STEP FORWARD - Shriver Center

By Wendy Pollack, Director, Women’s Law & Policy Project

The combination of a weak economy and the inflation of food prices has taken its toll on all households, but low-income households have been particularly hard-hit. As the national unemployment rate rose to 5.7 percent in July, the number of people receiving food stamp benefits hit a record high of over 28 million. The Illinois unemployment rate in July stood at 7.3 percent. Recent flooding has only compounded the difficulties for residents of the affected Illinois counties. Illinois is experiencing record numbers of food stamp recipients as well. In April the number of people receiving food stamps was almost 1.3 million. (more…)

By Kate Walz, Senior Staff Attorney

On July 30 President Bush signed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, H.R. 3221, passed by Congress in mid-July. But media coverage of the bill has largely focused on how it will help beleaguered homeowners facing foreclosure. As a low-income housing advocate, whose clients live almost exclusively in rental housing, I was pleasantly surprised to find items benefiting renters.

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