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Illinois uses loophole to keep able-bodied adults on welfare

Illinois is the dependency capital of the Midwest. No other state in the region has more of its population dependent on food stamps, even though we have less poverty than many of our neighbors. So what’s driving the state’s dependency crisis? State bureaucrats using loopholes and gimmicks to keep more people dependent on welfare.

According to the Illinois Department of Human Services, nearly 175,000 able-bodied childless adults are on the program. These are adults in their prime working years — between the ages of 18 and 49 — with no dependent children and no disabilities keeping them from meaningful employment. But according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, just one in five works at all.

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