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Population Profile

Illinois (the fifth most populous state in the U.S.) increased by nine percent, or almost one million people, between 1990 and 2000. This was the ninth largest numerical increase in the country

Immigration-driven population growth is taking its toll on Illinois. In the last ten years, one million new residents settled in the state—the equivalent of adding two cities the size Tucson to the state. More than half of these new residents were immigrants. This large-scale population growth is bringing traffic, pollution, overcrowded schools, and lack of affordable housing to the state, decreasing quality of life and straining natural resources.

Foreign-Born Population 

Illinois foreign-born population increased by over 21ercent between 2000 and 2006 During that period Illinois gained over 333,000 immigrants, bringing the total number of foreign-born residents in the state to almost 1.9 million.

 

Environmental and Quality of Life Profile

Water: Between 2000 and 2006, Illinois had a 16 percent increase in its foreign-born population.^4/ That contrasts with a 1.5 percent increase in the native-born population and that included the children born to immigrants. When the U.S.-born children of the foreign-born are included, immigration accounts for all of the state’s growth during that time period.^5/ If the current trends continue, by 2050 Illinois’ population will have increased from 12.8 million in 2006, to over 19.9 million.^6/ Illinois residents currently have a per-capita, daily water usage of 141.7 gallons.^7/ This means that by 2050 human, water usage will exceed that of 2006 by over one billion gallons each day.

Particularly in the Chicago area, massive urban sprawl is making future water constraints more and more of a concern. By 2030, another 2 million people are expected to move to the greater Chicago area. Conversation has begun circulating on how water can be conserved to prepare for this inevitable growth.^8/ By 2050, population projections suggest an increase of 3.4 million residents in the area, which will increase Chicago’s water demand by up to two-thirds.^9/FAIR projects a population increase of nearly 1.3 million residents by 2025.

With many groundwater sources such as the Cambrian-Ordovician aquifer becoming severely depleted, it is probable that increased demand in the Chicago area will turn toward Lake Michigan.^10/ In 1967, the Supreme Court ruled that Illinois could only divert up to 2.1 billion gallons each day from the Lake Michigan basin.^11/However, this limit could provide an impetus for controversy as area populations continue to boom. Unfortunately, this additional thirst will come at a time when climate change and excessive drainage continue to threaten lake levels, which are currently near historic lows.^12/

A planning agency projects that eleven townships in five counties on the outer rim of Chicago will experience severe water shortages by 2020, a number that may double by 2030.^13/ Exacerbated by population growth, Illinois will be facing a water crunch in the near future

Disappearing Open Space: Illinois lost 67,900 acres of prime farmland to development from 1987-1992, the fifth highest rate in the country, according to the American Farmland Trust. The loss accelerated to 160,900 acres from 1992-1997, a 137 percent increase. Much of the farmland loss is to lakefront development, housing, and new subdivisions.14/

A study of urban sprawl between 1970 and 1990 that calculated the impact of population increase and per capita land use found that 307.3 square miles of additional land were consumed by urban sprawl in the Chicago-NW Indiana metropolitan area, and 5.3 percent of that sprawl was attributable to population increase. In the St. Louis metro area, which crosses into Missouri, sprawl consumed an additional 267.6 square miles and population increase accounted for 7.3 percent of the increase. 15/

“There is a lot of farmland conversion that has occurred in the state the last 10 to 15 years,” says the supervisor the Illinois Department of Agriculture’s office of farmland protection. “If the population continues to increase, our reliance on production agriculture will continue to increase, and we could see a crisis down the road.” 16/

Air Pollution: As population increases, pollution often rises along with it. Emissions from Illinois contribute more to global warming than releases from 99 developing countries combined, according to a study by the National Environmental Trust. Illinois discharged 58.6 million metric tons of carbon equivalent into the atmosphere in 1999, ranking seventh among all states for carbon dioxide emissions, blamed for global warming.17/

Will, Saint Clair, Madison, Lake, Jersey, and Cook counties all received a grade of “F” in the American Lung Associations state of the air 2005 report. Two other counties received D’s, and eight counties received C’s. 18/

Solid Waste:  Illinois generates 1.3 tons of solid waste per capita. 19/

Traffic: As population growth put more traffic on the roads, the average commute for Illinois residents increased 12 percent during the 1990s, from 25 minutes in 1990 to 28 minutes in 2000, and to 28.1 in 2005. 20/ 21/ 45% of Illinois' major urban roads are congested. 39% of Illinois' major roads are in poor or mediocre condition, and driving on roads in need of repair costs Illinois motorists $2.2 billion a year in extra vehicle repairs and operating costs --- $271 per motorist. Congestion in the Chicago metropolitan area costs commuters $985 per person in excess fuel and lost time. 22/

Rush hour in the Chicago area—the time when roadways are congested—now lasts almost eight hours a day. Area drivers each wasted an average of 67 hours, 104 gallons of gas, and $1,235 sitting in traffic in 2000.23/

The annual delay per traveler in 2003 in the Chicago metropolitan area was 58 hours (7^th highest in the nation), and in the St. Louis MO-IL area the annual delay per traveler was 35 hours. 24/  45 percent of Illinois commuters experience an commute time that is at least 45 minutes (4^th highest in the U.S.). 25/

Schools: Between 2000 and 2005, Illinois’ K-12 enrollment increase by over 84,000 students (4 percent) 26/ 27/. Illinois’s student teacher ratio of `5.8 currently ranks 35^th in the U.S. 28/

Despite opening four new public schools in 2002, Chicago still has the same number of crowded schools as it did the previous year, due to rising enrollments. Funding for new construction is drying up because of a cap on local property taxes and limited state dollars. About 150 area schools are overcrowded.29/

Crowded Housing: In 2005 over 120,000 Illinois households were defined as crowded or severely crowded by housing authorities.30/ Studies show that a rise in crowded housing often correlates with an increase in the number of foreign-born.31/,32/  

Poverty: In 2005 15 percent of immigrants in Illinois had incomes below the poverty level, an increase of 12.5 percent since 2000. Among non-citizens, the poverty rate climbs to 17.1 percent. 33/

Illegal Residents

The large population of illegal aliens is straining the state’s health care systems. Many illegal aliens lack health insurance and rely on the local emergency rooms and public health clinics for routine care.34/

The Chicago police and public service authorities operate under a “don’t ask, don’t tell” order with regard to illegal aliens, adopted in 1989.35/ Other areas, however, have been frustrated by their inability to work with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). The INS angered Greenfield Mayor Don Chapman in 2002, when it declined to take custody of two illegal aliens pulled over in a traffic stop. An INS spokesperson said that the agency had to be focused on other priorities. Two years earlier, INS agents told the Carrollton Police Chief Mike Kiger to release illegal aliens arrested by his department, saying they didn’t have the manpower to send an agent to take the aliens into custody. Kiger said he was so upset that he even offered to transport the illegal aliens to an INS detention center but was told to simply let them go.36/

 Endotes:

1. FAIR estimate based on the 2006 Current Population Survey.
2. "Estimates of the Unauthorized Migrant Population for States based on the March 2005 CPS", Pew Hispanic Center.
3. Martin, Jack. “Breaking the Piggy Bank: How Illegal Immigration is Sending Schools into the Red,” A Report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
4. U.S. Census Bureau 2006.
5. Jack Martin. “Issue Brief: Estimation of Foreign Born Birthrate.” FAIR. 2008
6. Jack Martin and Stanley Fogel. “Projecting the U.S. Population to 2050.” FAIR. March 2006.
7. U.S. Geological Survey. 2000.
8. John Roszkowski. “Water conservation counters area’s population growth.” Lake Villa Review. May 15, 2008.
9. Kahrin Deines. “Area’s growth will be primed by water; report will lay out scenarios.” Medill Reports. May 22, 2008.
10. Jerry Dennis. “Water: Demand & Supply.” Chicago Wilderness Magazine. December 2007.
11. Kahrin Deines. “Area’s growth will be primed by water; report will lay out scenarios.” Medill Reports. May 22, 2008.
12. Jerry Dennis. “Water: Demand & Supply.” Chicago Wilderness Magazine. December 2007.
13. “Table DP-1-4, Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000,” Census 2000, U.S. Census Bureau.
14. Beck, Roy and Leon Kolankiewicz, “Weighing Sprawl Factors in Large U.S. Cities,” NumbersUSA, March 2001.
15. Illinois State Factsheet, Migration Information Source, Migration Policy Institute.
16. Gary Wisby, “Illinois Emissions Top 99 Countries’ Combined,” Chicago Sun-Times, September 5, 2002.
17. “State of the Air 2005: Illinois”, American Lung Association.
18. Ibid.
19. “Table DP-1-4, Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000,” Census 2000, U.S. Census Bureau.
20. “Table DP-1-4, Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 1990,” 1990 Census, U.S. Census Bureau.
21. Report Card for America's Infrastructure 2005," American Society of Civil Engineers.
22. Robert McCoppin, “You Wasted $1,235 and 67 Hours Sitting in Traffic, Study Says,” Chicago Daily Herald, June 24, 2002.
23. "The 2005 Urban Mobility Report", Texas Transportation Institute.
24. “U.S. Population 2007 Data Sheet,” Population Reference Bureau.
25. "Overview of Public Elementary and Secondary Schools and Districts: School Year 1999-2000," National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education.
26. "Public Elementary and Secondary School Student Enrollment, High School Completions, and Staff From the Common Core of Data: School Year 2005-06', National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, June 2007.
27. Ibid.
28. Kate N. Grossman, “Number of Crowded Schools Stays Same,” Chicago Sun-Times, October 10, 2002.
29. Selected Housing Characteristics: 2005 Data Set - 2005 American Community Survey, American Fact Finder, U.S. Census Bureau.
30. Haya El Nasser, “U.S. Neighborhoods Grow More Crowded,” USA Today, July 7, 2002.
31. Randy Capps, “Hardship Among Children of Immigrants: Findings from the 1999 National Survey of America’s Families,” Urban Institute, 2001.
32. “Illinois State Factsheet,” Migration Information Source, Migration Policy Institute.
33. Ana Mendieta, “Hospitals Pay Medical Costs of Undocumented,” Chicago Sun-Times, December 11, 2001
34. Mary Mitchell, “City, State Thumb Nose at Immigration Laws,” Chicago Sun-Times, January 19, 1997.
35. Chicago Sun-Times, January 19, 1997.