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Pixabay.com
Welfare offices in Quincy, Blue Island and Calumet Park saw food stamp costs drop the most from January 2015 to January 2017, according to a Prairie State Wire analysis of 66 Illinois welfare offices.
The cost of food stamp participation dropped by nearly $30 million as 156,653 people left food stamp rolls in Illinois counties over two years, according to data obtained from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps.
Illinois welfare offices are operated by the Illinois Department of Human Services, formerly known as the Illinois Department of Public Aid.
The Cook County welfare office in Blue Island, which saw the greatest drop in the number of recipients over the time period, saw the its costs decline by $3.4 million – or 21 percent.
At the same time, the Union County office in Anna, which added 5 percent more people from 2015 to 2017, saw its costs go up about 4 percent.
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Food stamp cost changes around Illinois
| Welfare Office | County | Change in participation 2015-2017 | Cost January 2015 | Cost January 2017 | Change in cost ($) | Change in cost (%) |
| Quincy | Adams | -4.84% | $2,415,731 | $1,787,881 | -$627,850 | -25.99% |
| Blue Island | Cook | -19.93% | $16,050,951 | $12,686,710 | -$3,364,241 | -20.96% |
| Calumet Park | Cook | -9.39% | $6,862,790 | $5,547,594 | -$1,315,196 | -19.16% |
| Murphysboro | Jackson | -14.68% | $2,148,490 | $1,752,996 | -$395,494 | -18.41% |
| Chicago - South Loop | Cook | -15.15% | $5,002,846 | $4,114,876 | -$887,970 | -17.75% |
| Chicago - East Garfield Park | Cook | -12.76% | $5,591,106 | $4,703,742 | -$887,364 | -15.87% |
| Mounds | Pulaski | 0.49% | $583,403 | $492,279 | -$91,124 | -15.62% |
| Alton | Madison | -3.52% | $5,840,189 | $4,937,151 | -$903,038 | -15.46% |
| Melrose Park | Cook | -12.20% | $13,392,963 | $11,369,358 | -$2,023,605 | -15.11% |
| Woodstock | McHenry | -8.27% | $2,781,290 | $2,364,685 | -$416,605 | -14.98% |
| Beardstown | Cass | -5.60% | $362,868 | $309,246 | -$53,622 | -14.78% |
| Chicago - Uptown | Cook | -11.13% | $3,650,648 | $3,131,535 | -$519,113 | -14.22% |
| Chicago - Englewood | Cook | -10.93% | $10,641,643 | $9,241,294 | -$1,400,349 | -13.16% |
| Chicago - Back of the Yards | Cook | -10.45% | $10,563,864 | $9,237,909 | -$1,325,955 | -12.55% |
| Skokie | Cook | -12.01% | $12,409,032 | $10,859,633 | -$1,549,399 | -12.49% |
| Chicago - Humboldt Park | Cook | -9.63% | $11,892,028 | $10,425,417 | -$1,466,611 | -12.33% |
| East St. Louis | St. Clair | -9.91% | $6,817,347 | $5,984,676 | -$832,671 | -12.21% |
| Rock Island | Rock Island | 1.13% | $3,314,006 | $2,912,158 | -$401,848 | -12.13% |
| Elgin | Kane | -11.37% | $11,876,452 | $10,439,270 | -$1,437,182 | -12.10% |
| Oregon | Ogle | -7.51% | $1,246,456 | $1,097,712 | -$148,744 | -11.93% |
| Havana | Mason | -2.40% | $336,662 | $298,076 | -$38,586 | -11.46% |
| Marion | Williamson | -6.02% | $1,769,502 | $1,571,466 | -$198,036 | -11.19% |
| Chicago - North Lawndale | Cook | -8.60% | $6,352,454 | $5,642,156 | -$710,298 | -11.18% |
| Lincoln | Logan | -5.43% | $1,033,995 | $930,042 | -$103,953 | -10.05% |
| Chicago - Roseland | Cook | -8.50% | $6,899,166 | $6,217,209 | -$681,957 | -9.88% |
| Aurora | Kane | -5.33% | $12,080,513 | $10,907,581 | -$1,172,932 | -9.71% |
| Charleston | Coles | -6.25% | $3,054,645 | $2,759,798 | -$294,847 | -9.65% |
| Waukegan | Lake | -7.29% | $9,061,699 | $8,210,947 | -$850,752 | -9.39% |
| Mt. Vernon | Jefferson | -6.58% | $1,332,172 | $1,208,881 | -$123,291 | -9.25% |
| Benton | Franklin | -5.51% | $1,291,180 | $1,181,890 | -$109,290 | -8.46% |
| Centralia | Marion | -4.98% | $2,013,230 | $1,843,015 | -$170,215 | -8.45% |
| Taylorville | Christian | -1.02% | $820,999 | $752,949 | -$68,050 | -8.29% |
| Naperville | DuPage | -4.49% | $9,289,621 | $8,527,351 | -$762,270 | -8.21% |
| Champaign | Champaign | -2.38% | $3,657,048 | $3,373,276 | -$283,772 | -7.76% |
| Freeport | Stephenson | -4.69% | $1,361,017 | $1,260,064 | -$100,953 | -7.42% |
| Robinson | Crawford | -6.95% | $427,120 | $395,871 | -$31,249 | -7.32% |
| Kankakee | Kankakee | -3.67% | $3,543,205 | $3,288,766 | -$254,439 | -7.18% |
| Lewistown | Fulton | -6.14% | $745,668 | $692,596 | -$53,072 | -7.12% |
| Sycamore | DeKalb | -4.45% | $1,718,592 | $1,599,012 | -$119,580 | -6.96% |
| Springfield | Sangamon | -3.31% | $4,640,455 | $4,323,392 | -$317,063 | -6.83% |
| Harrisburg | Saline | -3.73% | $1,262,367 | $1,178,528 | -$83,839 | -6.64% |
| Peoria | Peoria | -3.53% | $5,386,195 | $5,055,816 | -$330,379 | -6.13% |
| Chicago - Chatham | Cook | -5.20% | $10,621,742 | $9,985,517 | -$636,225 | -5.99% |
| Rockford | Winnebago | -2.88% | $9,625,305 | $9,052,010 | -$573,295 | -5.96% |
| Chicago - Woodlawn | Cook | -2.91% | $7,049,463 | $6,651,407 | -$398,056 | -5.65% |
| Joliet | Will | -2.36% | $10,086,286 | $9,529,601 | -$556,685 | -5.52% |
| Jerseyville | Jersey | -9.38% | $847,094 | $805,051 | -$42,043 | -4.96% |
| Monmouth | Warren | -0.83% | $588,314 | $560,488 | -$27,826 | -4.73% |
| Hillsboro | Montgomery | -5.25% | $782,091 | $752,412 | -$29,679 | -3.79% |
| Carlinville | Macoupin | 0.81% | $839,065 | $808,644 | -$30,421 | -3.63% |
| Jacksonville | Morgan | 2.42% | $859,568 | $830,397 | -$29,171 | -3.39% |
| Decatur | Macon | -0.57% | $3,650,048 | $3,550,149 | -$99,899 | -2.74% |
| Kewanee | Henry | -8.99% | $818,033 | $796,926 | -$21,107 | -2.58% |
| Danville | Vermillion | 0.86% | $2,446,023 | $2,383,525 | -$62,498 | -2.56% |
| Galesburg | Knox | -1.64% | $1,204,707 | $1,173,994 | -$30,713 | -2.55% |
| Olney | Richland | -0.87% | $869,173 | $848,336 | -$20,837 | -2.40% |
| Bloomington | McLean | 0.86% | $3,223,716 | $3,156,659 | -$67,057 | -2.08% |
| Princeton | Bureau | -0.17% | $792,777 | $777,163 | -$15,614 | -1.97% |
| Pekin | Tazewell | 1.55% | $2,241,743 | $2,199,364 | -$42,379 | -1.89% |
| Ottawa | LaSalle | 1.45% | $2,729,963 | $2,683,126 | -$46,837 | -1.72% |
| Macomb | McDonough | -1.22% | $493,672 | $487,182 | -$6,490 | -1.31% |
| Sterling | Whiteside | 3.08% | $1,230,779 | $1,221,325 | -$9,454 | -0.77% |
| Metropolis | Massac | -11.61% | $457,966 | $454,777 | -$3,189 | -0.70% |
| Chester | Randolph | 4.38% | $712,031 | $724,587 | $12,556 | 1.76% |
| Mount Carmel | Wabash | 6.75% | $528,297 | $546,332 | $18,035 | 3.41% |
| Anna | Union | 5.19% | $573,120 | $595,806 | $22,686 | 3.96% |
| Total | -$29,603,002 | -10.77% |
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