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Equity & Justice

Poverty's costs are high — particularly for minorities

NPR Illinois | 91.9 UIS | By Maureen Foertsch McKinney

Published November 29, 2016 at 9:32 AM CST

Chart of children in poverty by race. — A recent report by a coalition of anti-poverty groups found that poverty is higher for blacks and Latinos than whites.

Poverty rates in Illinois are starting to go down. But economic inequality is growing between white Illinoisans and their black and Latino counterparts. That's according a recently issued report by group of anti-poverty organizations. That report also showed that being poor in Illinois is a costly proposition. Food, housing, credit and other things often cost for impoverished people than the general population

For more information, go to http://www.povertylaw.org/about/media/high-cost-being-poor-2016.

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Maureen Foertsch McKinney

Maureen Foertsch McKinney was a news editor and equity and justice beat reporter for NPR Illinois through 2025, she had been on the staff since 2014 after Illinois Issues magazine’s merger with the station. She joined the magazine’s staff in 1998 as projects editor and became managing editor in 2003. Prior to coming to the University of Illinois Springfield, she was an education reporter and copy editor at three local newspapers, including the suburban Chicago Daily Herald, She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Eastern Illinois University and a master’s degree in English from UIS.

See stories by Maureen Foertsch McKinney