Local Government Data Base

In this age of information we are all confronted with a multitude of numerical facts and statistics. Pick up any magazine and you are likely to find tables and charts representing some kind of statistical information: the crime rate for rural vs. urban areas; the number and life expectancy rates for landfills in Illinois. But in spite of this abundance of data it is often difficult to find the facts and figures you need when you want them.

An integrated data base is now available to local officials, regional planners, and economic development agencies that brings together data from the many censuses, public agencies, and some private sources. The data base is in a form that is easy to use and contains information about population, demographics, economic activity, utility services, and consumer behavior; as well as information on government revenues and expenditures. The data are available at several different levels: by county; by city, village, or town; by school district; or by zip code.

The data base has been prepared by Community Research Services at Illinois State University, with support from the Economic Development Administration's Rural Technical Assistance Center at Western Illinois University and the Illinois Educational Consortium for Economic Development. It represents the completion of the first year's work on a three-year project aimed at building and maintaining a flexible, useful compilation of data needed by local governments and regional planning agencies.

Since this Economic Development Data Base covers all of Illinois, users can get information for their own county or city, or for as many others in the state or region as they feel would be useful. For example, officials conducting an economic development study in a city of 10,000 might want some basic information about the city under study along with the same information on other cities of comparable size. They might also want information on all other incorporated places in a five-county area. The Economic Development Data Base was developed to make it easier to locate and compare the kinds of data economic development planners typically require.

A complete description of the contents of the data base and instructions for obtaining data are available in the Economic Development Data Base Dictionary, which can be obtained by writing Ann Cohen, Director of Community Research Services at Illinois State University, Research Services Building, Suite A, Normal, IL 61761-6901. Telephone (309) 438-7771.

Page 6 / Illinois Municipal Review / November 1990