard” for the region.

Having concentrated poverty creates a tenuous downward spiral that limits the potential well-being of an entire Metro area. A slight increase in poverty rate in a neighborhood experiencing moderate poverty levels nears this threshold that makes the cycle begin. Preventing neighborhoods from sliding past this tipping point into concentrated poverty results in avoiding significant harm for not only that neighborhood but the community at large.

Yet, reducing poverty in extremely poor neighborhoods is unlikely to yield substantial improvements in property values, crime levels, unemployment, etc without major sustained investments by a region. This is perhaps in part due to the fact that currently organizations meant to combat poverty are often are built on funding sources (mainly federal) that is proportionate to the amount of poverty in a community. In other words, their ability to provide service is directly tied to the amount of poverty present; if poverty is diminished in the short-term their budgets are also diminished. Systemically the results in communities built to maintain poverty programmatically, not reduce it. Working with concentrated poverty has, in effect, created a “Poverty Standard” for these regions.


RAISING THE BAR FROM POVERTY TO SELF-SUFFICIENCY

Recessionary times have a disproportionate impact on lower-income families because of rising unemployment, a reduction in work hours, and the stagnation of family incomes, but also affects the middle and upper classes. Vital Signs strives to set a higher bar by establishing a “Self-Sufficiency Standard” for the region rather than a “Poverty Standard”. A Self-Sufficiency Standard starts with an assessment of the real cost of living for basic needs of housing, food, transportation, health care, household and personal items, and taxes. This “no frills” calculation does not include savings, monthly cost of debt, or emergency funds. In 2011, a minimum wage worker in the Rockford Region earning $8.00 per hour would have to work 67 hours a week to afford an average 2-bedroom dwelling. Using the revised self sufficiency standard the minimum hourly wage would have to be $13.81 per hour, which equates to an annual income of $28,725. Currently 49%, or roughly half of workers within the region do not meet this revised standard of income.

A LEGACY OF RACIAL SEGREGATION

Talking about race is a tenuous discussion – both for whites with the potential inference they benefit from unfair privileges, and for minorities for being seen only for their skin color. In part, the dialogue about racial equity revolves around community power – who has it, who doesn’t, and what is necessary to get it. Minorities often distrust regionalism, particularly in places where minority leaders garner political power and must battle concentrated poverty at the same time. Higher levels of regional governance are seen as potentially diluting the political power they have achieved.


CONCENTRATIONS OF POVERTY FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS

On page 24 is a map showing concentrations of poverty for African Americans in 2010 according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The darker colors indicate higher concentrations for this racial group. The solid black outline indicates areas above the 15% poverty threshold. There are large concentrations of African Americans in the urban core areas and the immediate vicinity west of downtown Rockford. 47% of African Americans in the City of Rockford were in poverty in 2011, with Winnebago County and the entire region at 45%.

CONCENTRATIONS OF POVERTY FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN CHILDREN

The concentration of African American children poverty is shown in the map next. There are 6 districts where all (100%) African American children live in poverty. A total of 19 districts have 60% or more of African American children in poverty.

Source: US Census Bureau Date: 2010.


LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY

Minorities in the Hispanic community also suffer from limited English proficiency problems, mostly for adults. The map below shows that in some neighborhoods up to 30% of Hispanic households have no one over the age of 14 that speaks English very well.




CONCENTRATIONS OF POVERTY FOR HISPANICS

Below is a map showing the percent concentration of Hispanics. Comparing this to the map on page 18 showing concentration of African American poverty, Hispanic poverty concentration tends to be south of downtown Rockford. 17 districts have Hispanic childhood poverty at or above 60%. 43% of Hispanics in the City of Rockford were in poverty, in Boone County and Winnebago County the amount was 10% and 37% respectively, and the region was at 32% in 2011.

For Caucasians the population in poverty was only 14% in the City of Rockford,10% in Boone County, 11% in Winnebago County, and 11% overall in the region.



REMAINING CHALLENGES

When spatial concentration of minorities occurs in neighborhoods of poverty this can be considered segregation. The Segregation Index was created as a way to measure integration levels. Regions with less .4 score on the Index have low segregation levels for a certain race, .4 to .5 indicates moderate segregation, .55 is considered high, and .6 is extremely high segregation. In the community, Blacks have a score of .63. This means that 63% of Blacks would need to move to achieve integration within the Metro. Hispanics, conversely, have a segregation index amount level of .44, or 44% of Hispanics would need to move to achieve integration.

There is much debate as to the causes of the concentration of minorities – especially blacks -- in poorer neighborhoods. Blacks, more than any other group, have experienced generational sustained, systemic concentration poverty. Even in ethnic enclaves, immigrants are much less concentrated within a neighborhood as many immigrant groups are often mixed within the area. With the ability to form political clout and social and economic mobility more easily, immigrant groups are able to trend out of poverty at significantly higher rates than blacks. This report agrees with the finding of the seminal book, American Apartheid that “race operates powerfully through urban housing markets, and that racial segregation interacts with black class structure to produce a uniquely disadvantaged neighborhood environment for African Americans.” The book also states, “If declines of manufacturing, suburbanization of employment, and the proliferation of unskilled service jobs brought rising rates of poverty and income inequality for blacks, the negative consequences of segregation were exacerbated and magnified by segregation.”

Integration historically has shown promise. In 1976, under a court order from the federal Hills v. Gautreaux case, about 5,000 single-parent black families were ordered to be relocated from public housing in Chicago. A little over half went to affluent, predominantly white middle-class suburbs through the use of housing vouchers and the other half were moved to poor and more than 90% black neighborhoods. The tracking of adjustment out of poverty from those surrounded by functional families versus economically challenged families was astounding. Northwestern University Professor James Rosenbaum researched these two groups of families over time and


found that those moving to the affluent suburbs “clearly experienced improvement in employment and earnings, even though the program provided no job training or placement services.” Immediately he found that suburbanites were more likely to be employed, and over time found they dropped out of high school less, had higher grades, go to college, achieve gainful employment with better pay and benefits.

Yet integration may not be the best or only solution for the region. A study by Joel Cowen of the University of Illinois’ School of Medicine surveyed residents in public housing (located within these neighborhoods of concentrated poverty) to find out their perceptions of housing choice. A significant number of participants cited the desire to not leave their friends, family, and neighborhood. While negative norms and a counter-culture exists in these neighborhoods, culture and traditions unique to black residents have also grown. Further, if integration were achieved black representatives would lose their concentrated voting block and be forced to compete with other ethnicities within the region for political clout. At this point it would be more difficult to gain political influence among a diversity of interests for the unique plight facing the unique poverty traditionally experienced by blacks on the west side of the region.

The question remains for the Rockford Region and its sustainable future in how to tackle this concentrated poverty and its link to segregation within the community. Is it better to aim for integration or to empower residents within these neighborhoods greater self-sufficiency through social and economic mobility.

REGIONAL COMPETITIVENESS: MAINTAINING & IMPROVING A LOCAL ECONOMY

Within the context of sustainability, it is in the best interests of a region to address its poverty issues. When compared to national and state trends, the Rockford Region has suffered for many decades economically. This is a pivotal moment for the community leaders to stop this cycle, to think outside the box, and improve the region’s well-being overall.

• When a community cannot educate its residents and prepare them for the workforce pipeline it is forced to import new employees, and those not upwardly mobile persist in poverty.

• When a community cannot attract or retain quality employees due to community


issues related to poverty (such as high crime, poor housing, and truancy) work productivity of a company suffers and existing employees make lower incomes than in a thriving community.

• When a community cannot attract or retain entrepreneurs, innovation and business starts (the highest percentage of jobs for a community) do not thrive.

• When a community cannot attract businesses (or retain them) because of its poverty stigma, the local supply chain is broken and residents don’t have quality, local stores to buy goods from.

• When a community doesn’t recycle the majority of money spent at local companies (where ownership is based elsewhere) back in to the local economy, community wealth is not meeting its full potential.

• When a community’s wealth is faltering due a low tax base, everyone’s property values are lower and the region’s infrastructure and schools fall in to disrepair.

And the cycle continues.

Data is beginning to indicate the Rockford Region would greatly benefit from breaking the cycle of poverty persisting in the Metro and increasing equity for all. By continuing practices that keep a large amount of residents below the self-sufficiency line the Metro limits the ability of the region to be socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable. The Rockford Region Vital Signs initiative is a unique opportunity for local community leaders to expect the patterns that have kept the community dealing with these long-term challenges are no longer acceptable. Concentrated poverty affects the entire area and the region’s economic bottom-line. Instead, the challenge before the region’s community leaders is to raise the bar of poverty to self-sufficiency standards and minimize the amount of low-income residents in poverty.


Transportation Energy Built Environment

Housing

Safety

Biodiversity Education Waste Civic Vitality

Food

Health Culture Land Water

TechnologyEconomicDevelopment

| 31Social Report Data and Analysis

VITAL SIGNS DATAThe Vital Signs initiative established 16 areas of sustainability to study current conditions both now and over the course of the 20-year time frame, referred to as the Current Conditions Analysis. Within each of the 16 areas of sustainability the Vital Signs data analysis is using the “triple-bottom line” methodology of looking through a social lens, economic lens, and an environmental lens. For example the housing area of regional sustainability examines data on residents (social components), the financial aspects of housing (economic components), and the housing infrastructure (environmental ). The data and analysis contained within this report highlight some of the main findings of the state of social well-being for the region. Additional information on the region’s social well-being as well as economic and environmental can be found on the www.ourvitalsigns.com website.


BIODIVERSITYEnsuring the viability of the biodiversity of the region is critical for the future of the entire ecosystem within the area for quality of life purposes, the economic well-being of the farmland, and the general health and well-being of area residents. The social component of biodiversity is understanding the effect of flora and fauna on not only the quality of life, but also the health and safety.

Trees have shown to have a tremendous impact on a community. Big trees bring shade and beautification to a neighborhood making it more walkable and enjoyable. Small trees have been shown to increase crime as they block the view of pedestrians and motorists. In addition, poor neighborhoods have been shown to have less trees than more affluent neighborhoods. The cost of planting and maintaining may be a result of this. There are studies correlating low birth weights with lower tree canopy as well.

Social indicators for biodiversity are largely raw data still needing to be collected. Look to see them released in the future. Additional economic and environmental indicators measuring the biodiversity levels will be released in 2013.

BUILT ENVIRONMENTThe built environment includes everything from roads, bridges, parks, housing and the buildings housing the workplaces. Collectively these assets are measured to determine their effect on the community’s economic well-being, including the area’s ability to attract and retain the workforce and employers. The social component of built environment in the Rockford Region is how the roads, bridges, parks, and buildings help connect community members and foster social well-being.

By 2008, suburbs were home to the largest and fastest-growing poor population in the country. Midwestern cities and suburbs experience by far the largest poverty rate increases over the last decade. Within the Rockford Region there has been contentious dialogue at times between the central city to that of the suburbs surrounding the aging infrastructures, increasing property tax rate, increasing costs of

Biodiversity

Built Environment

| 33Built Environment

services, and decreasing tax base of the core.

The built environment can affect the health of a community’s residents. Neighborhoods with large amounts of poverty and dilapidated housing have shown to have adverse effects on birth outcomes. With higher percentage of lead-based paint, asbestos, molds, and air particles, these factors can lead to birth complications and set those being born in to a household already disadvantaged into a lifetime cycle of challenges.

PERCENT OF HOUSING BUILT BEFORE 1980

The map below shows the percent of housing units built before 1980. The bluer the District, or neighborhood, the larger percentage of housing that is growing old. In addition, there are three other graphics showing the relationship between aging housing and the propensity for property crime, net migration patterns within the metro through population change, and low-income households being near old housing concentrations. Each of these other three graphics’ color corresponds to the colors of the Districts within the map below.

Housing Built Before 1980



Housing Built Before 1980


Per

cent

Low

-Inco

me

Hou

seho

lds

Percent Housing Built Before 1980

Propensity for Crime

Source: ESRI Crime Index Date: 2010.

Population Change

Source: US Census Bureau Date: 2000 to 2010.


LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS VS. PERCENT OF HOUSING BUILT BEFORE 1980

On page 34 is a scatterplot showing the relationship between the increase in percentage of low-income households (vertical axis) and percent housing units built before 1980 (horizontal axis). Each dot represents data for a district (or neighborhood) in the map above. A fairly strong relationship appears to exist between older housing and the larger presence of low-income households. To note, the size of the dots corresponds to the District having a larger propensity for property crime.

PROPENSITY FOR PROPERTY CRIME VS. PERCENT OF HOUSING BUILT BEFORE 1980

The next graphic is a bar chart showing the relationship between older housing and the higher propensity for property crime. Again, the bluer the bar the larger percentage of housing units were built before 1980. Any placement on the Property Crime Index above 100 means that district has a higher propensity for crime than the nation’s average. So a district with a 222 Property Crime Index amount has over twice the propensity for property crime over the nation as a whole. It is striking the relationship between the districts with an older housing stock (darker blue columns below being concentrated towards the right of the chart) and the higher propensity for property crime. This indicates there is a relationship also between neighborhoods experiencing concentrations of poverty and property crime within these neighborhoods but also within the neighborhoods immediately adjacent. Crime and household income are important indicators in residents’ abilities to improve and maintain housing structures and the capability of preventing deteriorating neighborhoods.

POPULATION CHANGE VS. PERCENT OF HOUSING BUILT BEFORE 1980

The final graphic for this set of visualizations focuses on net population change within each district. For neighborhoods with older housing, population either was lost or stayed approximately the same. For neighborhoods with the newer housing, great population increases were experienced. This indicates that those that are mobile within the region are choosing to live in neighborhoods with newer housing, lower property crime, and less low-income households.

Population Change

Source: US Census Bureau Date: 2000 to 2010.


Brownfields

Source: RMAP Date: 2010.

Access to Recreation

Source: RMAP Date: 2010.


BROWNFIELDS

Below is a map of the concentration of brownfield sites in the metro. These sites are at some stage of cleanup of toxins or hazards. The darker the color the higher percentage of acres classified as a brownfield site. The vast concentration of brownfields are largely in the same neighborhoods with concentrated poverty (outlined in black below). Such concentrations provides added challenges to residents already experiencing uphill battles.

ACCESS TO RECREATION

With the region having the fourth most obese metro in the nation, how we interact with the surroundings is critical to the well-being. Below is a map showing concentrations of land available for recreation. The darker the green the more acres available within that District. As seen, the vast majority of land available for recreation within the Metro is outside of the urban core areas.

PLACES FOR CIVIC PARTICIPATION

Socializing is a vital component to the well-being of a region. And, having quality spaces and places empowering residents to socially connect with one another is an additional important component of the built environment. The number of third places (informal community gathering spaces and places) residents can walk to have shown to increase social capital level and the level of participation within the community itself. The more engaged residents are, the more support for the challenges there is both within the neighborhood and community at large.

On page 38 are two maps showing the concentration of third places within the region. Lighter blues indicate anywhere from 10 to 30 third places (cafes, local restaurants, libraries, pubs, etc.) while darker blues indicate upwards of 100+ third place locations per District. As seen, in the last decade there has been a loss of third places within the Metro as a whole, especially within the East side of Rockford and in Belvidere. Data provided from the NETS database.


Third Places in 2000

Third Places in 2010

Source: NETS Database Date: 2010.

Source: NETS Database Date: 2010.


Studies have shown more walkable neighborhoods are traditionally better-off economically, have lower crime rates, and have lower transit costs. Yet they also traditionally have higher housing costs indicating demand. The higher quality of life afforded within a functioning walkable neighborhood means non-drivers (seniors, youth, and those without a car) can get around and be more social. Children can walk to the library or pool, the elderly can visit neighbors more easily, and those who cannot afford a car get to education and employment. Additionally, third places in functional walkable areas are where the who’s who of the community can be found. These places often serve as hotspots for connecting with folks who can share news of job openings, reliable child care, and community updates.

However, the most walkable neighborhoods in the community, those that make commercial and residential easily accessible to one another, are those experiencing the highest levels of poverty. These neighborhoods have historical infrastructure amenable to walking, but often crime and business disinvestment prohibit or limit effective sociability within the area. These are the neighborhoods where there is the highest concentration of people most needing community information and resources. Instead, residents socialize on porches, at homes, and in commercial businesses not adequately serving as hubs of community information.

CONCLUSIONS

The built environment in the Rockford Region is not conducive to the social well-being of the community. Aging infrastructure in neighborhoods with poverty is tied to higher property crime rates and residents moving to newer neighborhoods. Social spaces are also appearing to lose ground within the community with the economic downturn as more establishments have closed within the last decade.


Decrease in White Population


| 41Civic Vitality

Civic Vitality

CIVIC VITALITYThe social component of civic vitality in the Rockford Region is about how individual relationships, networks, groups, institutions, and organizations are connected and working to improve the community. This means how well folks trust each other, work on initiatives collaboratively, and are well-connected.

Networks, organizations, institutions, and gathering places involve individuals in community leadership. They help keep talent within the region, connect people and businesses to resources they need, and give a forum for governments to interact with those that elected them. Communities with high civic participation are able to better address issues as they arise. Broad disparities between the “have’s” and “have-nots” also results in an undermining of consensus building. The unfortunate reality is when residents are economically challenged they often become excluded, and when they become excluded they are not represented in the community decision-making process.

CHANGING ETHNIC AND RACE MAKEUP

Within communities throughout the Metro minority populations are growing, especially with Hispanics. The City of Rockford is over 40% minority. In the map on page 40 show the loss of white population as a percent of total district population.

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS

In normal, well-socialized neighborhoods individuals have strong social support systems in place. They are able to more easily “get by” from strong ties to kin, neighbors, and intimate friends. These strong ties amplify assistance available from existing resources in times of need (job loss, financial emergency, etc). Weaker relationships and ties (folks they don’t know as intimately or as well) provide assistance in times of need with new resources they don’t already have.

In a poorly socialized neighborhood where individuals experience poverty while strong ties also amplify assistance in times of need with existing resources these resources are already limited in amount. It is the “ties that bind keep you down” phenomenon. These residents also tend to have fewer weak ties. This results in greater social isolation



1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

10

20

30

Average Age of Population

Percent of Elderly Living Alone

Source: US Census Bureau Dates: 1970-2010.


| 43Civic Vitality

and assistance as those they know a little are most likely not well off either.

The inability of those in poverty to capitalize on weak ties can be the result of:

• Honor – the guiding principle of transactions – prevents people in poverty from capitalizing on weak ties. These individuals don’t want to exploit friends for their own benefit.

• People in poverty tend to be self-sufficient (stand on own two feet). It can be humiliating to use help when others need it too.

• To make use of social interactions one must have something to offer, which often times people in poverty don’t have in the first place.

• Gossip is common as a powerful sanctioning mechanism. People in poverty tend to oppose weak ties/relationships to avoid being the talk of the town. They tend to be independent.

• Lack of trust can mean low-income individuals are often not willing to take risk. The nature of their economic situation precludes having little to risk.

AGING POPULATION

The country and the region are aging and the diversity profile shows just 20% of seniors are non-white. The average age in Winnebago County, as seen in the graphic to the left, has increased from 27 years old in 1970 to 38 years old in 2010. The average age in Boone County increased from 26 years old to 37 years old during the same time period. The Vital Signs data analyses also show that volunteerism among older adults is dwindling even though the number of seniors is growing.

ELDERLY LIVING ALONE

Elderly persons living alone are concentrated in the urban core of Rockford and Belvidere, and also the far east side of Rockford. While the urban core areas are considered “walkable” the level is pedestrian activity among seniors is low. Elderly residents outside the urban core have limited access to fixed-route transit and are not within a walkable distance of needed services. Therefore it is forecast that more elderly residents will move closer to basic services.


Percent Decrease in Young Adults

-40%-20%

0%

Percent of Female-Led Households with No Husband Present

White

Hispanic

Black



| 45Civic Vitality

YOUNG ADULTS

The number of young adults leaving the region is troublesome. As seen in the images below, almost all districts experienced a loss of population aged 18 to 39 years old. The future workforce of the community, if given the opportunity, is choosing to leave instead of grow roots. Of those young adults who choose to stay in the region there is a large percentage of single female-led households, especially in neighborhoods of poverty. As seen in the graphic below, the columns highlighted have the highest concentrations of poverty; high rates of African American (teal), white (purple), and Hispanic (green) female-led households.

The boomerang effect, where young adults live longer or moved back in with their parents, is occurring at a much higher rate because of economic instability. In the U.S., the number of adults 20-34 living with their parents increased 24% during the 2007-2009 recession, from 17% in 1980. Of those under 25 years old, in 1980 32% live with parents; in 2009 43% live with parents.

In the U.S. in 2009, less than one third of U.S. residents had a college degree. The average American has 7-8 jobs between 18-30 years old. The youngest employees are often hit hardest in the recession – hired first, fired first. Of those that live with parents that are also never married: 54% of 20-24 year olds; 37% 25-29 year olds; 27% of 30-34 year olds. In short, young adults with bad economic status are not marriable.

This is causing burden on parents. Typical household income for people 55 to 64 dropped 10% from 2007 to 2009 during the recession. And most families don’t have a lot of wiggle room to support boomerangers. Over the last decade, median wealth of the middle-income tier declined by 28% while the upper-income tier rose by 1%.

SINGLE-PARENT HOUSEHOLDS

Within the Rockford Region there is a high propensity for female-led single households, especially in neighborhoods of poverty. As seen in the graphic on page 44, the columns highlighted have the highest concentrations of poverty; high rates of black (teal), white (purple), and Hispanic (green) female-led households are present in these


Female-Led Households with No Husband Present with Kids


Percent of Female-Led Households with No Husband Present


Hispanic

Black

White

Total

| 47Civic Vitality

neighborhoods. Data for single female-led households with children is even more telling. In Winnebago County 84% of African American infants are born to unwed mothers. There are direct correlations between minority female-led households and households in poverty. The relationship is reversed for white female-led households.

In the U.S., marriages fell to a record low in 2009, with just 52% of adults 18 and over married, compared to 57% in 2000. In the region there is a much greater occurrence of non-family households in African American families, especially in neighborhoods with poverty. The opposite appears to be true with Hispanic households, where married household units are the norm. For white households it is more common to have married families intact, but there is a much smaller relationship between neighborhoods in poverty and non-family households.

FEMALE LED HOUSEHOLDS, NO HUSBAND PRESENT, WITH CHILDREN UNDER 18

In the U.S., marriages fell to a record low in 2009, with just 52% of adults 18 and over married, compared to 57% in 2000. With less family units in place and more single people in society, when hard times are hit close support systems aren’t as strong. As seen in the map on page 46, there is high concentrations of births to unwed mothers in the neighborhoods with concentrations of poverty. When this occurs there is only one breadwinner and adult to provide rearing for children already facing stressful home lives from living in challenged neighborhoods.

BIRTHS TO UNWED MOTHERS

Data showing female-led single households with children is even more telling. 84% of black infants are born to unwed mothers in Winnebago County alone. There are direct correlations between black and Hispanic female-led households and households in poverty but an inverse relationship between white female-led households in and households in poverty.



Marriage Rates in Black Households



Marriage Rates in White Households

| 49Civic Vitality

MARRIAGE BY RACE

The next three graphics show the strength of family households by Race. Highlighted columns represent neighborhoods with concentrated poverty. The blue represents percent non-family households, and purple family households. As seen below, there is a much greater occurrence of non-family households in black families, especially in neighborhoods with poverty. The opposite appears to be true with Hispanic households, where married household units are the norm. For white households it is more common to have married families intact, but there is a much smaller relationship between neighborhoods in poverty and non-family households. The outlier seen below is the east side of the river in downtown (East State Street neighborhood).


Family Households

Non-Family Households

Marriage Rates in Hispanic Households


Voting Rates in the 2010 National Elections

Source: Boone and Winnebago County Board of Elections Date: 2010.

| 51Civic Vitality

PARTICIPATING IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY

People are participating less in local community organizations. While memberships in national professional organizations are much less affected over the last two decades, the bowling leagues and the women’s clubs of communities have been hit hard with membership. Residents are much more likely to become involved in the community on an issue-by-issue basis. Regions with strong community health tend to weather recessions better:

• Participation in civil society can develop skills, confidence, and habits that make individuals employable and strengthen the networks that help them find jobs

• People get steady jobs through social networks

• Participation in society spreads information

• Participation is strongly correlated with trust in other people

• Communities and political jurisdictions with stronger participation are more likely to have good governments

• Civic engagement can encourage people to feel attached to their communities

VOTING

Participating in elections is one telling way to measure civic participation in a community. National elections tend to have the most participation; the map below shows voter turnout for the last national election for which data is currently available: 2008. As seen with the white outline on the map, the voting precincts with the least amount of residents participating were largely in the neighborhoods with poverty on the West side of Rockford.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, changing demographics are altering the future social and economic base for years to come. Loss of young adults, an aging population, and a diversifying population are some of the trends taking hold. Residents of neighborhoods in poverty do not appear to be connected through place or through relationships to those with resources and connections to help them achieve greater social and economic mobility. Strained family units seem to be quite prevalent in the neighborhoods experiencing high levels of concentrated poverty. And participation in traditional community participation methods such as voting have been traditionally low as well. Although not much of a surprise, together this indicates those in poverty to not have much connection or voice in helping themselves or their neighbors out of their economic situations.


Average Household Expenditures on Active Entertainment Sources

Source: Consumer Expenditure Survey, ESRI Date: 2010.

| 53Culture

CULTURETourism, ethnic and neighborhood identities, visual art, and performance art make up cultural life. Festivals, parades, and museums also add experiences and education. Together these create jobs, bring visitors to town, and make the Rockford Region an attractive place to live and work. The social component of this topic measures how the amount of culture present affects the ability of the region to attract and retain jobs and overall community wealth.

Often viewed as a discretionary element within a region, a community’s arts and culture are large components to an area’s economic, social, and environmental well-being. On the contrary, with sustained private and public sector support the arts and culture can be a major contributor to a region’s economy. Creative class employees are entrepreneurs and innovators within a company. And, they are often willing to work with unique places and spaces within a community and are a vital part of community revitalization. This movement, in turn, can foster a higher quality of life for all residents within an area – which in turn can attract better employees and businesses to a region. Creative workers tend to gravitate to other creative workers. As a more affordable solution than a major metropolitan area, the Rockford Region is poised to develop an extensive effort to attract and retain the growth of its culture and creative class.

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURES ON ENTERTAINMENT

Entertainment is a large component of community culture. An index was developed to show household expenditures on active forms of entertainment. Expenditures included in the index include fees for participant sports and recreational lessons, recreational vehicles, and sports/recreation/exercise equipment. As seen below, households spending the most on active entertainment are largely in the suburban growth areas, while the neighborhoods spending the least amount on active entertainment are the neighborhoods with the largest percentage of youth.


Housing

Safety


Food




Per Capita Income Versus Aggregate Income in 2010 Dollars

Aggregate Income Per Capita Income


| 55Economic Development

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Entrepreneurship, skilled labor, and growing the workforce in the Rockford Region keep businesses thriving. This sector measures community and personal wealth in the Rockford Region within the context of equity. The social component of economic development in the Rockford Region is about empowering community members to achieve their own economic well-being. This includes alleviating the severe poverty challenges within the community.

Individual and household wealth is an important component of a region’s sustainability. At the aggregate level, the personal income earned by residents determines the level of economic activity that can be sustained. This includes the potential to attract and retain business as well as the ability to fund public infrastructure. At the individual or household level the issue is more related to the distribution of personal income. As the percentage of the population receiving public services increases, the percentage of the population contributing to the tax base that funds public services decreases. Ultimately, more inequity in the distribution of income leads to increased need for public services and strains regional growth.

Broad disparities in the distribution of income also result in an undermining of consensus building as all individuals are not represented in community decision-making processes. Collectively, equity at the aggregate level of income (compared to other regions) and the distribution of personal income within a region are fundamental to a region’s growth and sustainability.

GROWING INCOME INEQUALITY

Income inequality is a major component for concentrations of poverty among minorities. In the United States, Blacks and Hispanics are twice as likely to be lower income as whites. Blacks lost income since 2000, meanwhile whites have earned more dollar for dollar. In the U.S. there was a 20-1 ratio of black household income to white household income in 2009. It was 18-1 for Hispanic to white households for same year.

In the U.S. the median net worth of black households in 2009 was $5,677. This is a net drop of 53% since 2005. For Hispanics it was $6,325. This is a drop of 66% from 2005. For the typical


Housing

Safety


Food




Per Capita Income in 2010 Dollars



white household it was $113,149. One in four blacks, Latinos, and noncitizens are currently living in poverty, compared to 12% whites. 45% of middle-class black children end up poor, compared to 16% middle-class white children. For young adults, co-residence with parents is higher for minorities than white, men than women, and those with lower education.

First the chart on page 54 shows all the district’s percent change in aggregate income in purple for the last decade (total income earnings of everyone in each district) and the percent change of each districts per capita income in teal (average income level of the residents within the district). While almost all districts across the board earned more total income overall in the last decade, the vast majority of the districts’ per capita income also decreased. This can only indicate some individuals are earning much more while everyone else in earning less.

In addition to regional wealth being lower than comparison regions, income for minority groups is consistently lower for Boone and Winnebago County compared to Illinois or the U.S. For Boone County the biggest discrepancy between Illinois per capita income is for African Americans (80% of state) to 86% of the state per capita income for white non-Hispanic. Winnebago County has a larger discrepancy with African American per capita being 71% of the state and White Non-Hispanic being 80% Per capita income for whites in the metro we’re nearly triple that of blacks and over double that of Hispanics in 2011, ($27k, $10k, and $13k respectively). Median earnings for the same groups were $30k (whites), $16.5k (blacks), and $19.5k (Hispanics) respectively in 2011.

PER CAPITA INCOME

The map on page 56 shows the per capita income in 2010 dollars by district. The areas of concentrated poverty, especially in Belvidere and the west side of Rockford, are experiencing anywhere from 1/3 to 1/5th the average income of other districts in the region. Per capita income in districts in the region ranged from a low of $ 14,819 to a high of $ 52,806 in 2010. Forty districts had per capita income of less than $20,000 and 15 districts had per capita income of greater than $40,000. The districts that had the lowest per capita income in 2010 are also the districts that experienced the greatest loss in real per capita income between 2000 and 2010. Median household income


declined for City of Rockford residents by 27% in the last decade. Winnebago County declined by nearly 24% in the same time period.

UNEMPLOYMENT

Finally, the other chart on page 56 shows percent of residents of each district unemployed in 2010. Note the colors of the map above correspond to the colors of the bars below. The districts with the highest unemployment rates are also those with the lowest per capita incomes.

Breaking down the unemployment rate in 2010 by race, gender, age, and educational attainment helps paint a clearer picture of where the social challenges lie within economic development for the region. The black unemployment rate for the metro was at 29.2%, double that of Hispanic 15.9% and triple that of whites (11.1%). The unemployment rate of males was higher than that of females by four and a half percentage points. Unemployment for high school dropouts was at 22.9%, double that of those with a high school diploma (12.9%), and nearly five times those with a bachelor’s degree (5.6%). Unemployment was the highest for those 16 to 19 at 31.2% and 20 to 24, at a rate of 22.8%. It decreases until the ages 65 to 74 where it ticks up from

Unemployment Rates (colors correspond to map on page 56)


10%

20%


8% for those 55 to 64 to 11.6%. Currently, in October of 2012 the unemployment rate remains high for the MSA at 11% -- the highest in the State of Illinois.

EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL NETWORKS

People with more contacts of higher socioeconomic status know of more employment opportunities via word of mouth. Employees in higher-level positions have more access to info about job openings, while also influence hiring decisions. Steady, good-paying jobs are most often filled through these informal recruitment practices.

Meanwhile, neighborhood-level poverty limits number of mainstream contacts low-income individuals have. Most steady, low-wage jobs are filled through formal processes with long employment applications and many applicants. The remaining jobs open to low-income individuals are unreliable, low wage jobs that are filled through informal practices.

In addition, national studies have shown employers often discount resumes from individuals with minority-sounding names. Employers don’t appear to trust referrals from blacks or Hispanics and low-income employees (often minority) don’t tend to help their friends find jobs as readily as middle or upper class employees.

Additional qualitative observations (not local for Rockford MSA) about minority employment dynamics from academic national studies include:

Blacks• Blacks appear to not feel obligated to help find work for kin due to the highly

competitive, formal nature of the application process for low-wage jobs

• Unemployed black men find work informally more than employed men of any other race or ethnicity

• Blacks on welfare with lots of friends on welfare have harder time to find jobs through formal means (don’t know the right people)

• Higher levels of education decrease informal job finding for blacks, the inverse of what occurs for whites and Hispanics

• As education and income rise the degree of black housing segregation does not fall

• Blacks with higher education means better ability to find jobs through formal search, but having friends with higher status doesn’t help

• Even with high incomes, blacks do not serve as springboards to future socioeconomic mobility; this is in part due to the counter-culture mentality of identifying with fellow neighborhood residents and in part due to broken social networks with those outside of poor neighborhoods


Wealth Index


• Black women are often cut off from networks (and thus job information)

Hispanics • For Hispanics and whites it’s easier with higher education level to find jobs informally

• Hispanics have a high rate of word of mouth job finding

• Hispanics’ Spanish makes challenging to use formal channels for job searching for secure jobs

• Hispanics appear to feel more obligated than blacks to help find work for kin

• Hispanics having friends with higher status does help find work

INCOME DISTRIBUTION

For purposes of economic equity, two indicators of equity are used, the Woods and Poole Wealth Index and the percent of personal income received from transfer payments. The wealth index is a measure of person income weighted by the source (wages and salary, investment and dividends, transfer payments) compared to the national average. In the 1970-2000 timeframe the wealth of the region was close to the national average and slightly below the state average. This trend continued until 1990.

Since 1990, however, inequity has grown significantly. The wealth index hit a bottom in 2009 and showed a little improvement in 2010. Sustaining a region with the current level of economic capacity to maintain social equity will require an effort to make sure the current wealth index is maintained. A stronger sustainable social community will require an effort to increase the wealth index to better align with the national and state levels.

Source: Woods & Poole Date: 2011.

COMPARISON COUNTIES


20%

10%

Individuals in Poverty by Community


Childhood Poverty by Community


20%

10%

30%


POVERTY IN REGION

HUD developed a Poverty Index as a part of its larger Disparity Index to determine how well local residents perform against others in the nation. Currently, the Rockford Region scores in the 53.1st percentile nationally for all of its residents. This means nearly half of all communities in the country are faring better with poverty challenges; the index is calculated from the family poverty rate and percent of households with public assistance. However, residents in poverty score only in the 34.6th percentile among communities nationally, and residents in public housing only score in the 21.5th percentile.

The poverty rate for the region increased by an incredible 208% in the last decade. Overall, ¼ residents were at or below the poverty line in the City of Rockford in 2010. The chart below shows a distribution of population in poverty by municipality.

HOUSEHOLDS AND CHILDREN IN POVERTY

Another indicator of the impact that economic equity has on sustainability is the distribution of households in poverty by district in the region and the presence of children within these households. 40% of children within Rockford were at or below poverty – nearly half. The child poverty rate for Winnebago County in 2010 was 29.1% -- a rise of 12.9% in the last decade. Of the 156 districts in the region 36 had no households below poverty while in 17 districts more than 30% of the households were in poverty. Of the households in poverty the percent with children ranged from 64% to 95%.


Portion of Income from Transfer Payments


WELFARE DEPENDENCY

Another regional indicator is the percent of personal income earned from transfer payments. In general, when regional trends show increasing reliance on transfer payments as a source of personal income, the regions capacity for sustainability decreases. A region dependent on transfer payments will find it more difficult to achieve social equity and sustainability.

Back in 1965, only one out of every 50 Americans was on Medicaid. Today, approximately one out of every 6 Americans is on Medicaid. In 1980, just 11.7% of all personal income came from government transfer payments. Today, 18.4% of all personal income comes from government transfer payments.

Collectively welfare programs are a set of federal and state-level programs that are distributed locally by community organizations by a set of prescribed formulas. The region typically has a reputation of having robust social programs to manage and distribute these programmatic funds. However, because operational expenses to manage these programs are tied to the amount of local “need” there is little operational incentive for local agencies (other than altruism) to lower poverty.

There are two main approaches to welfare-based policies and programs to help with poverty challenges:

• Emphasize carrot of making work pay and providing programs to enhance employability (example: student loans)

• Emphasize stick of time limit and sanctions for failure to adhere to program rules (example: unemployment benefits)

Of the two, programs which emphasize the carrot approach through human capital building (i.e. education support) are the most successful for recipients to break the cycle of poverty while providing a good return on investment for governments. This means the value is greater than a dollar earned back to society for every governmental dollar spent. Several points to consider for individuals experiencing welfare programs:

• In terms of a path out of poverty, often subsidized work only option. Individuals lose status in short-term to hopefully gain it in long-term. But subsidized jobs don’t deal with symbolic disparagement, so many don’t opt for that work. Instead, they prefer informal job opportunities that are more unstable.

• There can be a stigma of being classified and avoidance occurs of breaking out of the

COMPARISON COUNTIES



Number of Residents with Public Assistance Income


program by avoiding the office and thus assistance available. And, individuals distance themselves from undeserving in neighborhood (those who have it within their power to get a job) and become isolated.

• There can be a perceived loss of honor. Although people in poverty have few economic resources, they still want to overcome the symbolic disparagement. In the informal labor market, people in poverty seem to be more appreciated than in the formal labor market. They know what their future income will be, have direct contact with their employers, can decide what they will do, and therefore can maintain their honor and optimize both the symbolic dimension and the economic dimension.

• Despite a growing push to build relationships between the have’s and have-nots as resources for those in poverty as public policies, it is not happening in practice.

Since 2000, Boone County has been traditionally below the national and state rates for transfer payments. Winnebago County was close to the state and national rate in 2000, but there has been a greater dependence on transfer payments in the County since 2000.

FOOD STAMPS

More than 45 million Americans are now on food stamps. The number of Americans on food stamps has increased 74% since 2007. Today, one out of every four American children is on this subsidy program. Local data for food stamps is found within the food section below. The map on page 62 shows the number of residents with public assistance income from the federal government.

In 2010 ¼ residents in Winnebago County were on food stamps; 13% of residents were in Boone County. From 2008 to 2010 food stamp use increased by 53% in Winnebago County and an incredible 93% in Boone County. Half of the students in Winnebago County were eligible for free lunch through the public schools. Nearly 40% of students were in Boone County. 1/5 of single mothers in Winnebago County were eligible for the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), while 1/6th were in Boone County.

However, despite poverty levels rising dramatically, WIC redemptions at authorized stores decreased 33% and 24% in Winnebago and Boone Counties respectively from 2008-2011. In close to ten districts 100% of food stamp recipients have children under 18. In three districts more than 75% of all blacks are on food stamps. These are within the areas of concentrated poverty. Conversely, white food stamp recipients are largely within rural areas.


Source: US IRS Date: 2010.

Inbound Boone County Population


Outbound Boone County Population


Inbound Winnebago County Population


IMPORTING POVERTY

One of the myths of the Region’s challenges is importing poverty due to the robust social service system. The two charts below show IRS migration data from 2010. What is most striking is the income of those leaving the County is so much lower than those entering. For Boone County, they appear to be importing greater wealth.

Below are the two corresponding charts for Winnebago County for 2010 IRS migration data. Quite the opposite trend is occurring where those moving in to the community have largely less average incomes than those moving out.


Outbound Winnebago County Population

BOONE COUNTY KEY WINNEBAGO COUNTY KEY


Source: Consumer Expenditures Survey Date: 2010.

Average Household Expenditures on Children

Source: Consumer Expenditures Survey & US Census Bureau Date: 2010.

Relationship Between Childhood Expenditures and Dropping Out

Droupouts Per District

Aver

age

Hou

seho

ld

Expe

nditu

res

on C

hild

ren

Percent Residents with Bachelor Degrees


CHILDHOOD EXPENDITURES

Investing in children has a direct relationship with their success in life with income earned, martial success, happiness levels, overall health, and life expectancy. However, the map below outlines the deep divide in child expenditures in the Metro. The darker the blue the more spent on children, on average per household. The next three visualizations demonstrate a relationship between average child expenditures and factors of success in life.

Second, the scatterplot below shows the relationship for districts between average child expenditures per household and dropouts per district. There appears to be a relationship between child expenditures and less kids dropping out. The larger the size of the dot indicates the more propensity for crime in that district. The colors of the dots correspond to its district on the map above. The darker the blue, the more average spent on children.

Third, the scatterplot below shows the relationship between achieving a bachelor’s degree and average household expenditures on children. There appears to be a strong relationship. Again, the larger the size of the dot, the more propensity for crime for that district. The darker the blue, the more average spent on children.

Relationship Between Childhood Expenditures and College

Aver

age

Hou

seho

ld

Expe

nditu

res

on C

hild

ren

Percent Residents with Bachelor Degrees

Source: Consumer Expenditures Survey & US Census Bureau

Date: 2010.



Percent Change of Individuals with No Social Security Income

Percent Change of Individuals with No Retirement Income



ELDERLY FINANCIAL STABILITY

Elderly financial stability is a critical challenge to address for the social well-being for the Rockford Region with its aging population. As seen in the three charts below, even though the amount of elderly is increasing within the region, the majority of the districts have been losing residents on social security income, retirement income, or interest, dividends, or net rental income for retirement. This is perhaps due to individuals working longer than ever before due to the recession.

CONCLUSIONS

The sustainability of a region is dependent upon the economic vitality of the region’s residents. The economic vitality of the residents can be measured by comparing equity with regions or by comparing equity within the region’s districts. Using either methodology the Winnebago/Boone county region does not present a picture of sustainability. The region lags behind comparable regions in economic wealth and income by ethnicity. There also exists significant inequity in the economic vitality of districts in the region.

Income is becoming increasingly unequal and unemployment rates are remaining high. The unemployment rates, in particular, reveal a stark picture needing to be addressed where a high number of individuals in poverty (minorities and those with low educational attainment levels) and the metro’s youth are having trouble finding employment. It does appear there is some credence to the myth of poverty importing. As the poverty rates are already high, this is adding strain to the social assistance system and spreading this the resources available to those in poverty from the community. We are not investing in all of the children. And the seniors are facing increasing challenges as they age in supporting themselves.

Percent Change of Individuals with No Interest, Dividends, or Net Rental IncomeSource: US Census Bureau Date: 2010.

KEY FOR CHARTS: INDIVIDUALS WITH SOCIAL SECURITY INCOME PER DISTRICT


EDUCATIONEducational attainment and educational equity in a region are important indicators of a community’s sustainability. The overall educational level of residents affects regional economic indicators such as unemployment rates, the consumer markets, and the degree to which a region can attract and retain quality businesses and higher paying jobs. Disparities in educational equity impede long-term growth and regional stability in both the economic and cultural sectors. Educational (in)equity is often a by-product of socioeconomic, racial and cultural segregation and impedes a region’s vitality. Equity in education enhances a region’s overall educational level while also increasing awareness and emphasis on building strong foundations in educational systems.

Public, private, and parochial schools give students the opportunities to succeed in life. The Rockford Area’s economic well-being means we must keep growing the workforce pipeline. If we had the nation’s average of college graduates in the region, community wealth would grow by over $1 Billion dollars each year locally. This component measures how education opportunities in the area affect the ability of the region to attract and retain jobs and overall community wealth. The social component of education in the Rockford Region is about how public and private education help shape the youth’s future as community leaders and employees.

While gains were made in the 1980s in most communities in desegregating within school districts, this pattern was negated by the increase of segregation between school districts and between public and private school districts. Those who were socially and economically mobile did so. This leaves behind a majority of students without positive peer groups with solid home lives. Personal stress brought into the learning environment by the majority of students creates for unstable and challenging classrooms, regardless of the quality of teaching and curriculum. Compared to schools in middle-class areas, segregated schools in poorer neighborhoods have:

• lower average test scores

• fewer students in advanced placement courses

• more limited curricula

• less qualified teachers


Housing

Safety


Food



| 75Education

White Enrollment by School Type

Source: National Center for Educational Statistics and the Illinois Student Report Card

Date: 2010.


• less access to serious academic counseling

• fewer connections with colleges and employers

• more deteriorated buildings

• higher levels of teen pregnancy

• higher dropout rates

LEGACY OF SCHOOL SEGREGATION

Given the history of Rockford Public Schools District 205’s desegregation lawsuits and current state of its troubled schools (training the future workforce today), understanding the effect of public education on the social well-being of the region is paramount. While the court orders from the lawsuit challenging desegregation in RPS 205 (stemming from 1989 to 2002 and cost local taxpayers $252 Million dollars) has been formally met, segregation between school districts and between public and private schools still exists to large degrees. Total minority enrollment in RPS is 52% while minority enrollment in the other public school districts within the Metro averages around 17%%. Minority enrollment in private schools averages around 18%.

James Heckman, University of Chicago Professor and Nobel Prize winner, as studied at length the idea of equity in education in America. His research largely focuses on the following fifteen points. These points can help the community understand the context of educational challenges facing the community, especially among the minority and low-income residents as it pertains the region’s social well-being:

• Many major economic and social problems such as crime, teenage pregnancy, dropping out of high school, and adverse health conditions are linked to low levels of skill and ability in society.

• In analyzing policies that foster skills and abilities, society should recognize the multiplicity of human abilities.

• Currently, public policy in the United States and many other countries focuses on promoting and measuring cognitive ability through IQ and achievement tests. A focus on achievement test scores ignores important non-cognitive factors that promote success in school and life.

• Cognitive abilities are important determinants of socioeconomic success.

• So are socioemotional skills, physical and mental health, perseverance, attention, motivation, and self-confidence. They contribute to performance in society at large and even help determine scores on the very tests that are commonly used to measure cognitive achievement.

• Ability gaps between the advantaged and disadvantaged open up early in the lives of children.

| 77Education

• Family environments of young children are major predictors of cognitive and socioemotional abilities, as well as of a variety of outcomes such as crime and health.

• Family environments in the United States and many other countries around the world have deteriorated over the past 40 years. A greater proportion of children is being born into disadvantaged families, including minorities and immigrant groups.

• Experimental evidence on the positive effects of early interventions on children in disadvantaged families is consistent with a large body of nonexperimental evidence showing that the absence of supportive family environments harms child outcomes.

• If society intervenes early enough, it can improve cognitive and socioemotional abilities, and the health of disadvantaged children.

• Early interventions promote schooling, reduce crime, foster workforce productivity, and reduce teenage pregnancy.

• These interventions are estimated to have high benefit-cost ratios and rates of return.

• As programs are currently configured, interventions early in the life cycle of disadvantaged children have much higher economic returns than later interventions such as reduced pupil-teacher ratios, public job training, convict rehabilitation programs, adult literacy programs, tuition subsidies, or expenditure on police. The returns are much higher than those found in most active labor market programs in Europe (See Heckman, LaLonde, and Smith (1999) and Martin and Grubb (2001)).

• Life cycle skill formation is dynamic in nature. Skill begets skill; motivation begets motivation. Motivation cross-fosters skill, and skill cross-fosters motivation. If a child is not motivated to learn and engage early on in life, the more likely it is that when the child becomes an adult, he or she will fail in social and economic life. The longer society waits to intervene in the life cycle of a disadvantaged child, the more costly it is to remediate disadvantage.

• A major refocus of policy is required to capitalize on knowledge about the importance of the early years in creating inequality and in producing skills for the workforce.

Overall educational attainment and educational equity in a region are important factors in creating sustainable communities. The general educational level of residents impacts a regions vitality by such things as; the ability to contribute to the consumer market, the ability attract and maintain quality businesses and jobs, the degree of civic engagement, and the willingness of a community to invest in the future of the area and the future of education. In addition to educational attainment levels, a regions educational equity contributes to a vibrant and sustainable community by maximizing opportunities across cultures and strengthening the entire region’s liveliness. Disparities in a region’s educational equity and/or low educational attainment contribute to a region’s cultural segregation.

A region’s sustainability is heavily influenced by the educational attainment of the population and the education of the region’s children. Half of all new jobs over next 10 years will require postsecondary education. In the U.S., by fourth grade only 17% of poor children


Percent Students Meeting or Exceeding Reading, Math, and Science in PSAE Exams

2002

2005

2008

2010

Percent Students Meeting or Exceeding Reading, Math, and Science in ISAT Exams

Source: Illinois Student Report Card Date: 2010.


| 79Education

score at or above proficient levels in reading and only 22% are proficient or better in math.

POVERTY AND ITS EFFECT ON LOCAL EDUCATIONAL PROFICIENCY

Children in poverty often have no books or computers and are distracted more often by difficult home lives from bad decay within their neighborhood, friends with bad influence, a higher exposure to crime and drugs, and unsupportive and dysfunctional families. Prolonged exposure to high levels of stress has a physical impact on the part of the brain that enables focus, perseverance, and anger management. This, in turn, can result in greater declines in health, and with health declines comes lower student achievement. There is a direct correlation between student achievement, home background, peers, school quality, school funding, and curriculum. Dropping out of school is a developmental process beginning before kids enter school.

HUD developed a School Index as a part of its larger Disparity Index to determine how well local schools perform against others in the nation. Currently, the Rockford Region scores in the 45.5th percentile nationally for all of its students in reading and math proficiency. However, students in poverty score only in the 29.5th percentile, and students in public housing only score in the 15.9th percentile.

An important indicator of secondary education is the region’s ISAT scores. Locally, the test scores are not comparing to the State. While Boone County’s scores are higher than Winnebago County’s. When Boone and Winnebago ISAT test scores are combined, half of the region’s students are below state standards in reading, writing and science - 93% are below in writing – and 32% of the region’s children score below or on academic warning in math.

To be enrolled in the free lunch program at a school a student must be of low-income status. Nearly 80% of all students at RPS 205 are enrolled. The region’s next largest school district, Belvidere CU.S.D 100, has nearly half of students enrolled.

In addition, blacks experience much higher rates of suspension and expulsion in schools in America. Fear of teachers for disruption of the classroom leads to more quickly administering exclusionary discipline remedies. And, when low-income students miss school more often


Percent Residents Over 25 - High School Dropouts


Percent Residents Over 25 - High School Dropouts


| 81Education

they fall behind and are exposed to the stressed listed above. These policies are foreshortening student’s careers and exposing them to an increased risk for incarceration – thus creating a school to prison pipeline.

CONSEQUENCES OF DROPPING OUT

Nationally, high school students from low-income families are 6x more likely to drop out of school than their high-income peers. Even more dramatic, dropping out of high school means a 63x higher rate of being institutionalized than a four year college grad. For male high school dropouts, 1/10 are institutionalized in their lifetimes compared to 1/500 with a bachelor’s degree, Dropouts have more unemployment for longer, reduced marriage rates, homeownership, contributions to governments. The net cost of a high school dropout on society over the course of their lifetime is estimated to be $5,200 negative burden while the net gain from a high school graduate on society is $287,000. The net impact of an individual with a bachelor’s degree is nearly $800k. Female dropouts are 6x more likely to give birth. Young high school dropouts are 9x more likely to be single mom than those with a bachelor’s degree. Annually dropouts cost the country over $200 billion in welfare payments, lost income, and support systems through social services and the court system. Dropouts have an unemployment rate estimated at 54% in the U.S.

On page 80 is a map of the percent of dropouts (not achieving a high school diploma or equivalent) per district. Red indicates dropout rates anywhere from 30-65% of all adult residents. What is even more striking is that even though the society places the same equivalency to a GED degree as a high school diploma, studies show GED graduates have rates close to dropouts for unemployment, incarceration, income earned, and marriage failure. Experts have narrowed in on the importance of learning non-cognitive skills (focus, determination, perseverance, motivation, tenacity, reliability, self-discipline, etc) at a young age in determining future life success. When these skills are not learned either at home or school programs are needed to supplement early learning of them. While IQ will always have a limit to one’s biology, even at a later age studies have shown one can be taught non-cognitive skills to help with success in life.


Graduation Rates by School


Truancy Rates by School


| 83Education

GRADUATION CHALLENGES

Nationally, females graduate at a higher rate than males – 74% versus 66% respectively. Graduation rates are significantly lower in areas with higher percentages of students who are eligible for free or reduced lunches. High school graduates from poor neighborhoods a much tougher time enrolling in college. While women from poorer neighborhood have a higher likelihood of going on to college, their poor upbringing means even if they get in to college they have a low college completion rate.

In the U.S. just 6 in 10 black, Latino, and Native American students graduate from high school (less than half blacks and Hispanic males) compared to 8 in 10 whites and 9 in 10 Asian students. Children of color often attend the worst schools and lack the quality teachers, curricula, classrooms, and extracurricular supports that help middle-class children succeed. Only 44% of white 18-24 year olds, 32% blacks, and 26% Latinos are enrolled in college.

Graduation rates are quite telling as well within the metro. The graduation rate is 71% for RPS 205 and 87% for other public schools. Regionally, graduation rates of low income students steadily increased over the last decade – except for in Boone County in 2011 and a slight decline in Winnebago County in 2008. The graduation rates of males and females remained relatively consistent from 2002.

However, educational disparity can be seen in the graduation rates indicator by race. Although graduation rates for Asians have been relatively stable, the graduation disparity between whites, blacks and Hispanics in both counties are significant. The graduation rate for blacks in RPS 205 is only 65%, while in the other school districts it raises to 86%. Only 66% of low-income students (79% of the student body) in RPS 205 are graduating; in other school districts in the metro they have a much higher graduation rate at 84%.

On page 82 are two graphics showing graduation rate of low income students in the public high schools in the metro and also the schools’ chronic truant rate for 2011. Some schools have graduation rates for low income students in the low 60%’s. These same schools have high chronic truancy.


Unemployment Rates


Residents with at Least a Bachelor’s Degree


| 85Education

FUTURE WORKFORCE

Educational attainment impacts a region’s health and wealth. The map and the chart below shows the relationship between unemployment and educational attainment. The darker the green, the higher unemployment within both the map and the chart. In 2010, districts with higher percentages of residents with Bachelor’s degrees experienced lower unemployment rates and those areas with the highest unemployment rates had few, if any, residents with Bachelor’s degrees.

CONCLUSIONS

Regional sustainability is largely impacted by education – both the educational attainment of the population and the quality of the educational system. Data shows that education in both Boone and Winnebago Counties hinder the region’s sustainability. Moreover, educational equity within the region, which can be measured by racial graduation rates, indicates that the region’s educational system and equity within that system will impede sustainability efforts.

In addition, there is a system of two societies within the region’s schools. Those that were socially and economically mobile left RPS 205, leaving a student population largely without a stable peer group to help combat the extensive stressors of growing up in poverty. While segregation has been overcome within the Rockford Public School system, segregation still persists between the Rockford Public School system and the private schools and the other public school districts in the region.

The low education attainment of these students in poverty is directly tied to their future life success. And, with their lack of future life success manifesting in their high unemployment and the region’s high unemployment levels consisting mainly of these individuals it is paramount for the region to address the needs of these students more extensively. While trickle-down economic solutions can take years to affect a generation in concentrated poverty, the deep relationship high school dropouts have on the social well-being (high crime, unemployment, etc.) necessitates action sooner.


Number of Households within One Mile of a Supermarket or Large Grocery Store

Number of Households within 1 Mile of a Supermarket or Large Grocery Store

Pop

ulat

ion

with

in 1

/2 M

ile o

f Hea

lthy

Food

Loc

atio

ns

Source: NETS Database and the US Census Bureau Date: 2010.

Energy

ENERGYCreating and making energy more efficient are two fundamental components needing to be measured for the future well-being and sustainability of the communities. The social component of energy for the community’s well-being is largely based around understanding and learning about the ways to be energy efficient at home and at work. Social indicators for energy are largely raw data still needing to be collected. Look to see them released in the future. In addition, additional economic and environmental indicators measuring the energy levels will be released in 2013.

| 87Energy and Food

FOODFrom growing to production, and from distribution to consumption, food systems are being recognized internationally as having a large effect on community well-being. Food processing and local food systems are both opportunities for job creation but also for community well-being. The local food system is capable of attracting and retaining jobs and improving overall community wealth. The social component of food to the regional well-being is how residents have access to healthy food in the region.

FOOD ACCESS

Food security isn’t just about getting enough food; it’s about getting enough of the right food. Currently there are several neighborhoods in the community with food deserts. Residents of these low-income census tracts have low-access to a supermarket or large grocery store. In addition, there are many more residents in the community that are experiencing food insecurity, where the food they do have access to is not healthy.

Often neighborhoods of poverty have little to no access to quality food where transit is not viable to major markets and the most convenient food source is convenience stores where the majority of the food is processed with high preservatives, sugar, salt, and fat content. And, even if they are able to access healthy food they are not being brought up in households that value nutrition and its relationship to overall health. There is research that has explored the spread of obesity in America is viral – suggesting that food access and societal norms have change eating habits.

Access to food is also a challenge for many residents in the area. Winnebago County has a one fifth of Winnebago County residents have food insecurity issues (difficulty getting access to nutritious foods), and the child food insecurity rate is nearly 1/3 kids. For Boone County 17% of the population is considered food insecure, with a similar rate of 1/3 of kids being food insecure as well.

According Gallup the region has the fourth highest obesity rate in the nation. Below is a scatterplot showing the relationship between district population within a ½ mile radius of a healthy food location, and the number of households within 1 mile of a supermarket or large


Housing

Safety


Food




Average Household Consumption of Unhealthy Food as a Portion of Total Food Expenses

Source: Consumer Expenditure Survey Date: 2010.

Average Household Consumption of Healthy Food as a Portion of Total Food Expenses


| 89Food

grocery store. The size of the dot corresponds to the amount of food purchases spent on fruits and vegetables.

EATING FOOD AT HOME

Not surprising given the obesity rate, even the middle and upper-class districts are eating unhealthy within the region. With the map on the top of page 88, the more green the district, the more on average spent by households on unhealthy foods for the home. Regardless of the location, there is a widespread consumption of foods bad for one’s health. What is surprising, however, is the greater propensity of the poorer neighborhoods to purchase healthy foods for home as a portion of their total food expenses (see map on page 88). Despite this, there is a much higher occurrence of fast food consumption within households in poorer neighborhoods as well as households living near the interstate as seen in the map below.

CONCLUSIONS

Given the high obesity rates, access to healthy food for all is a challenge for the region. Even with access, the residents are still choosing unhealthy food lifestyles. Poor health from obesity can cause severe health issues ranging from becoming sick more often to shorter life spans. In particular food access for those in poverty is of particular concern.

Average Household Consumption of Food at Fast Food Restaurants as a Portion of Total Food Expenses



Health Insurance Coverage

Source: CDC Date: 2010.

Black Hispanic White

| 91Health

HEALTHThe health of the population within a region is an important component of a region’s sustainability. Health has an impact on a person’s ability to actively participate in the community whether in the regional labor force, family interaction, neighborhood activity and civic engagement. A high level of mortality or morbidity in the region reduces the ability to be involved in any of these four dimensions of a sustainable community. Likewise health inequities among groups in the region result in inequity in their participation in the various dimensions of a sustainable community.

The health of a region can be measured by and is dependent on a number of factors. In general the health can be measured by various indicators of health like life expectancy and incidence of chronic diseases. Lack of equity in access to health care can also reduce the health of a community. A third set on measures include attributes that contribute to poor health such as obesity, lack of fruit and vegetables in the diet, etc. The social component of health to a region’s well-being includes understanding how access to healthcare and health of residents themselves is present in the community.

ACCESS TO HEALTH

Primary indicators of access to health care include the percent of the population with health insurance, availability of primary care physicians and the use of a regular health care provider. The percent of the population within the Vital Signs region without health insurance has historically been below the state rate but the regional rates have moved closer to the state rate in recent years. The percent without health insurance is also consistently lower in Boone County than in Winnebago County. The closing of the gap between the regional percent of the population without health insurance will make it more difficult to have equity in health relative to the state.

Health care coverage among racial groups within the region is fairly consistent, that is the percent of each race within each geographic area is about the same. The same is not true for health care coverage between races. For African Americans the percent covered by insurance is 82 percent for each of the three geographies reported compared to rates between 85 and 90 percent for all races. The

Health


Percent Individuals with Delay Due to Health Care Costs


Boone Illinois Winnebago

Boone Illinois Winnebago

Physically Unhealthy Days Per Adult


| 93Health

biggest difference is between African Americans and White not Hispanic (82% vs. 90 to 92%).

The concentration of poverty is causing a greater rate of health neglect than other parts of the state as seen in the chart on page 92. When residents defer health treatment they are prone to missing school and work more often. One indicator of a region’s health is the percent of the population suffering poor health. The percent Boone County residents that had eight or more days of poor physical health per month is lower than for Winnebago or the Illinois rate while the percent for the state and Winnebago County tend to be more variable over time with the percent in Winnebago being higher than the state in 2000 but lower in 2009. Overall, there appears to be relative equity in the distribution of poor physician health among the three region’s studies.

A similar pattern exists with the percent of the population that has a regular health care provider. In 2003, 95% of the Boone county population had a regular health care provider but that rate has declined to 84% in 2009 compared to an increase from 82% to 86% for the state of Illinois. Of interest is the rise in percent of the population with a regular health care provider in Winnebago County (78% in 2003 to 92% in 2009). The greater use of a regular physician in Winnebago County that Boone or Illinois serves is an indicator of relatively higher county sustainability.

HEALTH AND SOCIAL STRESS

Terry Mason, the Chief Medical Officer for the Cook County Health and Hospitals System recently presented to the Rockford Community at a Chamber of Commerce event. He discussed the interrelated nature of the resident’s health to the overall social, economic, and environmental well-being of the region. Some of the major highlights of his presentation include:

• Single strongest predictor of the health is the position on the class pyramid. Whether measured by income, schooling or occupation, those at the top have the most power and resources and on average live longer and healthier lives.

• Segregation, social exclusion, encounters with prejudice, people’s degree of hope and optimism, access and treatment by the health care system – all of these can impact health.

• The lower on the pecking order we are, the greater the exposure to forces that can upset the lives e.g. insecure low-paying jobs, uncontrolled debt, capricious


Percent Obese AdultsSource: CDC

Date: 2003, 2006, 2009.

Consumption of Fruits and Vegetables Per Day

Source: CDC Date: 2003, 2006, 2009.

| 95Health

supervisors, unreliable transportation, poor childcare, lack of health insurance, noisy and violent living conditions, -- and the less we have access to the money, power, knowledge, and social connections that can help us cope and gain control over those forces.

• Exposure to fear and uncertainty trigger a stress response. But when threats are constant and unrelenting, the physiological systems don’t return to normal. Like gunning the engine of a car, this constant state of arousal, even if low-level, wears down the bodies over time, increasing the risk for disease.

• We already spend $2 trillion a year to patch up the bodies, more than twice per person the average of what other industrialized nations spend. The U.S. lags behind 28 other counties in life expectancy, 29 in infant mortality, and each year loses more than $1 trillion in work productivity due to chronic illness.

OBESITY RATES AND NUTRITION

According to Gallup, the Rockford Metro in 2011 had the fourth highest ranking in obesity rates with 35.5% of residents with a Body Mass Index score is 30 or higher. Also according to Gallup only half of residents eat produce frequently and less than half frequently exercise. This is a 160% increase from 2009. In 2009, only 66% of adult residents in the MSA met USDA activity guidelines.

As seen in the graphics below, obesity is higher for both counties. Consumption of fruits and vegetables is lower. Diabetes is higher, especially for Winnebago County. And those at risk for acute or binge drinking is higher. Data for these sets are available on www.ourvitalsigns.com. Patterns emerge.

Nutrition in formative years affects learning, growth, and physical development…which in turn affects educational and employment success. Only 24% of high schoolers within the MSA were considered physically active during this year. Low-income obesity rate for preschoolers was 18.6% for Boone County and 13.7% in Winnebago County.

The presence of diabetes has shown growth since 2000. The increase occurred at the state level as well as within both counties in the Vital Signs region. Winnebago County experienced the biggest change in the percent of the population with diabetes, increasing from 4% to 9% of the population.


Teen Birth Rates


Boone Illinois WinnebagoNation

Boone Illinois WinnebagoNation

Hispanic

Black

White

Total

Very Low Birth Weights


| 97Health

TEEN PREGNANCY

In Winnebago County 53.3 teenagers out of every 1,000 give birth; in Boone County the rate is 28.1. The graphic below shows teen pregnancy rates by race. Both Counties have much higher pregnancy rates for Hispanics. Winnebago County has almost double the teen pregnancy rate for blacks than the rest of the nation.

LIFELONG EFFECTS OF LOW BIRTH WEIGHT AND ASTHMA

The presence of low birth weight (LBW) has the potential of having lifelong health effects on residents. Higher rates of chronic conditions, hearing impairment, hospitalizations, missed days of school, and more school difficulties are all correlated with the presence of LBW. With a much higher prevalence in lower-income neighborhoods, this is perhaps due to less prenatal healthcare. Lower education, lack of health insurance, poverty status, and marital status all also had an effect on the prevalence of LBW. Blacks have a much higher prevalence of low-birth weight among all ethnicities. 8.4% of all babies born in Winnebago County have a low birth rate; in Boone County it is 6.3%.

Asthma, much like LBW, results in lifelong adverse outcomes for residents. Asthma in America has increased 75% since 1980, and for children under the age of 5 it increased 160%. Blacks are twice as

Number of Poor Air Quality Days


Illinois WinnebagoBoone

Ozone Days

Particulate Matter Days


likely to have asthma over other ethnicities. This may be due to their higher likelihood to be in poverty; lower access to quality healthcare and housing; a higher prevalence of smoking among mothers; and higher exposure to pollution and toxins in poorer neighborhoods. Even before the effects of financial instability, crime, education, and unemployment affect a newly-born low-income resident, their merely coming from a neighborhood of poverty sets them up for a road of life-long challenges youth born in affluent neighborhoods do not face.

LIFELONG EFFECTS OF PROLONGED EXPOSURE TO STRESS IN CHILDHOOD

Earlier it was discussed how prolonged exposure to stress resulting from living in a neighborhood with concentrated poverty results in both a physical reaction and emotional reaction. Exposure to violence and crime, abuse, unstable family units, poor living conditions from inadequate housing, negative influence from peer groups, and often hunger create a set of conditions where children growing up in poverty become conditioned to continually release adrenaline in “alert mode”. Physically when the body is exposed to this chemical response brain growth in the areas needed for non-cognitive skill development and neural networks overall are stunted. When this occurs the body physically affects the ability of an individual to make positive life choices: stunted prefrontal cortical function and other altered physical functionality has been tied to sexual behaviors, perpetuating violence, and illicit drug use. Later in life when a body’s systems are compromised from the wear and tear of stress these individuals are more prone to cardiovascular disease, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, asthma, metabolic abnormalities, obesity, infections, and other disorders. Emotionally early childhood stress exposure can also lead to challenges such as increased chance for depression, alcoholism, sucidality, dependence, social/relational issues, and anxiety orders.

Stress is not tied to only the youth. In 2011, the Rockford Region had the third worst city optimism rate according to Gallup. Only 36.5% of residents say the areas where the live is getting better as a place to live. This is a decrease from nearly half of residents saying the area was getting better in 2009.

| 99Health

CONCLUSIONS

Access to health care in the Vital Signs region is equitable to access in Illinois and there are limited differences in access between the two counties. While this does not necessarily equate to access being at desired levels it does indicate that it is comparable to Illinois. The same is true in a general sense for health outcomes. Additionally while the indicators show equity with Illinois this does not necessarily indicate the health indicators indicate good regional sustainability.

Locally the region faces severe health challenges. Obesity rates are extraordinarily high. Teen pregnancy is of concern. Single motherhood is of a challenge in itself; but when coupled with being young it sets up an uphill battle for the newly born youth to have a quality life growing up. Stress is affecting not only the youth and therefore their future life’s success, but the residents across the metro.

There does appear to be some inequity in access to health care among races. A smaller percentage of African American’s have health insurance than other races. This inequity has the potential to constrain sustainability of the region, especially if the difference is greater than for other regions.


Owner-Occupied Housing Source: US Census Bureau Date: 2010

Percent Minority Owner-Occupied Housing Source: US Census Bureau Date: 2010

| 101Housing

HOUSINGA region’s housing infrastructure is an important component of sustainability. The overall quality of housing is an indicator of the population’s investment in the region. Higher quality housing is an indicator of a region’s ability to purchase more expensive housing. When the quality of housing is high, property values are also typically higher, providing the capacity for the community to invest in education, culture and other quality of life features. When a region has high concentrations of low value housing or declining housing values, then the overall quality of living declines because residents decrease their economic and social support in the community.

When local residents have quality housing their quality of life improves vastly, and they are able to be more effective at work and happier overall. “Residential markets allocate schooling, peer groups, safety, jobs, insurance costs, public services, home equity, and, ultimately, wealth” (Massey and Denton 1993). The social component of housing in the Rockford Region is about how people connect with each other where they live. This means how people interact, how they trust each other, and how the neighborhoods connect to help each other out.

OWNER OCCUPIED HOUSING

Owner occupied housing is a key component of a region’s sustainability because when residents own their dwelling, they have more of an investment in the home and in the community. Updating homes increases home and property values and residents are more invested in the educational and community components of the area. Decaying properties perpetuates itself and reduces property values and tax receipts. In Boone and Winnebago counties, 70% of the districts had a decrease in owner occupied housing since 2010, an indication that regional sustainability is low.

On page 100 is a map of owner occupied housing within the metropolitan region for 2010. Owner occupied housing is a critical component of neighborhood stability as owners tend to pay closer attention to the upkeep of their property and the well-being of the neighborhood overall. Clear patterns emerge when viewing the data showing much lower rates of owner occupancy are occurring in the neighborhoods with concentrated poverty.

Housing


Drilling down in one step further into the data, we can see the majority of concentration of minority owner-occupied units are in these same neighborhoods on the second map on page 100. Yet, these are at much lower rates than the neighborhoods with high concentrations of whites on the east side of town as seen on the map above.

The perpetuation of racial segregation in the region is largely due to lack of housing choice. Normally when members of one ethnic group move out of a poor neighborhood members of a new group replace them; however because of racial segregation persisting often times other minority groups avoid black neighborhoods as they are able to stay in the upward mobility pipeline more easily elsewhere. While numerous studies cite blacks –more than any other minority- want to

Housing as a Percent of Household Budgets

Source: CNT H&T Index Date: 2010

| 103Housing

live in integrated neighborhoods, other studies cite black’s desire to not lose the positive unique traditions and cultural identity they have grown over the years by moving into white neighborhoods.

HUD developed a Housing Neighborhood Stability Index as a part of its larger Disparity Index to determine how well local neighborhoods perform against others in the nation. Currently, the Rockford Region scores in the 51.3th percentile nationally for all of its neighborhoods. This is calculated by percent of new purchases successful of low-cost housing, percent of refinancing success of low-cost housing, the home ownership rate, the percent vacant housing, and percent crowded (1+ occupant per room). However, residents in poverty score only in the 30.1th percentile, and residents in public housing only score in the 22nd percentile.

HOUSING AS PERCENTAGE OF HOUSEHOLD BUDGETS

Inequality in land and home ownership is detrimental to economic growth. Only the top 5 percent of U.S. households have earned enough additional income to match the rise in housing costs since 1975. And, for the first time in U.S. history, banks own a greater share of residential housing net worth in the United States than all individual Americans put together. A general rule is housing is too expensive if it is 30% or more of income. On page 102 are is a map showing housing as a percent of income. Largely housing is exceeding this threshold in the rural areas surrounding the urban cores. Sprawl costs.

EQUITY IN LENDING PRACTICES

Another indicator of equity in housing is lending practices. While redlining has been ruled illegal, there are stark differences in loan award rates among races within the region. For individuals applying for loans in 2011 to FHA with an income at 120% or above the median income of the metro area, there was a 41% denial rate for blacks, 13.5% for whites, and 12.5% for Hispanics. For conventional loans, blacks have a 25% denial rate overall while Hispanics have a 19% rate and whites have 11% rate.

The map on page 104 shows FHA loan denial rates in 2011 by neighborhood. Several of the neighborhoods within the areas of concentrated poverty have loan denial rates anywhere from 45% to 100%.


PUBLIC HOUSING

The evolution of public housing and its role in racial segregation in this nation has been a storied history. As a significant factor in concentrating poverty, it has undermined the ability of minorities –especially blacks- to have social and economic mobility into the middle class. The following is an evolution of the set of factors that created the concentration of minorities in poor neighborhoods in generational poverty. Where one grows up has large effects on one’s life chances. Racial segregation created and perpetuated through public housing confines minorities to a disadvantage, and it has profound consequences on individual, familial, neighborhood, and regional well-being.

More in-depth information can be found in the ProPublica article found at: http://www.propublica.org/article/living-apart-how-the-government-betrayed-a-landmark-civil-rights-law

• Post-Civil War Era to 1970: Over 6 Million blacks began to move from the south to the north to be more integrated

• Early 1900s: communities began adopting measures to separate housing for blacks

FHA Loan Denial Rates

Source: FFEIC Date: 2010

| 105Housing

• Zoning codes designating neighborhoods by race

• Supreme Court overturned constitutionality of zoning codes by race

• Real estate agents wrote “code of ethics” including bans on selling homes to blacks outside of black areas

• Neighborhoods formed associations to block blacks from moving in through organization and covenants

• Socially sanctioned violence against families of color who moved into white areas prompted blacks to move into black neighborhoods in communities across America. When violence occurred it was mostly by whites upon black fringe neighborhoods

• 1930s: segregation practices became systemic

• Home Owners’ Loan Corporation adopted measures to practice redlining

• Federal Housing Administration adopted same practices (98% of FHA insured loans between 1934 and 1962 went to white borrowers)

• Vets Administration and FHA officially supported racial covenants banning blacks from new suburban developments until 1950

• 1950s and 60s: Federal housing and development programs systemically bulldozed black and integrated neighborhoods for redevelopment of infrastructure; blacks were forced to relocate through real estate practices to poorer neighborhoods and public housing

• 1960s:

• Race riots broke out in hundreds of cities in America. Violence was largely concentrated within black neighborhoods by blacks protesting conditions they were living in

• President Johnson worked with Walter Mondale to get fair housing legislation adopted banning segregation practices; multiple attempts to pass through Congress failed

• Johnson formed the Kerner Commission to assess the cycle of violence from the race riots; Commission found the U.S. was “moving towards two societies, one black, one white - separate and unequal”

• 1964: Civil Rights Act passed

• April 4th,1968: Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated

• 1968: Fair Housing Act passed a month after MLK’s assassination

• Act requires communities to promote integrated housing by banning racial discrimination in the sale or rental of housing, block busting (real estate agents moving blacks into white neighborhoods to frighten whites into selling), racial steering to certain neighborhoods, and to affirmatively further fair housing

• Failed to put in place adequate, publicly enforceable fines or define what affirmatively further fair housing meant

• HUD Secretary George Romney (former Michigan governor and witness to 1967 Detroit race riots) ordered HUD officials to reject applications for infrastructure projects from communities and states where local policies and regulations fostered segregated housing practices

• 1970: President Nixon ordered enforcement of housing integration to be ended through Romney’s program of tying withholding federal infrastructure dollars to local


housing integration

• 1972: President Nixon asked for Romney’s resignation

• 1972: HUD formed Block Grants program, a consolidation of their programs allowing communities to decide how to spend funds; new program did not require communities to comply with Fair Housing Act, only Civil Rights Act

• 1974: Watergate Scandal; Nixon resigns

• 1974: Equal Credit Opportunity Act requires lending institutions to tabulate race of clients they accept and reject for home loans

• 1974-1983: HUD did not withhold a single block grant from communities

• 1975: Home Mortgage Disclosure Act requires financial institutions to report which neighborhoods receive mortgages

• 1977: Community Reinvestment Act requires lending institutions to demonstrate they have provided credit to areas unable to secure capital in the past

• 1988: Congress passed Amendments to Fair Housing Act giving HUD more authority to penalize local discrimination practices; gave longer periods for filing time for housing discrimination complaint and empowered HUD Secretary and the Attorney General to initiate investigations without waiting on private lawsuits

• Number of blacks in poverty continued to increase as HUD’s focus was on building new housing units further concentrated poor

• 1992: President Clinton appoints Henry Cisneros to begin enforcing fair housing

Subsidized Housing Units

Source: US Census Bureau Date: 2010

| 107Housing

practices

• 1994: House slashed HUD’s budget

• 1996: HUD released Fair Housing Planning Guide giving communities receiving block grants advice on compliance with Fair Housing Law but set no requirements

• 1997: Andrew Cuomo replaces Cisneros

• 1998: Cuomo proposed regulation defining what affirmatively further fair housing meant; U.S. Conference of Mayors protested its enactment and in 1999 it was dropped

• 2008: President Obama elected and appointed Shaun Donovan to run HUD

• 2009: Internal HUD study found many communities were not completing required fair housing paperwork for block grants

• 2010: Government Accountability Office found that of 441 recipients of block grants 1/3 of materials to comply with fair housing were out of date and 1/10 hadn’t been updated since 1990s; 25 communities had filed no analysis; found that HUD staff in seven regions had read only 17 of 275 block grant recipient’s compliance paperwork

Today, the promise of fair housing choice remains mixed. The federal government has openly acknowledged for over 40 years their culpability in creating segregated neighborhoods. HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity has smallest staff and budget of HUD’s programs. Blacks earning $75k per year typically live in poorer neighborhoods than whites earning $40k per year – in other words, even with economic mobility social mobility is not being achieved. Any efforts to end racial segregation must address private housing markets.

SUBSIDIZED HOUSING

On page 107 is a map showing the concentration of subsidized housing units within the metro by district. In sustainable communities, the location of subsidized housing is balanced throughout the region. When subsidized housing is concentrated in a small percentage of the geography, then housing and property values tend to decrease because residents do not have the means to invest in their community. In Boone and Winnebago counties subsidized housing is concentrated in less than 20% of the districts and one district has a 26% concentration. This indicates that there is not equity in the distribution of subsidized housing.

The following five charts show the relationship between subsidized housing and aggregate income, growth in poverty, change in property assessment values, and minority concentrations. These trends indicate further the concentration of poverty and its effect on the region’s social well-being.


Change in Poverty

Hispanic Households


Black Households


Change in Property Assessment Value



| 109Housing

In Winnebago County nearly 11% of residents are over-housed. Average tenure in subsidized housing is nearly 5 years for both counties. The wait time to get into subsidized housing is a half year for Boone County, and a year for Winnebago County. The 63% of Rockford Housing Authority’s population is black, and 35% is white. 66% is female, and 34% male for a total of 1,805 residents over 18 years old. Of those under 18 years old, 83% are black while only 17% are white. The youth are evenly split between male and female.

The two Rockford Housing Authority sites and surroundings neighborhoods experiencing the greatest challenges are Ellis Heights and Fairgrounds. At Ellis slightly over half of residents are black and female. At Fairgrounds nearly all residents over 18 are black and female. However, arrests at these two sites tell a different story. The majority of individuals banned from Rockford Housing Authority sites due to arrests are male and over the age of 18.

One measurement of equity in housing is to measure the amount of affordable housing available with the Section 8 voucher from HUD. As seen in the map below, the concentration of housing affordable with the value of the voucher for efficiency, 1 bedroom, and 2 bedroom apartments is largely concentrated in the areas of poverty. This supports the findings that it is more difficult for these residents to achieve social and economic mobility.

CONCLUSIONS

Fair housing choice is one of the most critical needs areas facing the region with the concentrations of poverty. Until some of the issues are addressed such as concentrations of poor in certain neighborhoods, lending practices, affordability of rental units, and housing costs are dealt with challenges will continue to face the region’s social well-being.

Change in Aggregate Income



Crime Index


Personal Crimes Index


| 111Safety

SAFETYPolice stations, fire departments, and community groups protect the community so we may enjoy the region at any time of day, and in any neighborhood. Crime levels affect not only the well-being but the ability to create and retain jobs. The social component of safety in the Rockford Region is about how people and neighborhoods are helping or hurting the safety within the community. This means how people support each other within neighborhoods, how they help each other with crime problems, how the police and fire departments support the neighborhoods, etc.

One in every 100 adults is now confined in prison or jail in America. For black males between 20 and 34 years of age, 1 in 9 adults is behind bars. Men are 10x more likely to be in prison. ½ of offenders will reoffend within three years. It is estimated that it costs $65,000 to maintain each facility bed in an incarceration facility per year. When incarcerated, residents are not contributing to society. They are not earning money, they are not playing taxes, child support payments, or restitution. In America we now spend more money on jails than we do on education.

It is estimated that the average crime victimization cost per resident is $1,000 annually. And, it is estimated that for every 10% increase in crime corresponds to a decrease of 1% in city population. If highly educated and more affluent residents are more mobile, those left behind are faced with maintaining an aging infrastructure with less resources.

PROPENSITY FOR CRIME

Forbes recently released a report reviewing violent crime trends in the nation in 2011 from the FBI Informed Crime Reports. While violent crime has decreased 4% nationwide, this decrease is taking place the most in smaller cities. The City of Rockford has been in the top 10 worst violent crime rates in nation for several years. From 2010 to 2011 the violent crime rate decreased by about 7%, and the region is no longer in the top ten most violent cities in America. However, the crime rate for the community is still extremely high relative to other similarly sized communities. This high propensity for crime is preventing the region from attracting jobs, retaining quality businesses,


Housing

Safety


Food




Larceny IndexSource: ESRI Crime Index

Date: 2010.

Murder Index Source: ESRI Crime Index Date: 2010.

| 113Safety

and hurting the resident’s social well-being overall.

Staring on page 110 are a series of maps showing propensity for different crime types in 2010. Any district exceeding the “100” threshold has a higher propensity for that crime type than the nation as a whole. Collectively these maps demonstrate how the effects of those in poverty are felt beyond the borders of the neighborhoods experiencing concentrated poverty to throughout the region.

First, a map of the total propensity for crime is shown. The darker the red, the more crime propensity existing. The core of Rockford is 1.5x or 2x (or more) as likely as the nation to have crime as a whole. There appears to be, not surprisingly, a relationship between crime propensity and income and dropping out as seen in scatterplots found on www.ourvitalsigns.com. One of the greatest points of coverage in national news is the continuing poor crime rates in the region.

Personal crimes and murders appear to be concentrated more on central and East side of Rockford, as seen on pages 110 and 112. Some neighborhoods are nearly 4x more likely to have murder than the rest of the nation.

Although poverty is concentrated on the West side, the highest rates of robbery robberies are found in the neighborhoods in deep red on the East side of Rockford. These areas are nearly 5x as likely to have robbery occur as the nation as a whole. Robberies are when someone takes something of value by force from the owner (the victim is present).

The highest concentration of burglaries, however, are found in the neighborhoods closest and just outside the east side of the core of Rockford as seen below. These neighborhoods are anywhere from 2.5x to 4.5x as likely to be burgled as the nation. Burglaries occur when someone trespasses and commits harm to property or the intent to commit harm (such as vandalism). This is not an unusual finding as the properties where burglaries occur are of easy access to those in poverty.

Larceny has a higher propensity to occur in the neighborhoods within and just outside of those in concentrated poverty. In these neighborhoods with deep red the larceny rate is anywhere from 2.5x to 10x more likely than the nation. Larceny is the wrongful acquisition of personal property of another person.


Motor Vehicle Theft Index Source: ESRI Crime Index Date: 2010.

Robbery Index Source: ESRI Crime Index Date: 2010.

| 115Safety

Finally, motor vehicle theft is occurring more often in the core of the community. Rates in these neighborhoods are 1.5x to 2.5x more likely to have theft than the nation.

HEALTH STUDY RESULTS AND PERCEIVED SAFETY

The Rockford Health Council performed a survey of perceived safety within the community. Respondents in the south and southwest of downtown felt the least safe walking with only 44% feeling safe.

CONCLUSIONS

The concentrations of poverty in the community are not limited to the neighborhoods experiencing these conditions. All residents in the region are being affected by the situations residents find themselves in when in extreme poverty for prolonged periods. Until the region is able to remedy the poverty (and thus crime rates) it will be difficult to retain employees and grow business throughout the two-county region.

Perceived Safety Survey Source: Rockford Health Council Date: 2010.


Average Number of Cars Per Household


TECHNOLOGYTrade organizations, tech programs, and tech education give the Rockford Region the tools to pursue technological advances, not only for the region, but for the nation as well. Identifying entrepreneurs and helping them succeed will help the communities succeed. Growing businesses creates more jobs--faster, than attracting new businesses to the region. Technology accessibility and innovation levels affect the ability of the region to attract and retain jobs and overall community wealth. The social component of technology in the Rockford Region is how technology is helping community members connect with each other and with information they are looking for. Social indicators for technology are largely raw data still needing to be collected. Look to see them released in the future. In addition, additional economic and environmental indicators measuring the technology levels will be released in 2013.

Technology

| 117Technology and Transportation

TRANSPORTATION Metro areas like thes need transportation options allowing residents, workers, and visitors to travel to and around the area by car, bus, bicycle, or on foot. Understanding the transportation infrastructure and how it affects getting to work, enjoying the community, and doing business will help the region face its economic future. The social component of transportation in the Rockford Region is about how transportation choices, whether it be by car, bus, bicycle, or on foot, connect community members with each other and allow them to enjoy the community.

MOBILITY

Being able to get to and from basic needs within the community – jobs, daycare, food, etc. – is a critical challenge for the region. Currently there is a lack of access to reliable transportation within the community for those in poverty. It can take upwards of over an hour on routes to get from the neighborhoods in poverty on the West side to the jobs on the East side. Signage is scarce, as are formal bus stops.

HUD developed a Job Accessibility Index as a part of its larger Disparity Index to determine how well local workers perform against others in the nation. Currently, the Rockford Region scores in the 50.2th percentile nationally for all of its neighborhoods. Residents in poverty score in the 58.6th percentile, and residents in public housing score in the 79.4th percentile.

HUD also an Opportunity Index as a part of its larger Disparity Index to determine how well local residents have opportunity to find employment compared to others in the nation. Currently, the Rockford Region scores in the 48.6th percentile nationally for all of its neighborhoods. Residents in poverty score only in the 28.1st percentile, and residents in public housing score only in the 18.1st percentile.

On page 116 is a map showing the average number of cars per household in 2010, and the results are striking. Neighborhoods in poverty have by far the lowest average numbers of cars per household. While this is eco-friendly, it limits residents’ ability to get to work and other resources.


Housing

Safety


Food




Takes Public Transportation to Work Source: US Census Bureau Date: 2010.

Zero Car Households Source: US Census Bureau Date: 2010.

| 119Transportation

On page 118 is a map showing the concentration of zero-car households. The darkest regions have anywhere from 23% to 46% of all households without vehicles. Within the community environmental mobility is not an environmental choice but an economic limitation.

The two purple maps on pages 118 and 119 show the modal split of work trips for the region. The first shows those who utilize public transportation to get to work. The darkest purples represent anywhere from 3% to 8% utilizing transit to get to work. However, the vast majority of residents outside of the neighborhoods in poverty drive alone to work. The neighborhoods in poverty have much greater rates of carpooling to work (anywhere from 15% to 31%).

Drives to Work Alone



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0 1 2 3 40.5Miles

Percent Minority Population & RMTDFixed Transit Routes in Relation toMajor Employers within a Quarter Mile

L E G E N D

RMTD Route System

Major Employers50 - 160

161 - 450

451 - 1000

1001 - 1970

1971 - 3750

% Minority by Block

1% - 12%

12.1% - 25%

25.1% - 40%

40.1% - 60%

60.1% - 95%

Major Employers within a 1/4 Mile#*

| 121Transportation

While the neighborhoods in poverty have much greater rates of carpooling to work (anywhere from 15% to 31%), they are still challenged in gaining easy access to work locations. The map on page 120 shows percent minority popuation residing in proximity to fixed transit routes in relation to major employers. As seen in the map, there is a large percentage of minorities that are not within walking distance of fixed transportation options to get to work.

CONCLUSIONS

Until greater accessibility is gained for those in poverty to work, the region will continue to see challenges overall. Increasing programing and coordination among agencies and neighborhoods is critical to aid those most needing gainful employment.

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0 1 2 3 40.5Miles

Percent Minority Population & RMTDFixed Transit Routes in Relation toMajor Employers within a Quarter Mile

L E G E N D

RMTD Route System

Major Employers50 - 160

161 - 450

451 - 1000

1001 - 1970

1971 - 3750

% Minority by Block

1% - 12%

12.1% - 25%

25.1% - 40%

40.1% - 60%

60.1% - 95%

Major Employers within a 1/4 Mile#*


WASTERecycling and how we plan for the waste management is an integral part of sustainable development. Understanding the interrelated nature of this area helps residents, businesses, and governments plan for the region’s future and reduce the dependence on non-renewable resources. The social component of waste in the region’s well-being is how well residents and businesses know about the recycling opportunities and the concepts behind reuse. Social indicators for waste are largely raw data still needing to be collected. Look to see them released in the future. In addition, additional economic and environmental indicators measuring the waste will be released in 2013.

WATERFresh water is a finite resource that is economically and aesthetically valuable. It is essential to sustain life, the environment, and healthy regional development. The collective management of the areas’ water resources is critical for the region’s well-being. The social component of water has to do with how well residents know about the water resources as well as how to best maintain them for future generations. Social indicators for water are largely raw data still needing to be collected. Look to see them released in the future. In addition, additional economic and environmental indicators measuring the water levels will be released in 2013.

Waste

Water

| 123Waste and Water


CONCLUSIONSTo remain competitive, it is in the best interest of the Rockford Region to address both the concentration of poverty and the high poverty levels, in particular among minorities and those of low educational attainment. A history of segregation has laid the foundation for the low levels of social well-being the region is facing today. And, the persistence of poverty is impacting the personal and community wealth as well as the natural and built environment.

In particular, • The built environment is not conducive to connecting those in greatest need to

the resources, information, and support they require to gain additional social and economic mobility

• Social, economic, institutional, and spatial exclusion is preventing those in poverty to gain self-sufficiency

• Adequate access to healthy food by those in poverty and consumption of healthy foods by all is a disease within the community

• Broken families, especially among blacks, is creating an uphill battle to self-sufficiency within the neighborhoods in poverty

• The continuation of concentrated poverty is contributing to lower personal income for all residents in the region

• Life impact of the high school dropouts on the community is being felt through lower incomes, higher unemployment, higher crime, and lower marital success of a significant percentage of the population

• While economic development practices in the region are maintaining relatively low unemployment rates for the educated, these practices are not lowering the high unemployment rates of blacks, those with low educational attainment, and the youth in a timeframe needed to impact the concentrations of poverty today. Lowering these groups’ participation in the informal labor market and creating viable self-sufficient employment is a critical opportunity for the region to address

• Equity in housing and fair housing choice is a great challenge

• Minorities, even those not in poverty to have challenges obtaining home loans

• Large areas of the community are not affordable to those with housing vouchers

Historically decisions have been made to prevent those in poverty to be more socially and economically mobile within the region. Much of the historical responsibility lays with the federal programs we continue to subscribe to. However, choices of the past have placed us in the economic situation we are today. Maintaining separate systems in education, housing, and employment that are not connected through an overarching mission allows incremental choices to be made in myopic self-interest without the knowledge it is a detriment to the region.

| 125Conclusions

Further, concentrated poverty affects us all. This includes the individual and collective economic bottom-lines. As seen in this report, a large body of evidence points to the Rockford Region benefitting from breaking the cycle of poverty. By continuing practices, policies, and programs that keep low-income residents below the self-sufficiency line we limit the entire Metro’s ability to be socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable.

This is a pivotal moment for the community leaders to stop this cycle, to think outside the box, and improve the region’s well-being overall. The Rockford Region Vital Signs initiative is a unique opportunity for the local community leaders to expect that the patterns that have kept us dealing with these long-term challenges are no longer acceptable. Instead, the challenge before the community leaders is to raise the bar of poverty to self-sufficiency standards and minimize the amount of low-income residents in poverty. We are one community that has one future ahead of us. The responsibility lays upon the shoulders of the community leaders today to determine what direction we will take.


APPENDIX: ADDITIONAL SOCIAL VISUALIZATIONSThe following is a list of additional social visualizations available at www.ourvitalsigns.com. These provide a deeper insight in to the State of Social Well-being for the Rockford Region.

BUILT ENVIRONMENT • Public Spaces with Amenities

• Brownfield Sites

• Land Available for Recreation

• Third Places

CIVIC VITALITY• Mobility from the US Census Bureau

• Voter Turnout

• Single Parents and Children in Poverty from the US Census Bureau

• Linguistic Isolation from the US Census Bureau

• Ability to Speak English from the US Census Bureau

• Moved to Region and City Optimism

• Strength of Family Households from the US Census Bureau

• Segregation RCAP Index from the Department of Housing and Urban Development

• Change White vs Minority Population 2000 to 2010 from the US Census Bureau

• Percent Change of Young Adults Residents 2000 to 2010 from the US Census Bureau

• Elderly Characteristics from the US Census Bureau

• Black Population Characteristics from the US Census Bureau

• White Population Characteristics from the US Census Bureau

• Hispanic Characteristics from the US Census Bureau

• Average Household Expenditures on Communications Technology from the Consumer Expenditures Survey

• Armed Forces from the US Census Bureau

CULTURE• Average Household Expenditures on Passive Entertainment from the Consumer

Expenditure Survey

• Average Household Expenditures on Active Entertainment from the Consumer Expenditure Survey

| 127Appendix: List of Additional Social Visualizations Available on www.ourvitalsigns.com

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT• Households in Poverty from the US Census Bureau

• County Income From Transfer Payments from Woods and Poole

• Elderly Financial Stability from the US Census Bureau

• Portion of Income Coming from Transfer Payments from Woods and Poole

• Income by Gender from the US Census Bureau

• Male Households in Poverty from the US Census Bureau

• Female Households in Poverty from the US Census Bureau

• Unemployment by Race from the US Census Bureau

• Self Sufficiency Wage from Heartland Alliance

• Per Capita Income from the US Census Bureau

• Change in Per Capita Income from the US Census Bureau

• ousehold Income by Race from the US Census Bureau

• Population Lacking Self Sufficiency from the US Census Bureau and HUD

• Concentrations of Poverty from the US Census Bureau

• Percent Change White Collar Employees 2000 to 2010 from the US Census Bureau

• Population Lacking Self Sufficiency

• Income Characteristics by Race from the US Census Bureau

• Average Household Expenditures on Children from the Consumer Expenditures Survey

• Child Expenditures from the US Census Bureau

• Unemployment and Educational Attainment from the US Census Bureau

• Welfare Recipients from the US Census Bureau

• Women and Minority Owned Businesses from the NETS Database

• Income and Unemployment from the US Census Bureau

• age Characteristics from the US Census Bureau

• Transfer Payments from Woods and Poole

• Percent Households with Children Below Poverty from the US Census Bureau

• Unemployment Characteristics by Race and Education in 2000 from the US Census

• Unemployment Characteristics by Race and Education in 2010 from the US Census Bureau

• Additional Unemployment Characteristics by Race and Education in 2010 from the US Census Bureau

• 2011 Unemployment Rates for Metro from the US Census Bureau


EDUCATION• ISAT Scores from the Illinois Student Report Card

• Unemployment Map vs Bachelors Degrees from the US Census Bureau

• High School Graduation Rates by School from the Illinois Student Report Card

• Graduation Rates with Truancy and Dropping Out and Low Income from the Illinois

• Enrollment by Race to Low Income from the Illinois Student Report Card

• Attendance and Truancy by School from the Illinois Student Report Card

• Enrollment by Race and School Type

• Educational Attainment by Gender and Race from the US Census Bureau

• Educational Make Up by Race from the Illinois Student Report Card

• Unemployment vs High School Diplomas and Bachelors from the US Census Bureau

• Class Size vs Test Scores of High Schoolers from the Illinois Student Report Card

• Minority Enrollment and Low Income Students from the Illinois Student Report Card

• High School Graduation Rates from the Illinois Student Report Card

• Test Scores Below Standard by Socioeconomic Status from the Illinois Student Report

• Test Scores Exceeding Standards by Socioeconomic Status from the Illinois Student Report Card

• Test Scores Exceeding Standards by Gender from the Illinois Student Report Card

• Comparative Test Scores from the Illinois Student Report Card

• Dropout Rates, Graduation, and Attendance from the Illinois Student Report Card

• Change in Enrollment by School Type from the Illinois Student Report Card

• Percent Public School Attendance by Race from the Illinois Student Report Card

• Percent Attending Public and Private Schools from the Illinois Student Report Card

• Test Scores below Standard by Gender from the Illinois Student Report Card

• Percent Change College Graduates 2000 to 2010 from the US Census Bureau

• Selected Characteristics of Dropouts from the US Census Bureau

FOOD• Proximity to Healthy Food

• Average Household Fruit and Vegetable Expenditures from the Consumer Expenditures Survey

• Unhealthy Food Index from the Consumer Expenditures Survey

• Analysis of Average Household Food Consumption Patterns as Percent of Total Food Expenses from the CES

HEALTH• Health Insurance Coverage by Race from the Illinois Department of Health

• Average Household Expenditures on Smoking Products from the Consumer Expenditure Survey

| 129

• Average Household Expenditures on Alcohol Products from the Consumer Expenditure Survey

• Birth Statistics from the Illinois Department of Health

• Causes of Death from the Illinois Department of Health

• Obesity Statistics from the Illinois Department of Health

• Healthcare and Wellbeing from the Illinois Department of Health

• Health Conditions from the Illinois Department of Health

• Birth Statistics from CDC

• Selected Health Characteristics from the CDC

HOUSING• Loan Denial Rate by Race

• HUD Disparity Indices from HUD

• Owner Occupied Units vs Public Housing from the US Census Bureau

• Owner Occupied

• Minority Owner Occupied

• Population Change in Built Area from the US Census Bureau

• Subsidized Housing by Neighborhood from the Department of Housing and Urban Development

• Family Poverty Statistics from the US Census Bureau

• Characteristics of Average Household Size from the US Census Bureau

• Characteristics of Household Income from the US Census Bureau

• Housing Type by Minority Concentration from the US Census Bureau

• Housing Vacancies

• Subsidized Housing Characteristics from the Department of Housing and Urban Development

• Subsidized Housing Additional Facts from Department of Housing and Urban Development

• Subsidized Housing Additional Facts from Department of Housing and Urban Development

LAND• Proximity to Recreational Space

SAFETY• Arrests and Jail Data from the Department of Justice

• Perceived Safety from the Healthy Communities Survey Study

• Crime vs Education and Income from the ESRI Crime Index and the US Census Bureau

Appendix: List of Additional Social Visualizations Available on www.ourvitalsigns.com


• Crime vs Income from the ESRI Crime Index and the US Census Bureau

• Crime vs Population Characteristics from the ESRI Crime Index and the US Census Bureau

• ime vs Race from the ESRI Crime Index and the US Census Bureau

• Crime vs Housing vs Expenditures from the ESRI Crime Index, US Census Bureau, and the Consumer Expenditures Survey

• Characteristics of Crime Propensity from the ESRI Crime Index

TECHNOLOGY• Wifi Sites

TRANSPORTATION• Accidents from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

• Accessibility of Cultural Resources

• Means of Transportation to Work from the US Census Bureau

• Number of Cars Per Household from the US Census Bureau

| 131Appendix: List of Additional Social Visualizations Available on www.ourvitalsigns.com

METRO-WIDE SOCIAL DATA VISUALIZATIONS• Community Race and Ethnicity from the US Census Bureau

• Community Age Distributions from the US Census Bureau

• County Income From Transfer Payments from Woods and Poole

• County Income From Transfer Payment Bar Chart from Woods and Poole

• Wealth Index Line Chart from Woods and Poole

• Portion of Income Coming from Transfer Payments Bar Chart from Woods and Poole

• Age Distribution from the US Census Bureau

• Black Population from the US Census Bureau

• Income and Poverty from the US Census Bureau

• Hispanic Population from the US Census Bureau

• Community Snapshot Educational Attainment from the US Census Bureau

• Race Distribution from the US Census Bureau

• Gender Distribution from the US Census Bureau

• Population Growth Trends from the US Census Bureau

• Winnebago County Origins and Destination from the IRS Migration Data

• Child Poverty and Educational Attainment by Community from the US Census Bureau

• Disparity Index from the Department of Housing and Urban Development

• Poverty by Race from the US Census Bureau

• Population Ages by Decade from Woods and Poole

• Race by Decade from Woods and Poole

• Age Projections from Woods and Poole

• Demographic Projections from Woods and Poole

• oone County Origins and Destination from the IRS Migration Data

• Migrant Trends Inbound from the IRS Migration Data

• Migrant Trends Outbound from the IRS Migration Data

• Unemployment Rates for Metro from the US Census Bureau


Housing

Safety


Food



State of Social Well-being Report

Documents

rockford regionforewordin

rockford regionthis

department of housing

planning rmap

department of transportation

report preparations

sustainable development

sustainable communities