Where IL Ranks Among 2019 States With The Most Racial Progress

ACROSS IL — With Martin Luther King Jr. Day coming up on Monday, Jan. 21 this year, the personal-finance website WalletHub released its report on 2019's States with the Most Racial Progress and its ranking of the states with the most racial integration, with Illinois sitting at different spots on each.

According to the report, Illinois is ranked 30 for racial progress out of all 50 states and the District of Columbia (51). However, Illinois is ranked 45 for racial integration.

WalletHub reports 58 percent of Americans said increased diversity makes the U.S. a better place, while only 9 percent say it makes the U.S. worse. WalletHub examined the differences between blacks and whites in consideration of the police-brutality incidents that sparked the Black Lives Matter movement and the upcoming holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who played a historical role in the Civil Rights Movement to end segregation and discrimination against blacks.

Methodology: To measure America’s progress in harmonizing racial groups, WalletHub measured the gaps between blacks and whites across 22 key indicators among four categories (employment and wealth, education, social and civic engagement, health) in each of the 51 U.S. spots (see map). Indicators include median annual income to standardized-test scores to voter turnout, according to the report.

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Illinois ranked 45 in WalletHub's list for State's with the Most Racial Integration:

• Total score: 50.48
• Employment and wealth: 47
• Education: 44
• Social and civic engagement: 35
• Health: 30

• Total score: 52.53
• Employment and wealth: 26
• Education: 35
• Social and civic engagement: 32
• Health: 9

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The Land of Lincoln was also ranked 50 for lowest change in unemployment rate gap, and scored the same ranking for highest unemployment rate gap.

To view more key statistics and other state rankings on the full report, visit: wallethub.com/edu/states.

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