We often think of poverty as an urban issue, where poverty in concentrated in bigger cities, but in truth, rural poverty is every bit as big a problem, it is just less visible.

Amy Terpstra researches rural poverty for the Heartland Alliance, and points out that even with the ongoing economic recovery… Rural poverty continues to grow..

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Illinois is a fairly wealthy state with a diverse economy… but the state continues to be kind of middle of road when it comes to rural poverty rates..

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When families are in poverty.. it not only impacts the poorest among us, it taxes the state budget as more people rely on public assistance to get by. And the high rural poverty rate in Illinois is not a new phenomenon, caused by state budget issues… It has been a pervasive problem for years.