Increasing Chicago poverty could lead to higher taxes, legislator says

Poverty in Chicago is the highest its been in several years, according to a new report.

The poverty line for 2022 was $13,590 for an individual and $27,750 for a family of four. The national average for those living below the poverty line is 11.5%, nearly six percentage points lower than Chicago's 17.2%, according to numbers analyzed by the Illinois Policy Institute.

According to the numbers, about 450,000 Chicagoans live below the poverty line, their highest amount since 2017.

State Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, explained what is driving the poverty rate in the city.

"The Chicago Public School system has a direct impact on whether or not people are going to enter the workforce and have a life that will be led out of poverty," Ford told The Center Square.

Taxpayers pay about $28,000 per student for those enrolled in Chicago Public Schools. The state average is about $16,000 per student, according to the Illinois State Board of Education. Several schools in the city don't have a single student who can read or do math at grade level.

Ford said the issues have been compounding.

"If you are born into poverty, chances are you will remain in poverty until you die," Ford said. "With inflation and the cost of living constantly going up, it drives people further down into poverty."

A high rate of people living under the poverty line has other effects.

"Poverty drives crime up and it also drives entitlements up," Ford said. "That's going to cause an increase in taxes to pay for entitlements, and it will also cause more taxes to pay for public safety."

In 1964, former President Lyndon B. Johnson declared war on poverty in the United States. At the time, Chicago's poverty rate was 12%.