Southern Illinois dying economically as state leadership ignore and refuse to draw industries to the area. The power brokers do everything to enhance Chicago.
As a Southern Illinois native, it’s common for folks from other parts of the state to refer to basically anything south of Springfield as “Southern Illinois”. Generally our definition for Southern Illinois is confined to the counties that comprise the area referred to as “Little Egypt”. The counties adjacent to St. Louis are generally called The Metro East, and not Southern Illinois by us. Many times Southern Illinois can include the counties south of Mt. Vernon depending on how strict you are. Also, many Southern Illinoisans will have a distinct Southern accent and culture due to the early settlement patterns. With all that said, your assessment of poverty in Southern Illinois is pretty spot on. Beautiful countryside and people, but not a lot of opportunity.
I grew up in the Metro East, and here in Chicagoland, even the talking heads on local news refer to anything south of Joliet as “downstate” or “southern Illinois.” That Southern accent is something you rarely hear in the Metro East, but is very common in the communities south of Bloomington Normal.
Not so bad living in a poor town. My roots go back in Sorento to before it was even founded. I was born and raised in Sorento. Everyone mostly knows everyone. As a small town resident there is a sense of belonging. As Bub Best (Best Hardware And Grocery Store Owner ) once told me...." When your here at home we watch over each other and make sure no one goes without." Poverty level is not good, but in most of the cases in our little town the people live more simply. We do what we can with what we have and see to it that our neighbors are taken care of as well. We have pride in our home town. I have no desire to live anywhere else.
Yep, remember the Chevy Chase movie Vacation ? The scene where they got lost in East ST. Louis and they stole the hubcaps off the car while giving Chevy directions !
Thank you for actually acknowledging the history of Cairo before listing the negatives! People just see it as this rundown place, which it is, but don’t talk about how it happened. The history of Cairo is a lesson
Yes it does, if you keep allowing thuggery, the decent people will leave. They'll take their money and job skills someplace else. Next they'll get rid of subsidized housing, and the population will commute to work.
@@chuckrobinson599 they knocked down most of that in 2019. A guy named Chris Harden did a great you tube video about 2 years ago about Cairo and the surrounding area. I'm not from the area, but I do want to go see it before it's gone
I grew up in CAIRO, and have experienced the GOOD and BAD, I was born there and my children were born there, We all live in other places now-however- it's still HOME. AS LIFE STILL GOES ON. I hear That WASHINGTON DC has it's problems TOO! and the President LIves there sometime!!!
I'm surprised that there aren't other towns listed, because I know a small town east of Kankakee that is definitely poverty stricken. Great video and you have a nice friendly voice
@@bmjv77 I agree, Hopkins Park should have made this list, with a median household annual income of less than $18K. I'm also surprised not to see Ford Heights in this list.
I grew up in Hopkins Park from 1958 to 1971 when I moved away. I loved the experiences and the people. I still have family there. East St. Louis IL., my original home.
My spouse and I met in college at Carbondale in the 1970’s. It was a world unto itself back then and last time we visited, maybe 3 or4 years ago, it had barely changed. A real time capsule. Party school with beautiful natural areas all around and lotsa aging hippies. Never thought of it as poor since we have so many fond memories. Surprised to see it on this list. A simple life, for sure, but as you said a lot of diversity and free thinkers.
I was a grad student at the Rehabilitation Institute of SIU - Carbondale in from 1972 - 1974. It certainly had a lot of unique characteristics. I am from Indiana, originally some 40 miles northeast of Indy and have lived in Fort Wayne for 45 years now. Southern Illinois has limited job opportunities, but I actually obtained my first professional one at a public/mental health department in the Harrisburg area for a couple of years.
I visited Carbondale in 2023...and the main street, The Strip, now looks abandoned and most businesses are gone. I was told by "locals" that Carbondale was dying and it is. Crime is up, businesses are closing up and not being replaced and SIU-C is still losing enrollment, has been for over 20 plus years. I worked at SIU-C and lived there for awhile...I'd never go back after what I've seen.
@@zosoiv71when I was at SIU in the late 70s I used to go regularly to a sandwich shop called “boobys” they had food to die for, remember the uproar the name caused for a while…..always have those few who think they rule.
There are almost no gas stations on the Illinois side of any border. Went to Indiana yesterday. Gas was 50 cents a gallon cheaper than Illinois. Taxes.
Surprised to see Carbondale on this list, as opposed to Murphysboro. I was born in Cairo, but was raised primarily in northernmost Union County. If you want to see some towns that fit well within the given category, try Grand Tower/Red Town, Ware, McClure, and even my hometown of Wolf Lake. In a lot of small southern towns, unless you work at a farm, the river, the highway, or own a very successful meth kitchen, the job outlook is very limited. Since I moved to Michigan 18yrs ago, I have accomplished more personally, and professionally, due to better opportunities. I now own more than I ever could have, if I stayed in Southern Illinois or Illinois in general.
Surprisingly Cairo isnt up the list higher. I’ve driven past there often and only thing I see worth any time there is the fairly new Dollar General off the exit
My two older sisters live in Olive Branch and Pulaski and they can't leave.They're too poor to leave.They're seniors now and stuck from fear and age.It's sad.My other sister and I help them by sending them money and visiting them as much as we can but we live in the northeast part of the state and they live down there in what we call Bumfuckt,Egypt.
Took the family to Carbondale 4 years ago to see the eclipse. Seemed nice enough. Stayed with an old student of mine who's back yard was the neighbor's farm. To be fair though, I never had to get off of Rt. 13 except to drive the half mile to her house.
Venice brings back memories. I did part of my student teaching at the school shown at the 4:04 mark. My dad said, "you see that rail yard outside the window of your school? That's where I work most of the time." FYI--Centreville no longer exists as a city; in the last election it merged with two other equally struggling cities to form Cahokia Heights. Ironic since all three communities forming the new city are on river bottom land.
Living in deep Southern Illinois, a person can live very comfortably on $25-$30k per year as a single person. One year when I made $25k, I saved a bundle with a monthly mortgage of $188
I have never lived in Illinois, but literally down the river in Memphis. Like most southerners, I have relatives that live in Chicagoland and have spent a lot of time travelling in Illinois. By driving on I-55 and I-57, one sees rich farmland, oil derricks, impressive rail plants and wind turbines just to name of just of few of the resources of Illinois. However, a bunch of clueless and/or corrupt politicians are primarily responsible for making the great state a place to leave. Yes, I know this is the short answer, and I know out of control criminals have destroyed vast portions of Chicago and the whole city of East St. Louis. One thing that I find interesting is that the current gov thinks that having a so-called fair tax will fix the underfunded and overly generous pension plans, bring investment back to Illinois, etc. Really the gov is a billionaire and he, of all people should know that trying to keep capital in one area is as foolish as trying to hold water in cupped hands. It is just not possible, especially when Illinois has eight border states with much lower taxes that are more business friendly. I am not the first person to say this, and will not be the last, but Illinois is unfixable in its current state, and the only foreseeable solution is to somehow wipe the slate clean.
I'm from St clair co illinois and took a weekend trip to Memphis in 2018 to go to the zoo and sightsee with my mother. The homelessness was rampant I think I almost got robbed I was scared to walk at night and it was filthy and the liquor laws were awful. Very enjoyable 👎👎. I will say I went to Nashville in 2019 and had a great time and want to go back soon.
I once drove to a small village called Hopkins Park, IL. Definitely eye-opening, since most people there didn't even have running water or reliable electricity... I guess this place (>50% poverty rate) is way too ignored to actually make this list...
Venice, Madison, East St. Louis, and (what used to be) Centreville all sit within 13 miles of each other, which just shows how dilapidated much of the Metro-East section of the St. Louis area has become.
Yes I know Brooklyn , Venice, East St Louis , Washington Park , Centerville , all of the Metro East I'm a Cahokia native But I'm gone now I've been away from St Louis for 18 years I'm hundreds and hundreds of miles away. Dexter 🧔🤠 👋
Interesting and sad to see this. I've lived in the central and southern part of Illinois most of my life and have witnessed the decline of some of these towns. The entire state has suffered from a terrible business climate with the corresponding lack of good jobs. Illinois is a truly beautiful state and should be a great place to live but really isn't anymore.
Yes...Gary steel fed Detroit and Chicago made a lot of components for cars and aircraft. Not anymore. Chicago long profited from the rail connection between the great lakes and the MIssissippi river, and lifted the economy of the entire state. Farmers did pretty well. Steel, cattle & slaughter houses, all gone. Electronics, gone. I had a series of factory jobs as I paid my way thru college for 13 years, and NONE of those factories exist anymore. The bootstraps I pulled myself up by no longer exist. The people back there who are flourishing are retires with social security and pensions. I will never endure a northern Illinois winter again. All factory labor moved to China if it could.
My dad worked for Tidewater Oil Co. and we lived in Robinson Ill. then Hardinville and in 1959 it went belly up and people left for work and we had to leave too. But the people of Ill. deserve better from the elected officials running the place, because they are the salt of the earth and this country.
I'm not I lived there for 2 years while a student over 30 years ago and even then most of the town was a complete dump. I grew up just over the Kentucky border and even though I haven't been in the area in over 20 years I have learned that SIUC enrollment has shrank around 30% in the last 20 years and still shrinking. Which was the only thing Carbondale had going for it. The vast majority of students where from the Chicago suburbs and St. Louis so I suspect as because both cities are among the two fastest shrinking cities in the country that has something to do with it and because Illinois has had financial troubles for decades now the state has drastically reduced funding for it's farthest most outpost playground for Chicago rich kids , and that was all SIUC ever was anyway.
EXACTLY… the ones who endeavor an make it out of poverty are fortunate. The system isn’t set up for EVERYBODY to have a college education an good paying job
3 local businesses in my home town shut down because they raised the minimum wage. So many worker that don't need to support a full household but want to work. An assistant manager at McDonald's makes more than the average income earner in my home town. I mean get promoted at McDonald's and you can pay your bills. Is that too much?
I'm originally from Illinois and I've been through Cairo several times. I've seen when it was a bustling community and it's sad to see it in the shape it's in.
Several of these towns are located within ten miles of St Louis. For those who are employable not having a car is the biggest barrier to employment. East St Louis has the metro train but most residents don't live within walking distance of a train station. But then most who have cars end up moving out into nicer areas.
I Grew up on my Grand Father’s farm north of Goldengate (Between Fairfield and Albion). Just about every building is either gone or deserted. Leach church still standing and so is the family home. Named after the family that invented the caterpillar. I met my wife from Bone Gap. Remember being in towns like: Crossville, Roseclair, Sesser, Christopher, Cross i’ll, Mt Carmel, Olbey, Sims, Wayne City, Flora, Cisne, Oblong, Samsville, West Salem, Elderado, Carmi, and a host of others. Lots of towns with lots of memories.
there a lot of little town that you missed down here, but you got to remember we have a four thousand acer nation forest down here Marion is the most growing town down here. but once you get down to harrisburg you are on the edge of the boonies. we have a meth problem down here. but other wise it is a nice area of the state to live. not all flat and corn fields there are town like caven rock. and we have a ferry that crosses the river to ky. a lot of amish over there. love shopping at there grocery store and and furniture store I live in the little old town of eldoradio we centralized between three states ill, ky and ind. the sawnee nation forest with the garden of the gods which is on our stat quarter. there is also the oldest town in the state of ill. Shawneetown old that is. has the first bank in ill there is good life down here even though we have no money. own my own home my mate owns hers and we live in the good part of town. I would say the crime rate is low.
I have lived in Fort Wayne, Indiana for over 45 years but lived in Carbondale from 1972 to 1974 when I moved to Harrisburg for my first professional job in the county health department there in nearby Eldorado. Had some good times but better after locating to northeast Indiana.
Do a video on Fairfield Illinois 😲 I just moved here from Myrtle Beach south Carolina and it's made me buckle down on my resources there's only one Walmart and it still has one door! I'm 27 and it's been at least 12 years since I seen one door! three fast food places. If you don't have what you need here you got to make due or drive for an hour + just to get it.
Madison basically borders Venice. As well as Granite City, IL. The only reason Granite City thrives is because there is a small hospital there is the steel mill. Then East St Louis is very close to this area as well. It is maybe more sad than most people realize. Racial tension caused so much of this as well as well as factories leaving. Most people in this area actually travel into the Edwardsville, IL area... which is not much farther away and has an entirely demographic. It's actually caused a lot of school rivalry. I'd be interested in a video about this area and the surrounding communities.. this would also include Cahokia, Maryville, Centreville, Collinsville, Edwardsville, Highland, Mascoutah, and maybe Alton... they are all not far apart (Where is your hometown?? Mine is Galesburg, IL. I live in St Louis.)
Hey there's a few small towns around here got more problems especially the strip joints prostitution the robberies the corruption the outrageous taxes and fees a charge $450 for license plates for one year crazy. but believe it or not when, I got home every time I got to in my home town I cried about Illinois for two months. well my little Community is no longer there will never be there again.. it's becoming a wasteland. Born in East St Louis lived in the village of Washington Park... if you love a place enough it'll break your heart. I'm living in the desert out in Arizona... far from the memory
@@journeyingjay3458 Maytag plant closed in early 2000's closed the town down overnight killed Knox Couty Basically Peoria is losing CAT got years and wanting to move out of Peoria down to southern states so they can pay less and not have to unionize and pay for benefits and our horrible government is runned by Crook County (Chicago) all governors in this state have made license plates in the jail system for some kind of fraud. Chicago gets all the money
Back in the mid 1970s I was friends with a couple in Granite City. I was a student at SIU - Carbondale at the time. I think they left the area by the early '80s. I have lived in Fort Wayne, Indiana for forty-five years.
I was born in Macomb .left there in 1957 went into the AF and stayed for 21 years never lived there after that and ot has went down hill every since then
I’m so thankful my brother-in-law came and got me when I was 18 in 1979 got me a job in Chicago Heights. He actually became CEO. I’m so proud of him. He’s just the most wonderful man, but I cannot wait to get back to Peoria Illinois that’s big enough for me. It’s my town I grew up here. I’m very thankful to the spirit for him and also helping me find my trade I take care of peoples trees me and a couple other old school guys here in the area are the best you can find anywhere. And I’m very thankful since the spirit helped me find my trade. I tried to treat it like a gift and I try to be gentle and caring with people with my pricing, especially if you’re seeing someone who is elderly were supposed to serve our communities our friends, our state our country our world holy cow. I’ll be glad one day when maybe more people will feel this way thank you so much. Take care love each other and don’t poop in a bucket. Ha
Illinois is a beautiful state! Especially southern! I live in a village called Cobden. Taxes and gas prices are horrible but other than that its a good place to live
My wife and I moved to Cairo 14 years ago (on purpose!). We both worked in health care and commuted to our jobs, and in Cairo you can get a lot of house for a little money. We bought our first house for $35,000, then bought a second one at the tax sale for $640. Cairo is poor, but it's peaceful and neighborly, and full of rich history. We love this quirky old town and encourage people to check Cairo out with an open mind.
Another important note about East St. Louis is the destruction of whole neighborhoods when the interstate highways were built. That poor city never had a chance.
Yes. That is also how many other thriving minority communities were destroyed. Railroads and highways were built in specific locations to stop those communities from further progress. If American was less racist it would certainly be a much better nation.
@@doreybain I remember being in second grade when the first African Americans were bused into our school in about 1964/1965. Realtors bought one home in all white neighborhoods and sold to an African American family, and the times being what they were, soon there were for sale signs going up throughout the city. At the time this practice was called “Block Busting.” It didn’t take long for racial violence to overtake the schools at every grade level and that added to the panic. My dad sold our place right away and got out before it became an all African American city, within maybe 5-10 years hence. When I look at Google Earth all the beautiful neighborhoods around us growing up have been leveled for miles around but you can still see the lot lines. It’s a pity because if everyone hadn’t panicked and fled the city it might have worked out much differently over the long term.
I AM A SENIOR CITIZEN AND ENJOY PEACE LIVING HERE IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. FINACIALLY MY MONEY SERVES ME WELL< AFTERALL >ITS ABOUT MANAGEMENT, I DON"T OWN A CAR MAINLY BECAUSE I HAVE BAD NERVES AND DON'T DRIVE
The “corn” is always greener so many younger people go out in search of it. I have found in 70 years that the fewer people you have to rub shoulders with is a good thing! To each his own.
Carbondale should probably not be on that list. While the jobs that mostly employ students pay really badly, the University pays its employees very well and people tend to live well. The low priced homes would be in the student areas where they are usually purchased as rental properties. The town population doubles when the students are there and that skews all of the figures.
I was born in St Clair County, moved to Madison County, and lived in Chicago for 2 years. Most of the places on this list I've either been to or know pretty well. Madison and Venice are terrible. I was almost carjacked in Venice before, my first job in 1997 was in Madison at the Dairy Queen. I was in the National Guard stationed in East St. Louis. All bad areas. I lived near south side of Chicago for about a year as well. Somehow I was never actually a victim of crime. Oh, if you forget about the time my stereo was stolen out of my car.
I was raised 20 miles from Carbondale and I'm very surprised to see it on the list. I thought there was plenty of money floating around. I'm sure that the large number of college students had an effect on the numbers.
@@skliros9235 It's still 11,000 in a city of 27,000. They pull that income number way down. I would think Murpysboro or even Marion would be on here ahead of Salukiville. And let's not get started about Herrin.
SIUC alumni here, there were 22,000 students in 2009 when I graduated. In 2019 it was down to 10 or 11 thousand. Buildings on campus that were full of life and learning lay barren and homecoming was just a shadow of its former glory and excitement.
I'm from Illinois... glad to have moved away to Missouri almost 20 yrs ago... just thinking... if you live out in sticks...have little to no debt & don't need what the world does to make you happy... money isn't all that... some of these places are extremely dangerous...but Illinois is know for its farm land... and living simple off the land is incredibly slendid...
expecting to see ford heights, sauk village or Chicago heights on here.. born in Chicago heights, raised in sauk billage my whole life.. about 25 minutes from the south side
Lived in Sauk Village from 1993 - 2010. It was very nice when we moved there. Literally left my mobile home to charity and never looked back. The gangs surrounded my house and nothing was done about it. The police were quitting left and right. Projects came down in Chicago and moved to Sauk Village. Will never go back there to even reminisce.
I was born in Quincy. They work hard to keep things together, but the county population is about the same as 100 years ago when the land area of the city limits was less than half the current size. It's not what it was in 1965 - west of 12th Street was much better then. My parents rented a house on north 6th next to mansions, now the street is sad - even the trees are gone, but they recently spent a lot of money to improve 6th downtown.
Please remember 2 of the towns Venice / Madison are in a area ( St. Louis metro) where a majority of the people in these 2 towns were in the meat packing industry , now gone as are the Stockyards in National City. Also at the river bends, N S. Louis at one time was the #1 shoe mfgr in the world. When the Clean Water EPA passed in 1970 all the shoe mfgr moved to India and with no clean water act the Gagnes River is now a " DEAD RIVER " no life in the Gagnes River. Sad oh so sad. Madison / Venice have great HS basketball teams .
WOW! Read ALL of these comments. Born in Bloomington, schooled in Normal and Hudson. Danville Jr College then Champaign-Urbana (worked at Red Lion:) anyone remember?😆 🤣 1972?? Moved all over country then Pontiac left again then back. Decatur School of Practical Nursing 1994. Left for years until Mom talked me into helping my brother in Dowell, huge mistake!! Then Christopher for 2 horrible months, then Carbondale women's shelter 😢 NOW STUCK IN DUQUOIN ON SOC SEC!!! So I know this state pretty well!! After living in AZ, CA, CO, LA and WI the best 👌 you didn't mention that Southern Illinois is a MAJOR METH CAPITAL 😳 😬 or does that fall into the "manufacturing" category??🤔 Our governor doesn't see past Springfield!! These are dying ghost towns full of abandoned factories, businesses and no hope for any recovery or future for the children who's parents are financially stuck here. The schools suck, bars ONLY allow state video poker machines to promote gambling addiction NOTHING ELSE!! It's ILLEGAL 🚫 😤 to play cards in the local bar like my dad's fellow farmers did in the winter!!! Ok now I'm just venting but it's no wonder people go to WI for fun!! We have fun and businesses and jobs and rich houses on our lakes!! Illinois has a parking lot and maybe a picnic table?? I see missed opportunities and representatives who get paid for doing nothing and making false promises just to get elected!!! GRRRRR I'M DONE in case anyone has read this far?? I'm just mad and 😥 😔 😟 🙁 😞 😿
EAST STLOUIS WAS VERY BUSY AND ALTON WAS ABOUT THIRTY YEARS AGO ITS THE SAME IN ALOT OF PLACES ALL THE GOOD PAYING JOBS ARE GONE INDUSTRY JUST LET EVERYTHING RUN DOWN AND JUST CLOSED UP
I was born in E.St.Louis in 1966 and it has always been terrible.It got bad due to the Democrats in the early 1900's.They didn't like the Southern Blacks moving up to St.Louis and E.St.Louis during the Great Migration,so they started the famous 1917 Race Riot.And St.Louis was involved because they wanted to tear down E.St.Louis due to the fact that it was beginning to grow and prosper and St.Louis couldn't have that kind of competition so they created a Riot in typical Democrat fashion.
Great video, Thanks:) it seems like Southern Illinois is a forgotten and neglected area in the state, I am curious since my partner comes from this area. I think is very common, sadly so, most states neglect rural areas and only concentrate on big cities, which tend to dominate and rule, I live in metro Portland Oregon, it dictates the rules for the rest of the state. Yet, PDX is a complete mess nowadays.
As a Southern Illinois resident born and raised in Ullin, I remember my Daddy saying that Illinois Government acts like "Southern Illinois" STOPS above Mt Vernon. I never understood what he meant by that until I got older. And it honestly couldn't be more true. All that said, I couldn't imagine living anywhere else ❤️
You've clearly never been to Irving... I lived there for a few years growing up. There's nothing there but one grain elevator (if it's still there this was almost 30 years ago) and one little Casey's gas station. We had a video "store" which was literally an old couple with a large VHS collection in their garage that would lend you a movie for 50 cents a night. Maybe 200 people lived there. Used to have a school but it closed long before I lived there and was turned into apartments that were filled with drug addicts.
Gonna be interesting to see if Carmi makes the list. We lived in an itty bitty town near there off the Wabash river in the early 90’s called Maunie. Our population was only maybe a hundred or so. Great people in that town. What I wouldn’t do to go back to that quiet, simple time in my young life.
Illinois is that the top for people leaving. Ridiculous taxes and more ridiculous taxes. Very business unfriendly climate the businesses move out. We have another Governor that is out of touch with reality and enough crooked politicians and incarcerated governors to match anybody.
I remember my grandma telling me that East St Louis was very country back in the day. My uncle told me about this hotel that had bell hops. They said the area was full of meat markets
A lot of people just don't want to work and that reflects poorly on the community. Also, being poor doesn't mean you have to turn to crime to make ends meet. Or live off welfare from generation to generation.
I agree. Champaign has a facade due to the U of I. Almost no mom-and-pop businesses, local govt has no clue how to handle domestic violence; Champaign-Urbana has no soul.
This is going to surprise but if you ask me the poorest/most dangerous city I have lived in is Bloomington probably because I lived in the bar area though
Can someone please document the tax problem? Is it property taxes, income taxes or what? I lived in IL for 49 years (all my life up to then) until I retired and took up residence in SD to avoid income taxes as I toured the country in my motor coach, eventually ending up in FL. All the time I lived in IL, (1949-1998), I did not think about taxes
Definitely the property taxes are out of control. Sales taxes and income taxes are rough too. It’s a rough state to live in if you are not a decent wage earner. With minimum wage going up to $15 over the next two years things will probably get much worse.
This Charlatan of a governor keeps raising the gas taxes. The sales taxes are outrageous and forget about the property taxes. You are punished for trying to be successful. I'm beginning to believe that the people in the ghetto have the right idea, why bother !
I really like the videography. This is a really good documentary. I grew up in Illinois. Left the state in the 1980's during the Recession and "trickle down economics". Does anyone remember Willie Nelson organizing Farm Aid? We now have inflation as high as that period in recent history.
born and raised in illinois, with that...i would have always thought being a proud citizen of the state at a younger age, they had their act together....but growing into adulthood and leaving at age 22 to florida, i could see how much goverment contro they have over you and unconstitutional....( barely ) or rt at the edge their form of goverment is. happy to be out of that state but will always remember great times at a younger age.
In the 2nd World War, the U.S. government constructed huge Camp Ellis near Table Grove to train military support personnel - 21,000 population for a couple years, then in the 1950s the camp was removed and went back to farms. It was on the Spoon River - 5 square miles - then all gone!
No mention of the racial makeup of #10, Sorento, IL by the video commentator. Then immediately when #9, Robbins, IL was mentioned, the first thing said was that it was a predominantly Black community. I guess you forgot to mention that Sorento, IL is 90%+ White.
Aside from the college towns, downstate Illinois communities are almost always 90% or more white, which is why I didn't feel the need to say anything about it. Back in the day, the state was kind of known for having a ton of sundown towns.
I understand that Milledgeville Illinois has an average income per person that is way lower than other communities in the area. Surprised that it wasn’t featured in this video. The median income for Milledgeville was 43,000 in 2019.
@@StuckInTheKernfield I'm surprised. I live not ten minutes from there and it was once on the list as THE poorest town in the country with Kenilworth listed as the richest town in the country a the same time.
Considering that this video was made two years ago, and the fact that Illinois has only gotten worse, I'm assuming that these communities look even worse now.
If you enjoyed this video, you might also like this one on the poorest cities in America: ua-cam.com/video/RzBpyKK5vTs/v-deo.html
NO Ford Heights? Ford Heights, Il once was the poorest suburb in the United States of America.
Southern Illinois dying economically as state leadership ignore and refuse to draw industries to the area. The power brokers do everything to enhance Chicago.
They do nothing to enhance Chicago….it’s simply already established….
As a Southern Illinois native, it’s common for folks from other parts of the state to refer to basically anything south of Springfield as “Southern Illinois”. Generally our definition for Southern Illinois is confined to the counties that comprise the area referred to as “Little Egypt”. The counties adjacent to St. Louis are generally called The Metro East, and not Southern Illinois by us. Many times Southern Illinois can include the counties south of Mt. Vernon depending on how strict you are. Also, many Southern Illinoisans will have a distinct Southern accent and culture due to the early settlement patterns. With all that said, your assessment of poverty in Southern Illinois is pretty spot on. Beautiful countryside and people, but not a lot of opportunity.
I'm from Chicago. My siblings grew up in duqion** and centralia. I say southern Illinois 😂
South of Springfield? Many people consider south of Chicago to be southern Illinois. Lol.
Come to Chicago as a migrant you’ll be given free housing, food and be able to work because you’re a citizen
I grew up in the Metro East, and here in Chicagoland, even the talking heads on local news refer to anything south of Joliet as “downstate” or “southern Illinois.” That Southern accent is something you rarely hear in the Metro East, but is very common in the communities south of Bloomington Normal.
Northern, central, and southern Illinois = 815, 217, and 618.
Not so bad living in a poor town. My roots go back in Sorento to before it was even founded. I was born and raised in Sorento. Everyone mostly knows everyone. As a small town resident there is a sense of belonging. As Bub Best (Best Hardware And Grocery Store Owner ) once told me...." When your here at home we watch over each other and make sure no one goes without." Poverty level is not good, but in most of the cases in our little town the people live more simply. We do what we can with what we have and see to it that our neighbors are taken care of as well. We have pride in our home town. I have no desire to live anywhere else.
The meth in sorento 😍😍😍
Good lord
I was warned to stay out of East St.Louis back in the eighties, it was considered dangerous back then.
Yep, remember the Chevy Chase movie Vacation ? The scene where they got lost in East ST. Louis and they stole the hubcaps off the car while giving Chevy directions !
that was North St. louis Missouri! They drove across the Poplar street Bridge entering Missouri!
But you will go there for strip clubs and prostitutes
Seems like common denominator for these southern towns is being close to St Louis. Huh!
@@kimbalxyz2 roll 'em up!
Thank you for actually acknowledging the history of Cairo before listing the negatives! People just see it as this rundown place, which it is, but don’t talk about how it happened. The history of Cairo is a lesson
Yes it does, if you keep allowing thuggery, the decent people will leave. They'll take their money and job skills someplace else. Next they'll get rid of subsidized housing, and the population will commute to work.
@@chuckrobinson599 they knocked down most of that in 2019. A guy named Chris Harden did a great you tube video about 2 years ago about Cairo and the surrounding area. I'm not from the area, but I do want to go see it before it's gone
I grew up in CAIRO, and have experienced the GOOD and BAD, I was born there and my children were born there, We all live in other places now-however- it's still HOME. AS LIFE STILL GOES ON. I hear That WASHINGTON DC has it's problems TOO! and the President LIves there sometime!!!
I'm surprised that there aren't other towns listed, because I know a small town east of Kankakee that is definitely poverty stricken. Great video and you have a nice friendly voice
I'm assuming that you mean Hopkins Park.
@@bmjv77 I agree, Hopkins Park should have made this list, with a median household annual income of less than $18K. I'm also surprised not to see Ford Heights in this list.
I grew up in Hopkins Park from 1958 to 1971 when I moved away. I loved the experiences and the people. I still have family there. East St. Louis IL., my original home.
My spouse and I met in college at Carbondale in the 1970’s. It was a world unto itself back then and last time we visited, maybe 3 or4 years ago, it had barely changed. A real time capsule. Party school with beautiful natural areas all around and lotsa aging hippies. Never thought of it as poor since we have so many fond memories. Surprised to see it on this list. A simple life, for sure, but as you said a lot of diversity and free thinkers.
I was a grad student at the Rehabilitation Institute of SIU - Carbondale in from 1972 - 1974. It certainly had a lot of unique characteristics. I am from Indiana, originally some 40 miles northeast of Indy and have lived in Fort Wayne for 45 years now. Southern Illinois has limited job opportunities, but I actually obtained my first professional one at a public/mental health department in the Harrisburg area for a couple of years.
I graduated from SIU-Carbondale.
I visited Carbondale in 2023...and the main street, The Strip, now looks abandoned and most businesses are gone. I was told by "locals" that Carbondale was dying and it is. Crime is up, businesses are closing up and not being replaced and SIU-C is still losing enrollment, has been for over 20 plus years. I worked at SIU-C and lived there for awhile...I'd never go back after what I've seen.
@@zosoiv71when I was at SIU in the late 70s I used to go regularly to a sandwich shop called “boobys” they had food to die for, remember the uproar the name caused for a while…..always have those few who think they rule.
There are almost no gas stations on the Illinois side of any border. Went to Indiana yesterday. Gas was 50 cents a gallon cheaper than Illinois. Taxes.
We actually fund our schools in Illinois. Maybe stop driving your fake tank that gets 6 miles a gallon
@@richardm3023 well, gas in Paris, IL and Terre Haute, IN are generally the same price. Actually cheaper in Paris now.
Thank you for sharing this video. It is interesting to hear about the small towns in Illinois.
Surprised to see Carbondale on this list, as opposed to Murphysboro. I was born in Cairo, but was raised primarily in northernmost Union County. If you want to see some towns that fit well within the given category, try Grand Tower/Red Town, Ware, McClure, and even my hometown of Wolf Lake. In a lot of small southern towns, unless you work at a farm, the river, the highway, or own a very successful meth kitchen, the job outlook is very limited. Since I moved to Michigan 18yrs ago, I have accomplished more personally, and professionally, due to better opportunities. I now own more than I ever could have, if I stayed in Southern Illinois or Illinois in general.
I live in anna
Almost sounds like we could be cousins. I live in Southwest Michigan for 25 years it really had a good time here in them times..
I grew up in Wolf Lake!
College town once booming. So much crime there now. Most of the mall is gone :(
I think it's because students don't have income, and they're counted as residents. Skews the numbers.
Surprisingly Cairo isnt up the list higher. I’ve driven past there often and only thing I see worth any time there is the fairly new Dollar General off the exit
My two older sisters live in Olive Branch and Pulaski and they can't leave.They're too poor to leave.They're seniors now and stuck from fear and age.It's sad.My other sister and I help them by sending them money and visiting them as much as we can but we live in the northeast part of the state and they live down there in what we call Bumfuckt,Egypt.
Can't beleave Gorham Illinois didn't make the list , 20 years ago I knew of at least one family that had a dirt floor in their home / shack .
Took the family to Carbondale 4 years ago to see the eclipse. Seemed nice enough. Stayed with an old student of mine who's back yard was the neighbor's farm. To be fair though, I never had to get off of Rt. 13 except to drive the half mile to her house.
Venice brings back memories. I did part of my student teaching at the school shown at the 4:04 mark. My dad said, "you see that rail yard outside the window of your school? That's where I work most of the time."
FYI--Centreville no longer exists as a city; in the last election it merged with two other equally struggling cities to form Cahokia Heights. Ironic since all three communities forming the new city are on river bottom land.
Living in deep Southern Illinois, a person can live very comfortably on $25-$30k per year as a single person. One year when I made $25k, I saved a bundle with a monthly mortgage of $188
@@bg147 Very attractive.
I have never lived in Illinois, but literally down the river in Memphis. Like most southerners, I have relatives that live in Chicagoland and have spent a lot of time travelling in Illinois. By driving on I-55 and I-57, one sees rich farmland, oil derricks, impressive rail plants and wind turbines just to name of just of few of the resources of Illinois.
However, a bunch of clueless and/or corrupt politicians are primarily responsible for making the great state a place to leave. Yes, I know this is the short answer, and I know out of control criminals have destroyed vast portions of Chicago and the whole city of East St. Louis.
One thing that I find interesting is that the current gov thinks that having a so-called fair tax will fix the underfunded and overly generous pension plans, bring investment back to Illinois, etc. Really the gov is a billionaire and he, of all people should know that trying to keep capital in one area is as foolish as trying to hold water in cupped hands. It is just not possible, especially when Illinois has eight border states with much lower taxes that are more business friendly.
I am not the first person to say this, and will not be the last, but Illinois is unfixable in its current state, and the only foreseeable solution is to somehow wipe the slate clean.
Chicago communists run this state. That's why it is a craphole.
I live in Effingham county, I vote we give Chicagoland to Michigan.
@@timwestendorf8303 NO SURROUNDING STATE WANTS CHICAGO.
I'm from St clair co illinois and took a weekend trip to Memphis in 2018 to go to the zoo and sightsee with my mother. The homelessness was rampant I think I almost got robbed I was scared to walk at night and it was filthy and the liquor laws were awful. Very enjoyable 👎👎. I will say I went to Nashville in 2019 and had a great time and want to go back soon.
@@timwestendorf8303 They wouldn't want it, from someone who lived in Chicago west suburbs most of his life. I'm living in Champaign now.
I live in Benton Illinois. I've been here all my 61 years. I have seen a major decline the last 30 years
I once drove to a small village called Hopkins Park, IL. Definitely eye-opening, since most people there didn't even have running water or reliable electricity... I guess this place (>50% poverty rate) is way too ignored to actually make this list...
Pembroke township, which includes village of Hopkins Park would be right around the 10 spot for the list
I live in Kankakee county and Hopkins Park is extreamly poor area
I grew up in Kankakee County. Hopkins Park one of the most isolated parts of the county Momence and St. Anne.
I grew up in Kankakee as well. Hopkins Park was an entirely different level of poverty. Almost 3rd world.
I had a delivery in Hopkins Park and I thought that I was in Mississippi. Even the soil was weird. It was sandy, in Ilinois
Venice, Madison, East St. Louis, and (what used to be) Centreville all sit within 13 miles of each other, which just shows how dilapidated much of the Metro-East section of the St. Louis area has become.
Grew up in Madison in a middle class family. Most of my friends parents worked at either Granite City Steel or in Roxana for Shell.
Yes I know Brooklyn , Venice, East St Louis , Washington Park , Centerville , all of the Metro East
I'm a Cahokia native
But I'm gone now I've been away from St Louis for 18 years
I'm hundreds and hundreds of miles away.
Dexter 🧔🤠 👋
Interesting and sad to see this. I've lived in the central and southern part of Illinois most of my life and have witnessed the decline of some of these towns. The entire state has suffered from a terrible business climate with the corresponding lack of good jobs. Illinois is a truly beautiful state and should be a great place to live but really isn't anymore.
True. So many communities have been impacted by companies leaving.
The damned taxes!
@@StuckInTheKernfield, there's no way that the "family farm" should be forgotten. Purely shameful. Please stay well & safe! Pax
Yes...Gary steel fed Detroit and Chicago made a lot of components for cars and aircraft. Not anymore. Chicago long profited from the rail connection between the great lakes and the MIssissippi river, and lifted the economy of the entire state. Farmers did pretty well. Steel, cattle & slaughter houses, all gone. Electronics, gone. I had a series of factory jobs as I paid my way thru college for 13 years, and NONE of those factories exist anymore. The bootstraps I pulled myself up by no longer exist. The people back there who are flourishing are retires with social security and pensions. I will never endure a northern Illinois winter again. All factory labor moved to China if it could.
My dad worked for Tidewater Oil Co. and we lived in Robinson Ill. then Hardinville and in 1959 it went belly up and people left for work and we had to leave too. But the people of Ill. deserve better from the elected officials running the place, because they are the salt of the earth and this country.
I'm really surprised to see Carbondale on this list.
Well it is a college town though too
I thought about going to school there but god damn the poverty and less opportunity keeps me away.
Suprised too
Where are you from Jacqueline?
I'm not I lived there for 2 years while a student over 30 years ago and even then most of the town was a complete dump. I grew up just over the Kentucky border and even though I haven't been in the area in over 20 years I have learned that SIUC enrollment has shrank around 30% in the last 20 years and still shrinking. Which was the only thing Carbondale had going for it. The vast majority of students where from the Chicago suburbs and St. Louis so I suspect as because both cities are among the two fastest shrinking cities in the country that has something to do with it and because Illinois has had financial troubles for decades now the state has drastically reduced funding for it's farthest most outpost playground for Chicago rich kids , and that was all SIUC ever was anyway.
Minimum wage should be high enough that if you work full time your not below the poverty line but I doubt I'll ever see that happen
EXACTLY… the ones who endeavor an make it out of poverty are fortunate. The system isn’t set up for EVERYBODY to have a college education an good paying job
3 local businesses in my home town shut down because they raised the minimum wage. So many worker that don't need to support a full household but want to work. An assistant manager at McDonald's makes more than the average income earner in my home town. I mean get promoted at McDonald's and you can pay your bills. Is that too much?
I'm originally from Illinois and I've been through Cairo several times. I've seen when it was a bustling community and it's sad to see it in the shape it's in.
I lived near Elizabethtown for 40 years, it’s sad to see it slowly fade away 😢
Several of these towns are located within ten miles of St Louis. For those who are employable not having a car is the biggest barrier to employment. East St Louis has the metro train but most residents don't live within walking distance of a train station. But then most who have cars end up moving out into nicer areas.
I drove through east st louis once. I couldn’t wait to get back on the interstate!
I Grew up on my Grand Father’s farm north of Goldengate (Between Fairfield and Albion). Just about every building is either gone or deserted. Leach church still standing and so is the family home. Named after the family that invented the caterpillar. I met my wife from Bone Gap. Remember being in towns like: Crossville, Roseclair, Sesser, Christopher, Cross i’ll, Mt Carmel, Olbey, Sims, Wayne City, Flora, Cisne, Oblong, Samsville, West Salem, Elderado, Carmi, and a host of others. Lots of towns with lots of memories.
there a lot of little town that you missed down here, but you got to remember we have a four thousand acer nation forest down here Marion is the most growing town down here. but once you get down to harrisburg you are on the edge of the boonies. we have a meth problem down here. but other wise it is a nice area of the state to live. not all flat and corn fields there are town like caven rock. and we have a ferry that crosses the river to ky. a lot of amish over there. love shopping at there grocery store and and furniture store I live in the little old town of eldoradio we centralized between three states ill, ky and ind. the sawnee nation forest with the garden of the gods which is on our stat quarter. there is also the oldest town in the state of ill. Shawneetown old that is. has the first bank in ill there is good life down here even though we have no money. own my own home my mate owns hers and we live in the good part of town. I would say the crime rate is low.
Hey Francis..🙋
I have lived in Fort Wayne, Indiana for over 45 years but lived in Carbondale from 1972 to 1974 when I moved to Harrisburg for my first professional job in the county health department there in nearby Eldorado. Had some good times but better after locating to northeast Indiana.
Love your channel. Exactly what I am looking for
Awesome, thank you!
Do a video on Fairfield Illinois 😲 I just moved here from Myrtle Beach south Carolina and it's made me buckle down on my resources there's only one Walmart and it still has one door! I'm 27 and it's been at least 12 years since I seen one door! three fast food places. If you don't have what you need here you got to make due or drive for an hour + just to get it.
Welcome to rural Illinois. :)
Fairfield is VERY close to where I live.
lol i was raised in cisne talk about nothing there..but i have to say when i was growing up it was a great town to live in..
Id say Elco Illinois is worse. There's no store or anything here. Frigging sucks!
I work just south of Fairfield. It's way bigger than Mcleansboro
Madison basically borders Venice. As well as Granite City, IL. The only reason Granite City thrives is because there is a small hospital there is the steel mill. Then East St Louis is very close to this area as well. It is maybe more sad than most people realize. Racial tension caused so much of this as well as well as factories leaving. Most people in this area actually travel into the Edwardsville, IL area... which is not much farther away and has an entirely demographic. It's actually caused a lot of school rivalry. I'd be interested in a video about this area and the surrounding communities.. this would also include Cahokia, Maryville, Centreville, Collinsville, Edwardsville, Highland, Mascoutah, and maybe Alton... they are all not far apart (Where is your hometown?? Mine is Galesburg, IL. I live in St Louis.)
Hey there's a few small towns around here got more problems especially the strip joints prostitution the robberies the corruption the outrageous taxes and fees a charge $450 for license plates for one year crazy. but believe it or not when, I got home every time I got to in my home town I cried about Illinois for two months. well my little Community is no longer there will never be there again.. it's becoming a wasteland. Born in East St Louis lived in the village of Washington Park... if you love a place enough it'll break your heart. I'm living in the desert out in Arizona... far from the memory
I’m Galesburg too!
@@journeyingjay3458 Maytag plant closed in early 2000's closed the town down overnight killed Knox Couty Basically Peoria is losing CAT got years and wanting to move out of Peoria down to southern states so they can pay less and not have to unionize and pay for benefits and our horrible government is runned by Crook County (Chicago) all governors in this state have made license plates in the jail system for some kind of fraud. Chicago gets all the money
Back in the mid 1970s I was friends with a couple in Granite City. I was a student at SIU - Carbondale at the time. I think they left the area by the early '80s. I have lived in Fort Wayne, Indiana for forty-five years.
I was born in Macomb .left there in 1957 went into the AF and stayed for 21 years never lived there after that and ot has went down hill every since then
I spent most of my life in IL. Wish it could live up to its potential.
I’m so thankful my brother-in-law came and got me when I was 18 in 1979 got me a job in Chicago Heights. He actually became CEO. I’m so proud of him. He’s just the most wonderful man, but I cannot wait to get back to Peoria Illinois that’s big enough for me. It’s my town I grew up here. I’m very thankful to the spirit for him and also helping me find my trade I take care of peoples trees me and a couple other old school guys here in the area are the best you can find anywhere. And I’m very thankful since the spirit helped me find my trade. I tried to treat it like a gift and I try to be gentle and caring with people with my pricing, especially if you’re seeing someone who is elderly were supposed to serve our communities our friends, our state our country our world holy cow. I’ll be glad one day when maybe more people will feel this way thank you so much. Take care love each other and don’t poop in a bucket. Ha
You just have to be a good man, I just know it. God bless you brother.
I live in Carbondale. All the Businesses are starting to leave town.
How is the crime there?
Illinois is a beautiful state! Especially southern! I live in a village called Cobden. Taxes and gas prices are horrible but other than that its a good place to live
Mexican restaurant and Starview Winery make it even better. :)
If I remember, Cobden is south of Carbondale and north of Anna.
A few great places to eat as well.
You like apples?
My wife and I moved to Cairo 14 years ago (on purpose!). We both worked in health care and commuted to our jobs, and in Cairo you can get a lot of house for a little money. We bought our first house for $35,000, then bought a second one at the tax sale for $640. Cairo is poor, but it's peaceful and neighborly, and full of rich history. We love this quirky old town and encourage people to check Cairo out with an open mind.
THANK YOU.
Another important note about East St. Louis is the destruction of whole neighborhoods when the interstate highways were built. That poor city never had a chance.
Yes. That is also how many other thriving minority communities were destroyed. Railroads and highways were built in specific locations to stop those communities from further progress. If American was less racist it would certainly be a much better nation.
@@azzymt9428 Racism had nothing to do with East St. Louis demise.
@@doreybain I remember being in second grade when the first African Americans were bused into our school in about 1964/1965. Realtors bought one home in all white neighborhoods and sold to an African American family, and the times being what they were, soon there were for sale signs going up throughout the city. At the time this practice was called “Block Busting.” It didn’t take long for racial violence to overtake the schools at every grade level and that added to the panic.
My dad sold our place right away and got out before it became an all African American city, within maybe 5-10 years hence. When I look at Google Earth all the beautiful neighborhoods around us growing up have been leveled for miles around but you can still see the lot lines. It’s a pity because if everyone hadn’t panicked and fled the city it might have worked out much differently over the long term.
St. Louis is cut up by multiple interstate highways
Chicago still has a railroad on the lake front, goes right through Grant Park.
I AM A SENIOR CITIZEN AND ENJOY PEACE LIVING HERE IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. FINACIALLY MY MONEY SERVES ME WELL< AFTERALL >ITS ABOUT MANAGEMENT, I DON"T OWN A CAR MAINLY BECAUSE I HAVE BAD NERVES AND DON'T DRIVE
The “corn” is always greener so many younger people go out in search of it. I have found in 70 years that the fewer people you have to rub shoulders with is a good thing! To each his own.
I admire the research you put into the vid. Like so many small towns they are fading away. There best years were decades ago. Sad!
Carbondale should probably not be on that list. While the jobs that mostly employ students pay really badly, the University pays its employees very well and people tend to live well. The low priced homes would be in the student areas where they are usually purchased as rental properties. The town population doubles when the students are there and that skews all of the figures.
Enrollment has gone from a peak of 25,000 to 10,000.... that has an effect on the town.
I was born in St Clair County, moved to Madison County, and lived in Chicago for 2 years. Most of the places on this list I've either been to or know pretty well. Madison and Venice are terrible. I was almost carjacked in Venice before, my first job in 1997 was in Madison at the Dairy Queen. I was in the National Guard stationed in East St. Louis. All bad areas. I lived near south side of Chicago for about a year as well. Somehow I was never actually a victim of crime. Oh, if you forget about the time my stereo was stolen out of my car.
Me too.
I was raised 20 miles from Carbondale and I'm very surprised to see it on the list. I thought there was plenty of money floating around. I'm sure that the large number of college students had an effect on the numbers.
There isn't a large number of students anymore. Enrollment has been going down for a while now.
I live in the Champaign Urbana area. If not for the U of I it wouldn’t be cared for as well as it is. I live in the country and love it!
@@skliros9235 It's still 11,000 in a city of 27,000. They pull that income number way down. I would think Murpysboro or even Marion would be on here ahead of Salukiville. And let's not get started about Herrin.
SIUC alumni here, there were 22,000 students in 2009 when I graduated. In 2019 it was down to 10 or 11 thousand. Buildings on campus that were full of life and learning lay barren and homecoming was just a shadow of its former glory and excitement.
I'm from Illinois... glad to have moved away to Missouri almost 20 yrs ago... just thinking... if you live out in sticks...have little to no debt & don't need what the world does to make you happy... money isn't all that... some of these places are extremely dangerous...but Illinois is know for its farm land... and living simple off the land is incredibly slendid...
Wish you’d mention Olive Branch,, no store, except the dollar general store and a napa, mostly a farming community
expecting to see ford heights, sauk village or Chicago heights on here.. born in Chicago heights, raised in sauk billage my whole life.. about 25 minutes from the south side
Lived in Sauk Village from 1993 - 2010. It was very nice when we moved there. Literally left my mobile home to charity and never looked back. The gangs surrounded my house and nothing was done about it. The police were quitting left and right. Projects came down in Chicago and moved to Sauk Village. Will never go back there to even reminisce.
I absolutely thought ford heights was gunna be on this list.
I'm in Quincy and it's very moderate. I camp outside of town,been 7 months noone bats an eye. I keep a clean camp. Crime is across town by the river
I was born in Quincy. They work hard to keep things together, but the county population is about the same as 100 years ago when the land area of the city limits was less than half the current size. It's not what it was in 1965 - west of 12th Street was much better then. My parents rented a house on north 6th next to mansions, now the street is sad - even the trees are gone, but they recently spent a lot of money to improve 6th downtown.
Carbondale also has a public bus system
After the big Melt Down, these little communities will start appealing to people.
I'm shocked my town, Peoria, is not on this list. Or at least Pekin. Hmm.
There's a lot of hidden money in Peoria. Cat engineers and the huge medical field are well paid.
Peoria? Sounds like you've never been anywhere else lol
Did pekin ever change their mascot?
@@katefarrington3283 They’re the dragons now, I believe.
Im surprised Johnston city isnt on there i mean it might have been but i barly watched the video so
Please remember 2 of the towns Venice / Madison are in a area ( St. Louis metro) where a majority of the people in these 2 towns were in the meat packing industry , now gone as are the Stockyards in National City. Also at the river bends, N S. Louis at one time was the #1 shoe mfgr in the world. When the Clean Water EPA passed in 1970 all the shoe mfgr moved to India and with no clean water act the Gagnes River is now a " DEAD RIVER " no life in the Gagnes River. Sad oh so sad. Madison / Venice have great HS basketball teams .
People act like Illinois is the only state with poor cities in the comments......
He didn't mention the crime rate in Carbondale I have an idea because we live pretty close
Okay, that's my hometown and my siblings had damn good jobs know restaurant or dept stores.
I love that haf of these are basically all of east stl
Was 600 pop in sorento “sore Toe” back in early 2000’s. Dry county and close to i55
WOW! Read ALL of these comments. Born in Bloomington, schooled in Normal and Hudson. Danville Jr College then Champaign-Urbana (worked at Red Lion:) anyone remember?😆 🤣 1972?? Moved all over country then Pontiac left again then back. Decatur School of Practical Nursing 1994. Left for years until Mom talked me into helping my brother in Dowell, huge mistake!! Then Christopher for 2 horrible months, then Carbondale women's shelter 😢 NOW STUCK IN DUQUOIN ON SOC SEC!!! So I know this state pretty well!! After living in AZ, CA, CO, LA and WI the best 👌 you didn't mention that Southern Illinois is a MAJOR METH CAPITAL 😳 😬 or does that fall into the "manufacturing" category??🤔 Our governor doesn't see past Springfield!! These are dying ghost towns full of abandoned factories, businesses and no hope for any recovery or future for the children who's parents are financially stuck here. The schools suck, bars ONLY allow state video poker machines to promote gambling addiction NOTHING ELSE!! It's ILLEGAL 🚫 😤 to play cards in the local bar like my dad's fellow farmers did in the winter!!! Ok now I'm just venting but it's no wonder people go to WI for fun!! We have fun and businesses and jobs and rich houses on our lakes!! Illinois has a parking lot and maybe a picnic table?? I see missed opportunities and representatives who get paid for doing nothing and making false promises just to get elected!!! GRRRRR I'M DONE in case anyone has read this far?? I'm just mad and 😥 😔 😟 🙁 😞 😿
EAST STLOUIS WAS VERY BUSY AND ALTON WAS ABOUT THIRTY YEARS AGO ITS THE SAME IN ALOT OF PLACES ALL THE GOOD PAYING JOBS ARE GONE INDUSTRY JUST LET EVERYTHING RUN DOWN AND JUST CLOSED UP
I was born in E.St.Louis in 1966 and it has always been terrible.It got bad due to the Democrats in the early 1900's.They didn't like the Southern Blacks moving up to St.Louis and E.St.Louis during the Great Migration,so they started the famous 1917 Race Riot.And St.Louis was involved because they wanted to tear down E.St.Louis due to the fact that it was beginning to grow and prosper and St.Louis couldn't have that kind of competition so they created a Riot in typical Democrat fashion.
Great video, Thanks:) it seems like Southern Illinois is a forgotten and neglected area in the state, I am curious since my partner comes from this area. I think is very common, sadly so, most states neglect rural areas and only concentrate on big cities, which tend to dominate and rule, I live in metro Portland Oregon, it dictates the rules for the rest of the state. Yet, PDX is a complete mess nowadays.
As a Southern Illinois resident born and raised in Ullin, I remember my Daddy saying that Illinois Government acts like "Southern Illinois" STOPS above Mt Vernon. I never understood what he meant by that until I got older. And it honestly couldn't be more true. All that said, I couldn't imagine living anywhere else ❤️
You can pretty much say this about the majority of the state.
Grew up in Princeton, moved to Decatur in 1990. At the beginning of the decline...😔
Princeton has turned into a shit hole!
@@coachskilzz5982 Decatur is a SHIT Hole. It will never have or be anything.
You've clearly never been to Irving... I lived there for a few years growing up. There's nothing there but one grain elevator (if it's still there this was almost 30 years ago) and one little Casey's gas station. We had a video "store" which was literally an old couple with a large VHS collection in their garage that would lend you a movie for 50 cents a night. Maybe 200 people lived there. Used to have a school but it closed long before I lived there and was turned into apartments that were filled with drug addicts.
Gonna be interesting to see if Carmi makes the list. We lived in an itty bitty town near there off the Wabash river in the early 90’s called Maunie. Our population was only maybe a hundred or so. Great people in that town. What I wouldn’t do to go back to that quiet, simple time in my young life.
Illinois is that the top for people leaving. Ridiculous taxes and more ridiculous taxes. Very business unfriendly climate the businesses move out. We have another Governor that is out of touch with reality and enough crooked politicians and incarcerated governors to match anybody.
I remember my grandma telling me that East St Louis was very country back in the day. My uncle told me about this hotel that had bell hops. They said the area was full of meat markets
My town is not listed but the old gas station across the street from my house is the thumbnail for your video.
I used that as a thumbnail just because it's a dilapidated building in Illinois.
A lot of people just don't want to work and that reflects poorly on the community. Also, being poor doesn't mean you have to turn to crime to make ends meet. Or live off welfare from generation to generation.
Carbondale??? Huh??? Whats it doing on here?
Decatur and Champaign should be o. This list I have lived in both of them
Both cities have a much higher median household income than the places I listed.
I agree. Champaign has a facade due to the U of I. Almost no mom-and-pop businesses, local govt has no clue how to handle domestic violence; Champaign-Urbana has no soul.
This is going to surprise but if you ask me the poorest/most dangerous city I have lived in is Bloomington probably because I lived in the bar area though
Have you ever looked at Tamaro, IL?
Can someone please document the tax problem? Is it property taxes, income taxes or what? I lived in IL for 49 years (all my life up to then) until I retired and took up residence in SD to avoid income taxes as I toured the country in my motor coach, eventually ending up in FL. All the time I lived in IL, (1949-1998), I did not think about taxes
I did a video on Illinois taxes: ua-cam.com/video/YoUDOe5JQJQ/v-deo.html
Definitely the property taxes are out of control. Sales taxes and income taxes are rough too. It’s a rough state to live in if you are not a decent wage earner. With minimum wage going up to $15 over the next two years things will probably get much worse.
This Charlatan of a governor keeps raising the gas taxes. The sales taxes are outrageous and forget about the property taxes. You are punished for trying to be successful. I'm beginning to believe that the people in the ghetto have the right idea, why bother !
I really like the videography. This is a really good documentary. I grew up in Illinois. Left the state in the 1980's during the Recession and "trickle down economics". Does anyone remember Willie Nelson organizing Farm Aid? We now have inflation as high as that period in recent history.
What about Pembroke? Or is it considered a township?
Hey, My Grandfather, aunts, uncles and cousins are from Elizabethtown.
Robbins was pretty bad the last time I was there but there was a section of new houses that looked pretty nice.
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Eye-opening stats
Thanks for a good rundown of Illinois
Staunton Illinois
Odell building is in the thumbnail seen that a couple of years ago
born and raised in illinois, with that...i would have always thought being a proud citizen of the state at a younger age, they had their act together....but growing into adulthood and leaving at age 22 to florida, i could see how much goverment contro they have over you and unconstitutional....( barely ) or rt at the edge their form of goverment is. happy to be out of that state but will always remember great times at a younger age.
Would you recommend a move to Florida?
Take a look at Plymouth IL.
I know Plymouth!
You need to look at junction il
What about Table Grove?
In the 2nd World War, the U.S. government constructed huge Camp Ellis near Table Grove to train military support personnel - 21,000 population for a couple years, then in the 1950s the camp was removed and went back to farms. It was on the Spoon River - 5 square miles - then all gone!
Can you do a video of east peoria il
Good information, I'm watching frist time your channel, I'm coming to Carbondale for tour visit, thank for Best video
No mention of the racial makeup of #10, Sorento, IL by the video commentator. Then immediately when #9, Robbins, IL was mentioned, the first thing said was that it was a predominantly Black community. I guess you forgot to mention that Sorento, IL is 90%+ White.
Aside from the college towns, downstate Illinois communities are almost always 90% or more white, which is why I didn't feel the need to say anything about it. Back in the day, the state was kind of known for having a ton of sundown towns.
I understand that Milledgeville Illinois has an average income per person that is way lower than other communities in the area. Surprised that it wasn’t featured in this video. The median income for Milledgeville was 43,000 in 2019.
That's considerably higher than all of the communities in the video, so yeah......
ISP District #22 Headquarters is in Ullin. Might explain the low crime.
You are missing Ford Heights. Check that town's statistics.
Nope, I'm not. Their median household income is $29,063, so they weren't in the top 10.
@@StuckInTheKernfield I'm surprised. I live not ten minutes from there and it was once on the list as THE poorest town in the country with Kenilworth listed as the richest town in the country a the same time.
@@StuckInTheKernfield Ford heights was once the poorest suburb in America
Hey, hey! My old hometown, Kankakee isn’t on the list! 😃
Low $$ may contribute to crime but low morals,low IQ and high drug use is by far the main reason😮
Considering that this video was made two years ago, and the fact that Illinois has only gotten worse, I'm assuming that these communities look even worse now.
Probably. I have it on my schedule to do an updated list soon.
@@StuckInTheKernfieldany opinion on Murphysboro? Thanks
So mostly cities and areas in the southern part of the state or on the Illinois side of the St. Louis metro area?
I've never known Sorento IL to be high in crime. I'm surprised.
Social assistance is not an industry. It's welfare.
I was born at Chanute
Rantoul, so sad that base in ruins. :(
🫡 To my hometown of Centreville.. now known as Cahokia Heights.. We did our best
I love your videos
East St Louis, our venerable Durbin is from there.........gee, you'd think that he'd try to look out for it.