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HARRISBURG, ILLINOISTHURSDAYWEATHERTonight: Fair, low In the 60s. Friday: Sunny, high around 85. Chance of rain through the weekend, highs in the 80s, lows in the 60s.INSIDECiocktower willbe finished, HOPCommentary 2Records................4Business ....•••*■.*..*■5 Comics .8Lifestyles .......•••*•••8Entertainment 11Classified 14-17TEMPERATURESHigh Wednesday was 79; low; was66. Precipitation to 7 a.m.: 0.11inches.Mni mil111 11MAssociated Press WriterWASHINGTON — The number of poor Americans soared to 35.7 million in 1991,more than in any year since 1964, the CensusBureau said today.The figures, sure to become potent political fodder in this election year, showed 2.1 million Americans were added to the poverty rolls in the second year of the current economic downturn.Poor Americans accounted for 14.2 percent of the population, up from 13.5 percent the year before and topping 14 percent for the first time since 1985.The government defines a poor person as someone whose income is below the nationalpoverty line. For a family of four in 1991, thepoverty line was $ 13,924. For someone livingalone, the line was $6,932.Number of poor soared in1991Thehold income declined by 3.5 percent toadministrations of Democrat Jimmy Carter, and Republicans Gerald R. Ford and Richard M. Nixon.more Americans poor.$30,126, after adjusting for inflation.In 1990, there were 33.6 million poor Americans, up about 50,000 from the previ-Although higher poverty figures give Democrats a chance to blame Republican“We’ve had some long-term trends in the private economy that weren’t created by either party, that are increasing both poverty and income disparity,’’ Greenstein said.of poor peopleworked, and 9 percent had year time jobs.poor lacked medicalous year.Before President Lyndon Johnson’s “War on Poverty” began in 1965, typically more than 20 percent of the nation was poor. Johnson’s much-criticized big-program approacheconomic policies, the Bush administration can point the finger at the Democratic Congress for raising taxes, said Robert Rector, an analyst with the conservative Heritage Foundation.Declining wages for low-skilled work and a weakening of labor unions have lowered income. Faced with such trends, other coun-msurance0 73 percent received public assistance.tries, such as Canada, responded with pro-Critics of the government’s poverty statistics say the numbers are misleading.grams that cushioned the effects on families.4 4poor successfully loweredpoverty rate to below 15 percentSince then, the poverty rate has ranged from a low of 11 percent in 1974 to a high ofAny time a recession throws people out of work, incomes are going to fall. The question people have to ask is what caused this re-Rector said in an interview“It’s pretty clear the policy changes here not only didn’t cushion the effects, but made the trends worse,” Greenstein said.The government’s poverty level, adjusted regularly for inflation, is based on monetary income before taxes. It excludes non-cashcession, Wednesday.The government also said:benefits such as food stamps, medicaid and public housing. Also, ownership of a house, a15.2 percent in 1983, during the last reces-But Robert Greenstein, executive director□ 40 percent of the poor were children,sion.beenof the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities,and 11 percent were elderly.□ The South had the highest poverty ratecar or any other property has no effect on whether a household meets the government’s definition of poverty.the administrationsa Washington advocacy group, said simple political fingerpointing masks the fact thatat 16 percent. Poverty rates for other regions were the Northeast, ll.2 percent; Midwest,4 4than in the preceding deep changes in the economy have made 13.2 percent; and West, 14.3 percentWhen Donald Trump had a bad year, he can be treated as poor, because he had negative income,” Rector said.By CURTIS WINSTON Staff WriterHarrisburg teachers and the Board of Education will get back tothe table in a meeting called for Sunday.Board of Education President Gary Ellis said today that he was glad to have “the opportunity to sit down and discuss the issues,” but was “cautiously hopeful” an agreement could be reached to end theteachers’ strike.Jim Butler, president of the Harrisburg Education Association, the union that represents the 147 striking teachers in Unit 3 schools, said today that a federal mediator called the meeting.The meeting is called for 1:30 p.m. Sunday “at an undisclosed location,” Butler said. The secrecy is at the request of Federal Mediator Sheldon Walker, Butler said.Harrisburg teachers are striking because they have no contract. Thestrike is in its 12th day today, keeping 2,300 students out of the classroom.Negotiations were last held Aug.24, \w\ih the parlies coming awayfrom the table in a stalemate.The last offer from the board wasWalker had been in contact withLynn Towery, a parent who has help organize efforts to call for an end to the strike. Towery has saida three-year contract offering raisesof $400, $550 and $600 each year. The board also proposed a $40 increase in insurance benefits.that Walker told her a meeting could be called as long as both parties were interested.Contract language dealing with hiring for vacant positions also was proposed by the board, with theThe Daily Register died repeat-union giving up its all rights to extra-duty positions and exclusiveedly Wednesday and today to contact Walker for comment. Messages were left on an answering machine at an Evansville, Ind. telephone number, with no response.Both the HEA and the Board ofEducation say they are hopeful anrights to teaching positions.HEA wants the 21-year-old vacancy hiring clause kept mostly intact, with the possibilty of giving up just rights to extra-duty positions. However, it would not give up rights to teaching positions.HEA’s last offer on salaries wasagreement could be reached.a three-year contract of a $1,85044We’ve been ready and willing to negoiate all along. We just hope the board is ready to negotiate, Butler said.raise this year followed by 6.75 percent increases the following twoyears. HEA also wants the board topay 100 percent of its insurance.FHi iratinn amonrlmontStaff and wire reportsIllinoisans are rallying to aid victims of Hurricane Andrew, sending relief supplies, nurses, water, even bagels and pet food to the devastated areas of Florida and Louisiana.In Harrisburg, a new effort has begun to help the pets of Andrew’s victims.The American Kennel Club is collecting donations for the animals who are suffering, said Cheri White, organizer of the effort. Recent reports indicate animals are roaming the devastated areas searching for food, she said.Donations are being accepted at Cheri’s Pampered Pets, 620 W. Poplar in Harrisburg until noon Friday, and will be taken to Florida to aid the animals.Last weekend, residents in Harrisburg, Eldorado, Carmi and other area communities rallyedto fill a semi-trailer with food and other items toaid Floridians with basic human needs.Many other relief efforts are taking place around the state.Sears, Roebuck Co. provided a plane to fly 12 obstetric nurses from Rush-Prebyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center to Doctors Hospital inCoral Gables, Fla., to spell nurses there who have been working 12-hour shifts since the hurricanestruck, hospital spokesman Dave Newcom saidWednesday night.“Rush will continue to pay the 12 nurses and cover expenses while in Florida,” he said.Some of the Chicago nurses, who left Tuesday, carried two suitcases, one filled with foodand the other with clothing, Rush spokeswomanCarolyn Reed said.Forty-one American Red Cross disaster workers from Illinois are joining more than 4,000 suchworkers in areas hit by the hurricane. The workers will help to open family service centers where caseworkers will hand out vouchers for food,clothing, medicine and temporary housing.A train pulling five tank cars of water donatedby AJE. Staley of Decatur was sent to Florida and Chicago-based Illinois Central joined other railroads in providing free transportation of reliefRELIEF FUND—Cindy Murphy donates a check to Ron Ledford, chairman of theSaline County Salvation Army Unit, as part of a Hurricane Andrew Relief Fund set up bythe army. Ledford said people interested in making a monetary donation to the fund should make their donations to the army’s Eldorado location on Route 142. (Nick Mariano photo)supplies Andrew’s victims.In Bloomington, the local newspaper launched a two-day relief effort to raise 42,000 pounds of goods to be sent to the Miami area. A C-130 transport plane from the Air National Guard at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago was to airlift the supplies on Friday.I think it is a wonderful outpouring of generosity on the part of the citizens of central Illinois,” said The Bloomington Pantagraph publisher John Goldrick. “I am confident the effortemployees in Fldrida and Louisiana who were affected by the hurricane.Kraft also sent a truckload of Lender’s bagels to Florida victims.Catholics in the Archdiocese of Springfield have contributed S72,400 so far toward relief efforts. More donations were expected to come in within the next week. Seventy-six of the 171 parishes in the diocese have sent contributions so far.will ease the burden of the citizens of southern Florida.The money will be sent on to the national Catholic Charities office, which will use it toIn Chicago, radio station WJJD has been broadcasting pleas this week for needed rebuilding materials in Andrew’s wake.Employees of Kraft General Foods in Glenview, Northfield and Deerfield are being asked for cash donations to distribute to the company’ssupport its disaster response teams in Florida and Louisiana.In DeKalb, Mary Simons has organized Operation Florida Storm and is hoping to collect enough non-perishable food, bottled water, toiletry products and other goods to send at least two tractor trailers full of the items to Florida.
Newspaper Details
Harrisburg Daily Register
Harrisburg, Illinois, US
Thu, Sep 03, 1992
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Kat G.
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