Among the many metrics that show Obama’s home state is struggling to break the Great Recession, a new report shows that applications for food stamps in Illinois is greater than its creation of jobs.
Illinois has had the worst recovery from the recession of any state in the country, the Illinois Policy Institute reported this month: “There are nearly 300,000 fewer Illinoisans working today than in January 2008, and 170,000 fewer payroll jobs. “
“For every post-recession job created in Illinois, nearly two people have enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps,” the Institute wrote. “In the recession era, the number of Illinoisans dependent on food stamps has risen by 745,000.”
While Illinois sits about in the middle of the pack for a percent of the population on the SNAP assistance program, this new report is consistent with reports last year that found that Illinois was the only state to see a double-digit increase in SNAP enrollments.
Illinois consistently falls in the lowest ranks of nearly every metric that denotes a successful state. Only last week a new report showed that Illinois had more home foreclosures than any other state. In July it was reported that Illinois had the worst private sector job creation of every state in the great Midwest.
Incumbent Democrat Governor Pat Quinn was undaunted by the news, saying, “Illinois’ comeback is going strong and we’ve got more work to do.” Quinn is up for re-election this year.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.