At a critical time, our booming region faces choices Chicago has reinvented itself various times over, showing the world its determination and spirit. It is time to do it again. This Regional Progress Report shows our region entering the new century with many reasons to be proud. The economy is strong. Wages are up.
Crime is down.
We've reduced infant mortality, improved the quality of our streams and increased the use of public transit. Businesses face shortages of skilled labor. Success in our schools remains uneven, particularly among African-American and Latino students. Eleven percent of the region's residents still live below the self-sufficiency threshold. Large segments of the population lack health insurance.