A third of Illinois residents live in, or a very near poverty levels. That’s the finding of a new report which also shows some of the counties with the highest poverty rates are in Western Illinois.
The McDonough County Comprehensive Plan Committee made some last minute changes before sending the plan to the full county board for its approval.
Most significantly, almost all references to “land use” were removed. Some committee members and the McDonough County Farm Bureau Board of Directors treated the seven letter phrase like a four letter word and feared it would eventually lead to the “z” word: zoning.
Questions about land use dominated the first public hearing on McDonough County’s proposed new comprehensive plan.
About 25 people attended the hearing along with county board members, county government employees, and representatives of the Western Illinois Regional Council, which facilitated the process for replacing the county’s 40 year old comprehensive plan.
