Illinois Civic Health Index Compared to the National AverageIllinois 2009 Civic Health IndexNovember 18, 2009
n this section, we refer to the Current Population Survey (CPS) from the Census Bureau to estimate the general engagement level among Illinoisans on four major indicators of civic engagement: volunteering, attendance of public meetings where community issues are discussed, working with neighbors to solve or improve a community problem, and voting. Illinois’ civic health is in a state of continuous decline, made worse by the current economic climate. Fewer Illinoisans volunteer and when they do volunteer, they spend fewer hours on volunteering per year than they did several years ago. In 2008, Illinois’ volunteering rate lagged significantly behind the national average for the first time since 2002.1 In 2008, Illinois ranked 37th in volunteering rate at 24.8%2. The civic decline in Illinois appears to have been ongoing for the past five years - in 2004, the statewide volunteering rate was 29.1% and in 2008, it was 24.8%. From 2003 to 2005 the number of Illinois volunteers held steady at 2.9 million volunteers. In 2008, an estimated 2.5 million Illinoisans volunteered, representing a decline of 500,000 volunteers. Similarly, Illinoisans donated 356 million hours in 2003 but just 279 million hours in 2008, which is a 22% reduction. This recent decline is a result of both a smaller portion of Illinoisans volunteering, but also of a reduced number of hours per volunteer (37 hours in 2003 to 28 hours in 2008). This sharp decline may threaten Illinois’ service core, reducing the amount of service volunteers accomplish in the state. On other indicators of civic health, Illinois was also behind the national average, though the number of people attending a public meeting and working with neighbors did increase from 2007 to 2008. Nationally, Illinois ranked 40th on attendance of public meetings to discuss community affairs, 43rd on working with other in the community to solve a problem, and 37th in voting.3 Continue Reading If you like this kind of content, sign up for an NCoC.net account and we'll customize your homepage recommendations based on your interests..
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