A recently released report on poverty by the Chicago-based Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights revealed what many of us in Southern Illinois either knew or sensed: Poverty is higher in our region compared to other parts of the state.

The study looked at several factors, including employment, teenage pregnancy, housing and high school graduation rates. And, given the global recession, it drew another conclusion that probably shocked few of us: Poverty seems to be escalating in Southern Illinois.

Franklin, Gallatin, Jefferson, Massac, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Randolph, Saline, Union and 14 other Illinois counties are on the 2009 poverty warning list. Alexander, Hamilton, Hardin, Jackson, Johnson, White and Williamson counties are among the 46 counties on this year's watch list.

One of the biggest problems: Our population is scattered. The symptoms of poverty are less easy to spot.

The geographic nature of Southern Illinois can create inequities in funding and development. With the region's population spread out over a wide territory, the region's statistical numbers don't match up to other parts of the state.

"We do kind of get looked over for some of the more densely populated areas because they can show the large numbers of people being affected," Nicholette Dolin, community development specialist for the Illinois Coalition for Community Services, said in a Thursday news story about the poverty report.

"We don't have the striking figures of people in one concentrated area. We're more spread out here," she added.

Yet none of this is reason to shrug our shoulders or simply accept higher poverty rates as the fate of the region.

Our region has a tremendous supply of coal waiting for true, clean-coal technologies that will power a new generation of electrical generating plants. Coal gasification may prove part of the answer, but many still are waiting for expected federal approval of the FutureGen project in Mattoon, which would safely sequester emissions underground.

Expanding coal technologies will provide a global market for the region's coal, creating jobs and related economic development.

Southern Illinois also has an advantage in the area of education. Besides Southern Illinois University Carbondale, we are blessed with an abundance of quality community colleges, including John A. Logan College, Rend Lake College, Southeastern Illinois College, Shawnee Community College and Southwestern Illinois College.

While this recession will someday end, these jewels of affordable education and training cannot be underestimated. The work place of the 21st century will continue to demand new skills, and our residents are realizing that and are in increasing numbers taking advantage of what community colleges have to offer.

Education is a cornerstone to the rising spirit of entrepreneurship, which is both a regional and national phenomenon. The people of Southern Illinois are accustomed to working hard, making sacrifices for a better future and tackling new challenges. Many have adapted and acquired new skills when confronted with job losses.

In the global economy, a new wave of entrepreneurs will take advantage of increasing broadband access in the region and use our ample motor vehicle, rail and air links to worldwide markets. Success no longer depends on location in a major metropolitan area; the edge now goes to those who produce top quality, competitively priced goods.

Southern Illinois may be economically challenged today, but poverty is not a permanent condition. The future will be bright with opportunity for those who embrace lifelong learning and understand the importance of working for the good of the entire region.

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