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STATE OF THE STATE

How does Illinois rate?
State rankings are relative

by Jennifer Davis

'The state of our state is good,' our governor says. But where you stand depends on where you sit.

"The state of our state is good." That simple statement opened Gov. Jim Edgar's January 1996 State of the State address. A year later: "The state of Illinois is strong and growing stronger."

But, as the old maxim goes, "Where you stand depends on where you sit."

And Illinois, depending on which statistic you care to consider, is all over the map. For example, we're fifth nationwide when it comes to state park acreage and 40th when it comes to state spending on the arts. We have the third highest number of law enforcement employees nationwide and the third lowest number of highway employees. And we beat all the other states in one undesirable area: We have the highest number of children living in foster care.

These statistics come courtesy of the latest edition of Congressional Quarterly's State Fact Finder: Rankings Across America 1997, an annual compilation of local, state and federal data on everything from economies and education to taxes and transportation.

"You can't lie with these statistics," says Hal Hovey, president of State Policy Research Inc., an Ohio firm that gathered numerous federal reports for the book. Hovey, who has been on contract with the National Governors' Association and the National Conference of State Legislatures on state and national issues, was also Illinois' budget director in the early '70s under former Democratic Gov. Dan Walker. Despite that connection, Hovey declines to rank Illinois overall. "It's all relative," he says. "It all depends on what's important to you."

So how does Illinois stack up when it comes to educating kids, providing jobs and building roads?

What about school spending, an issue that has gotten plenty of public attention over the past few years? The short answer is that Illinois ranks near the bottom in most indicators.

Consider per-pupil spending. The annual average of combined local and state dollars spent on each student is arrived at by tallying rich and poor districts, then dividing by the number of students. At $4,991 per student, Illinois came in 34th nationwide for the 1995- 96 school year. New Jersey, considered comparable to Illinois in many ways, ranked number one with $9,318 per student statewide. Utah, which spent $3,670, ranked dead last. The overall national average was $5,653.

Those figures don't account for disparity in spending among districts. Currently, some Illinois schools spend about $15,000 per student each year while others spend about $3,000. Gov. Edgar has said every school district needs to spend at least $4,225 per pupil.

Illinois ranks even lower — 47th nationwide — in the state's share of spending per student. In the 1995-96 school year, an average of $2,117 per student came from the state's coffers. Poor school districts received more, while rich districts received less. New Jersey and Michigan, another state often compared with Illinois, are both in the top 10. New Jersey contributed an average $4,365 per student, earning the eighth highest spot. Michigan, which spent an average $4,719 per pupil, is No. 6 nationwide.

There are other more encouraging barometers of the importance we place on education. For example, teachers in Illinois must teach fewer students than educators in many states. Hovey allows that small classes are generally believed to be more beneficial to students than large ones. "Pupil-teacher ratios are commonly used as a proxy measure of educational quality." By that measure, Illinois ranked 28th in 1993. We tied with Alabama and Arkansas with 17.1 students for every teacher. The ratio factors in such classes as art and special education, which tend to be smaller. Vermont ranked No. 1 with 12.7 students per teacher.

Compared to other states, Illinois also pays its teachers well. We rank 11th highest in that category. The average teacher salary for the 1995-96 school year was $41,008. Connecticut paid its educators the most: $50,400 on average. South Dakota the least: $26,346. However, the cost of living in Connecticut and Illinois is higher than it is in South Dakota. Still, these statistics could bolster the argument that new education dollars should go toward classroom learning, not teachers' salaries.

Education funding reform in Illinois also is inextricably tied to the question of taxes. In recent years, 59 cents of every dollar spent on education has been generated through the local property tax. So it's probably no surprise that Illinois has the 10th highest prop

6 / June 1997 Illinois Issues

erty tax per capita nationwide. Conversely, we have one of the lower income taxes. In fiscal year 1993, according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics, 30 other states levied higher individual income taxes per capita.

What about jobs? It's very hard to say, Hovey admits.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has "various complex ways" to reach its employment estimates. Where does Illinois rank? No. 36 in 1996. Sounds bad, but it's truly not. At that ranking, an estimated 94.7 percent of Illinois' work force was employed. Indiana, which was rated 10th best, was only 1.2 percentage points above us. And while a higher percentage of Hoosiers are employed, Illinois workers generally earn more. In 1995, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Illinois' personal income per capita was $25,225 — 8th highest nationwide. Indiana ranked 28th with $21,433.

How about our roads, another hot topic this summer? In 1993, the Federal Highway Administration determined Illinois' interstates were in better condition than slightly more than half of the nation. In other words, 28 other states had a higher percentage of interstates in poor or mediocre condition. As of the end of 1996, the federal government had yet to update that statistic.

Interesting statistics, yes.But what do they really tell us?

"In real life, not much," says Mike Lawrence, Edgar's press secretary, who admits to using them, too.

Indeed, state officials seem obsessed with stats. Some study is cited almost daily. And officials pick and choose. For example, those who advocate increasing the state's share of education dollars cite Illinois' ranking of 47th in state spending. Those against higher state taxes point to our 34th ranking in per pupil spending.

Lawrence doesn't trust statistics anyway. He knows of instances when states haven't been "exactly forthright in the numbers they provide."

So how can we judge how we stack up? For Lawrence, that's easy. Just ask yourself. "The people of this state should make their own assessment." 

WE'RE NUMBER ONE! Most states rank first at something. Granted, it's not always good. Louisiana earns two firsts: the highest murder rate and the highest percentage of single-parent families. Listed below are all of the states, except Illinois, along with the number of their top rankings, according to Congressional Quarterly's State Fact Finder: Rankings Across America 1997. Alaska: Twenty-nine, including highest unemployment rate. Arizona: Three, including highest property crime rate. Arkansas: No number one ranking. California: Ten, including highest income and income tax rate. Colorado: Two, including highest number of school employees. Connecticut: Nine, including highest federal tax burden per capita. Delaware: Five, including most students in private schools. Florida: Three, including highest federal spending on Medicare. Georgia: Highest bond ratings by investors' services (tie). Hawaii: Twelve, including highest cost of living. Idaho: Number one in Republicans in the state legislature. Indiana: Number one in manufacturing employment. Iowa: Number one in workers compensation disability payments. Kansas: Number one in polluted rivers. Kentucky: No number one ranking. Louisiana: Murder rate and percentage of single-parent families. Maine: Five, including highest home ownership. Maryland: Three, including research and development spending. Massachusetts: Number one in doctors per 100,000 population. Michigan: Number one in registered boats. Minnesota: Three, including state corrections spending. Mississippi: Ten, including highest infant mortality rate. Missouri: Highest bond ratings by investors' services (tie). Montana: Number one in release of toxic chemicals. Nebraska: No number one ranking. Nevada: Twelve, including most gambling and economic momentum. New Hampshire: Nine, including highest property taxes per capita. New Jersey: Three, including most hazardous waste sites. New Mexico: Five, including most people without health insurance. New York: Fourteen, including per capita Medicaid spending. North Carolina: Highest bond ratings by investors' services (tie). North Dakota: Six, including highest higher education spending. Ohio: No number one ranking. Oklahoma: No number one ranking. Oregon: Five, including most state park visitors. Pennsylvania: Two, including the governor with the most authority. Rhode Island: No number one ranking. South Carolina: Highest bond ratings by investors' services (tie). South Dakota: Number one in a change in the violent crime rate. Tennessee: Four, including most bankruptcy filings. Texas: Three, including amount of air pollution. Utah: Eight, including percentage of education spending. Vermont: Two, including teacher-pupil ratio. Virginia: Three, including highest total dollars from the federal government. Washington: Three, including highest tobacco taxes. West Virginia: Four, including most dollars from the feds in the general fund. Wisconsin: No number one ranking. Wyoming: Four, including public higher education enrollment.

Illinois Issues June 1997 / 7