THE 2010 ILLINOIS RURAL LIFE POLL PRESENTATION TO THE 2011 DOWNSTATE SUMMIT

Chris Merrett, Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs, Western Illinois University

Financial Support Provided by Rural Partners

Introduction

From Capital Fax – September 12, 2011

“ The President and CEO of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce Doug Whitley was quoted saying something interesting the other day…

Whitley said one of the problems facing Illinois is that ‘Cook County people are out of touch with the pain of the people of downstate Illinois.’”

Freeport (IL) Journal Standard, September 10. Online:http://www.journalstandard.com/news/business/x1413024114/Whitley-touts-importance-of-limiting-government-s-scope.

The question posed by Capital Fax…

“Do you agree with Whitley? Take the poll and then tell us why or why not. Also, please tell us which Illinois region you call home. Thanks.”

Results of 647 respondents: 73.5% agreed (476) 26.5% disagreed (171)

Agreed Disagreed0

102030405060708090

100

73.5

26.5

Responses to Cap-ital Fax

Perc

en

t

Voting Pattern of Capital Fax Survey

Purpose Outline

Implications of Capital Fax survey… Polarization is serious.

Report on the 2010 Illinois Rural Life Poll. Explore extent to

which polarization exists.

Identify areas of common ground between rural and urban Illinois.

1. Illinois Rural Life Poll (IRLP).a) Structure and

Rationale.b) IRLP Survey Results.c) Conclusions.

2. Conclusions and Comments.

1(a). IRLP Structure & Rationale

1(a). IRLP Structure and Rationale Trend Data Shows:

Long term economic and demographic stagnation / decline.

Where to find solutions to this socioeconomic malaise? Ask residents of rural communities.

Illinois Rural Life Poll conducted by the IIRA. Financial support from Rural Partners.

Metadata Survey during fall 2010. Surveys sent to 8,000 residents across Illinois. Responses received from 1,087 individuals. Response rate of 13.6 percent. 54.8% Non-metro and 45.2% metro. Age bias reflected in survey respondents.

1(a). IRLP Structure and Rationale Survey Structure

Part I Quality of life measures. Adequacy of existing services and infrastructure.

Part II Looking to the future. Importance of specific services (e.g. health),

amenities (e.g. recreation), and infrastructure (e.g. roads and IT) to improving rural communities.

Part III Background information about respondents. Demographics, location, educational attainment,

etc.

1(b). Survey Results

PART I: QUALITY OF LIFE

Nonmetro Metro Stat.

All Responde

nts

Question Mean Mean Sig. Mean• During the last five years, the

quality of life in your community has become...

2.62 2.79 Y 2.69

• During the last five years, the quality of life in your family has become...

3.05 3.20 Y 3.12

• In the next five years, the quality of life in your community will become...

2.82 3.08 Y 2.94

• In the next five years, the quality of life in your family will be... 3.25 3.41 Y 3.32

• In the next five years, the overall economic prospects for rural Illinois families will be...

2.42 2.57 Y 2.49

• Compared to a year ago, your financial situation today has become...

2.80 2.85 N 2.82

Coding: 1=Much Worse to 5=Much Better.Source: IIRA's Illinois Rural Life Poll, Fall/Winter 2010, Final Data, n=1,087.

PART I: CURRENT SERVICESMetropolitan Status of

County

Nonmetro Metro Stat.

All Responde

ntsService Category Mean Mean Sig. Mean

1. Library services 4.03 4.12 N 4.082. Parks and recreation 3.70 4.12 Y 3.883. Solid waste disposal 3.70 3.95 Y 3.814. Law enforcement 3.60 3.98 Y 3.775. Access to Internet 3.60 3.89 Y 3.766. Basic medical care services 3.55 3.94 Y 3.737. Housing 3.31 3.73 Y 3.508. Senior centers and services 3.53 3.45 N 3.499. Education (K-12) 3.43 3.42 N 3.4310. Day care services 3.22 3.43 Y 3.3111. Entertainment 2.90 3.52 Y 3.2012. Mental health services 3.09 3.33 Y 3.20

13. Public transit & transportation 2.73 3.21 Y 2.96

14. Local government 2.84 2.94 N 2.90

Coding: 1=Very Dissatisfied to 5=Very Satisfied.Source: IIRA's Illinois Rural Life Poll, Fall/Winter 2010, Final Data, n=1,087.

PART II: LOCAL ECONOMYMetropolitan Status of

County

Nonmetro Metro Stat.

All Responde

nts

Issues Mean Mean Sig. Mean1. Availability of local jobs that

match residents' education 4.32 4.31 N 4.32

2. Local job advancement possibilities 4.31 4.28 N 4.29

3. Ability to buy essential items locally 4.31 4.21 N 4.27

4. Enough skilled trades in area to meet demand 4.28 4.15 Y 4.23

5. Attract high paying local jobs 4.23 4.19 N 4.216. People moving into the

community 4.16 4.13 N 4.15

7. People leaving the community 4.14 3.97 Y 4.078. Attract more retail businesses to

downtown 4.11 3.96 Y 4.04

9. Ability to purchase local goods and services online 3.24 3.26 N 3.24

Coding: 1=Unimportant to 5=Very Important.Source: IIRA's Illinois Rural Life Poll, Fall/Winter 2010, Final Data, n=1,087.

PART II: YOUTH, EDUCATION, AND WORKFORCE TRAINING

Metropolitan Status of County

Nonmetro Metro Stat.

All Respond

ents

Issues Mean Mean Sig. Mean1. Quality of schools 4.67 4.68 N 4.67

2. Ability of local schools to prepare students for college 4.60 4.62 N 4.61

3. Adequacy of school funding 4.60 4.50 Y 4.56

4. Adequacy of work training opportunities in region 4.48 4.42 N 4.45

5. Ability of local schools to train students for jobs 4.44 4.45 N 4.44

6. Improve course offerings in schools 4.28 4.27 N 4.27

7. Youth leaving the community 4.34 4.08 Y 4.23

8. Adequacy of Internet access in schools 4.09 4.09 N 4.08

Coding: 1=Unimportant to 5=Very Important.Source: IIRA's Illinois Rural Life Poll, Fall/Winter 2010, Final Data, n=1,087.

Part II. AgricultureMetropolitan Status of

County

Nonmetro Metro Stat.

All Respond

entsIssues Mean Mean Sig. Mean

1. Creating facilities and jobs to produce clean energy 4.24 4.12 N 4.19

2. Availability of locally produced food 4.14 4.17 N 4.163. Development of commercial uses for

waste products 4.10 4.16 N 4.124. Information about opportunities to use

agricultural products in economic development 4.15 4.01 Y 4.09

5. Value-added agriculture 4.11 4.00 N 4.07

6. Creating wind energy facilities 3.88 3.88 N 3.88

7. Creating biofuels facilities, such as biodiesel 3.87 3.76 N 3.82

Coding: 1=Unimportant to 5=Very Important.

Source: IIRA's Illinois Rural Life Poll, Fall/Winter 2010, Final Data, n=1,087.

PART II: HEALTH, HOUSING AND WELFAREMetropolitan Status of

County

Nonmetro Metro

Stat.

All Responde

ntsIssues Mean Mean Sig. Mean1. Affordable health care 4.76 4.71 N 4.732. Access and availability of health insurance 4.65 4.64 N 4.63

3. Local access to health care (doctors, dentists, etc.) 4.58 4.51 N 4.55

4. Preserve local hospitals 4.52 4.54 N 4.545. Access to ambulance service 4.58 4.49 N 4.546. Facilities / services for elderly 4.50 4.43 N 4.477. Local access to specialized health care (MRI, etc.) 4.45 4.44 N 4.46

8. Availability of housing for elderly residents 4.47 4.46 N 4.45

9. Availability of affordable housing 4.37 4.37 N 4.3710. Preserve public health department 4.36 4.23 Y 4.3211. Housing for young families 4.33 4.25 N 4.2912. Recreation and services for teenagers 4.33 4.21 Y 4.2713. Affordable child care 4.32 4.18 Y 4.2514. Recreation / services for young children 4.30 4.14 Y 4.22

15. Local access to mental health services 4.17 4.07 N 4.14

Coding: 1=Unimportant to 5=Very Important.Source: IIRA's Illinois Rural Life Poll, Fall/Winter 2010, Final Data, n=1,087.

PART II: PUBLIC SERVICESMetropolitan Status

of County

Nonmetro Metro

Stat.

All Respond

entsIssues Mean Mean Sig. Mean1. Responsiveness of state agencies to local

requests 4.23 4.25 N 4.23

2. Quality of cooperation among local governments to provide services 4.09 4.12 N 4.10

3. Better coordination in providing public services 3.91 3.92 N 3.91

4. Amount of services provided by local government 3.83 3.78 N 3.81

5. Greater access to state government by citizens (via public hearings, etc.) 3.83 3.76 N 3.80

6. Technology to deliver government services to residents 3.74 3.73 N 3.75

7. Duplication or overlap of state agencies 3.69 3.81 N 3.74

8. Easier access to state government services (via Internet, etc.) 3.66 3.71 N 3.68

9. Easier access to local government services (via Internet, etc.) 3.60 3.66 N 3.63

10. Adequacy of public transportation 3.55 3.63 N 3.59Coding: 1=Unimportant to 5=Very Important.

PART III: DEMOGRAPHICSAll Respondents

Characteristic Percent No.

Gender

Male 59.9% 646

Female 40.1% 433

What is your current marital status?

Married 66.2% 710

Single, never married 5.4% 58

Widowed 15.3% 164

Divorced/separated 10.8% 116

Living together/partner 2.2% 24

Highest level of formal education you have completed?

Less than a high school degree 3.3% 35

High school degree/GED 23.3% 249

Some college (no degree) 26.1% 279

Associate (two-year) degree 9.3% 99

Bachelors (four-year) degree 12.5% 133

Some graduate work 6.5% 69

Graduate degree or higher 19.1% 204

Source: IIRA's Illinois Rural Life Poll 2010, Final Data, N = 1,087

PART III: DEMOGRAPHICSAll Respondents

Characteristic Percent No.

Age Category

Under 40 Years Old 5.9% 63

40 to 64 Years Old 49.6% 526

65 to 74 Years Old 24.0% 254

75 Years and Older 20.5% 217

No. children less than 18 years of age currently living in your home?

No children under 18 years old 84.4% 914

One child 4.7% 51

Two children 7.2% 78

Three children 2.5% 27

Four or more children 1.2% 13

Home Ownership

Own your home 93.1% 983

Rent your home 6.9% 73

PART III: DEMOGRAPHICSAll Respondents

Characteristic Percent No.Which of the following best describes where you live?In a town 64.1% 688On a farm 7.3% 78In the country, not a farm 15.4% 165In a rural subdivision 12.6% 135Other 0.7% 7

Community SizeUnder 5,000 population 39.6% 4145,000 - 9,999 population 16.8% 17610,000 - 24,999 population 20.5% 21425,000 and larger population 23.1% 242

Metro 2003Nonmetro 54.8% 550Metro 45.2% 454

Regions basedNorth 21.6% 217Central 29.6% 297South-central 23.5% 236South 25.2% 253

1(b). Survey Results – Some Written Comments 25 pages of written comments Attract business to our area -

We need jobs! Better politics Bring in more jobs, better retail

stores Cellulosic ethanol not corn based Clean coal technology very

important for this area Ethanol is over rated Expansion of gas stations to

carry E85 Get the government out of our

lives High speed internet to rural

residents Improve education funding Improvement of health care

insurance availability Jobs related to energy production

(Green Energy)

Local grocery store & local transportation

Chicago gets all the money in Illinois. Change that.

Excellent survey This was goofy. Modernize local government None of Your Damn Business!!! Thanks for asking! Somebody

cares! The poor are poorer - the rich are

richer - nothing will change that - and asking questions is just busy work to occupy your time until payday.

We don't have a M.D. in our county. We have to drive at least 35 miles to large stores. We need more businesses in our county.

What R yall doin to help us?

1(c). Conclusions and Questions

1(c). Conclusions

See importance of issues across geographies. Jobs, healthcare and education highly ranked

regardless of metro or non-metro location. See areas of difference between rural and urban

regions. Rural respondents were less optimistic and had greater concerns for the following issues: Current life situation Optimism for the future Internet access Local government Transit resources School funding Youth leaving Skilled jobs

2. Conclusions and Questions

2. Conclusions and Questions

Return to initial commentary from Capital Fax: Reaffirm that Rural versus Urban differences exist, persist,

and still matter. But also see that extensive common ground exists

between rural and urban residents in Illinois. How can we build bridges with urban / upstate

stakeholders as we seek solutions to unique downstate challenges?

Look forward to today’s discussions about downstate issues. The IRLP hopefully provides one dataset to help us

better understand those issues. Plans to conduct IRLP every two years.

Welcome questions or comments about this presentation.

Contact Information

Christopher D. Merrett, PhD, DirectorIllinois Institute for Rural AffairsWestern Illinois UniversityMacomb, IL 61455309-298-2281http://www.iira.orgcd-merrett@wiu.edu