SPRINGFIELD, IL – State Rep. Karen Yarbrough (D-Maywood) on Wednesday passed legislation out of the Illinois House that would create a Commission on the Elimination of Poverty, with the goal of cutting poverty in Illinois by 50 percent by 2015.

“As one of the wealthier states in the nation, it is important that we in Illinois set a high goal for the elimination of poverty,” Yarbrough said.  “By creating this commission of individuals determined to improve the quality of life for our poorest residents, we can develop a framework, recommend specific legislative actions, and work together to realize our goal of reducing poverty.”

Yarbrough’s House Bill 4369 creates the Commission on the Elimination of Poverty and charges it with specific tasks in order to achieve its primary goal of a 50 percent reduction of poverty in Illinois by 2015.  The commission must address access to safe, decent and affordable housing, access to adequate food and nutrition, access to quality and affordable health care, equal access to quality education and training, and dependable and affordable transportation.  The legislation is the result of a series of statewide forums on poverty organized by the Mid-America Institute on Poverty at the Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights.

"The Commission on Poverty Elimination is an essential tool in making freedom from poverty a reality for all Illinoisans,” Doug Schenkelberg, Associate Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Heartland Alliance, said.  “Close to 700,000 individuals are living in extreme poverty in our state, a condition that deprives people of their dignity and compromises their ability to put food on the table and a roof over their heads. Thanks to Rep. Yarbrough's leadership on this issue, Illinois is poised to become a national model for how states can comprehensively address poverty."

House Bill 4369 now moves to the Senate for further consideration.  For more information, please contact Yarbrough’s constituent service office at (708) 615-1747.

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