Download the 2009 report

Download the methodology appendix

Getting By & Getting Ahead utilizes the 2009 Illinois Self-Sufficiency Standard to help us understand how Illinois families are faring in light of a changing economy.

The report illustrates that the struggles facing many Illinois families today did not begin with the current economic crisis. Economic security has been steadily eroding throughout the last few decades. Not only are more people than ever before without jobs, but over the long term the economy has shifted leaving fewer good-paying, family-supporting job opportunities available in the first place.

This new economic reality has led to stagnating and declining incomes at the same time that the costs of many basic goods have skyrocketed over the last few decades. Consequently, Illinoisans are under tremendous pressure to provide for their families – they have fewer resources available to pay for more.

The report reveals that many more families in Illinois are falling short of economic stability than the traditional measure of hardship—the federal poverty line—suggests. In Illinois in 2009, it takes an annual income of $49,030 for a single parent with a preschooler and a school-age child to make ends meet without assistance. In Illinois, an estimated 1 million non-senior households fall below the Self-Sufficiency Standard, with 652,000 households falling between the poverty line and the Self-Sufficiency Standard.

The report concludes by discussing strategies to help families get by and get ahead and also discusses how advocates, business leaders, policymakers, and service providers can use the Standard as they educate, advocate, and plan in their communities.

Past Illinois Self-Sufficiency Reports

The 2009 edition of the Self-Sufficiency Standard is Illinois' 3rd edition. Prior Standard reports were issued in 1998 and in 2001.  

Download the 2001 report

Download the 1998 report

The Social IMPACT Research Center's Illinois Self-Sufficiency Project is made possible through the generous support of the Grand Victoria Foundation and the Chicago Foundation for Women.