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WNUA Broadcast Date: March 17, 2009

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Illinois’ unemployment rate is hovering close to 8 percent.  The national unemployment rate is already there.
Foreclosures are spreading into affluent communities, even suburbia.   Lay-offs happen weekly.  And as the recently jobless white-collar workers come to depend on the state for basic needs, America’s understanding of poverty is changing.
Now, more than ever before, the middle-class - and even some upper-income families - are the new faces of poverty.  And some of these families are not yet eligible for unemployment benefits.
So is Illinois, with its ever-deepening deficit, prepared to take on the growing number of needy residents?  And how will our new governor’s policies help or hurt the needy?

Geoff Smith, Vice President of the Woodstock Institute and Attorney Dan Lindsey of the Legal Assistance Foundation.

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WNUA Broadcast Date March 22, 2009.

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For those who live on the northside of Chicago - and even out in the suburbs - the housing crisis was something we only read about.  It was only affecting our south and west side neighbors.But as the recession worsens, and job-losses spread into every sector of the economy, northside communities are now seeing their homes foreclosed as well.  Middle-lass neighborhoods like Rodgers Park, Lincoln Square – even Lakeview – have seen sharp increases in forclosures since 2006.So what exactly does this mean?  Is this a sign that the recession is finally ‘bottoming out’ like experts said it would?  Or is it a sign that our economy is getting worse – if that’s possible?  And what are the new challenges organizations face as they shift gears and help a new group citizens?