By DANIEL M. JOHNSON, DOH C. SHIN and ROBERT V. HILLMAN
Director of the Center for Middle-size Cities at Sangamon State, Johnson is associate professor of sociology and public affairs at the university. Shin is assistant professor of political studies and public affairs and is research associate with the center. Hillman is a graduate assistant with the center.This article is exerpted from the authors' complete study, "The Quality of Life inThree Illinois Middle-size Cities. Springfield, Peoria and Decatur," published by Sangamon State University, Springfield. September 1976.

Comparing the quality of life in Decatur, Peoria and Springfield

Tale of three cities

Does where you live make a difference in how you feel about your life? Apparently it does, according to a survey of Decatur, Peoria and Springfield residents. Decaturites are satisfied with less money. Fewer women in Peoria like their jobs. Schools in Springfield get lowest rating. Residents also assess health service, governmental performance and crime in their communities

WILL IT PLAY IN PEORIA? That is the question city officials of Decatur, Peoria and Springfield should be asking themselves in the wake of a 1975 survey conducted by Sangamon State University. Citizens in the three cities were asked about the quality of their lives in10 different areas. The survey harvested a crop of negative feelings about public services in these three corn belt communities. Over 200 persons were contacted in each city, and half of them criticized the quality of public schools. One in every four persons expressed fears about being on the streets at night. A third of the people found fault with the effectiveness of sanitation, fire protection, and public transportation services, and nearly half of those interviewed accused local public officials of making policy decisions which go against the wishes of the majority of citizens. Clearly, all is not well on the prairie.

Government was blamed for both the declining quality of public education and for the increasing level of crime within the three cities. Indeed, residents vented their annoyance across the board at the performance of government. Many people clearly distrusted local government officials, fearing that these elected and appointed individuals often yielded to the dictates of prominent or influential citizens rather than to the wishes of the majority. In relation to the services rendered by government, 42 percent of those interviewed thought the tax bite too severe. In fact, 32 per cent of these midwesterners severely attacked the poor quality of such governmental services as public transportation, sanitation and fire protection.

Finally, the residents of the three cities saw government — at all levels — as detrimental to the quality of life, with the federal government the most injurious of all. Significantly, a fifth of those interviewed noted a recent decline in the quality of life, and predicted as much for the next five years, a pessimistic forecast indeed from the breadbasket of America.

Sangamon State University's Center for the Study of Middle-Size Cities amassed these findings as the result of telephone interviews with citizens of Decatur, Peoria and Springfield during the summer of 1975. Prompting the research was the need to identify the current and developing social problems of these middle-size cities so that solutions could be sought and priorities set.

In fairness to the three local governments, it should be noted that the survey gleaned many favorable comments concerning the quality of public services. The much derided educational system earned some plaudits: Decatur residents generally looked with favor on the local schools, though only 17 percent endorsed them unreservedly. People lavished considerable praise on the recreational resources of their communities, and nine out of ten people appeared satisfied with the manner in which their leisure time is spent.

Weighing the good with the bad, 56 per cent of those reached by the survey judged their cities to be very satisfactory places in which to live. Incontestably, residents saved their highest accolades for those things close at hand, namely, opportunities to enjoy family and friends, to live in satisfying environments, to enjoy good health and medical care, to hold rewarding jobs and to engage in enjoyable recreational activities. Despite the admittedly poor rating accorded to public services, the three cities excelled in providing climates whereby personal and social needs could be fulfilled.

Summaries of the responses of the nearly 700 citizens in seven of the ten categories are outlined below.

January 1977 / Illinois Issues / 11


Decatur

Decatur,Illinois

Money worries and satisfying salaries

Money, the amount that comes in and how it is spent, obviously has a powerful effect on the quality of our lives. The study of economic well-being in the three cities showed nine out of ten persons interviewed to be either "somewhat" or "very satisfied" with this element of their lives. Decatur ranked a little more satisfied than the other two cities. To test the level of financial anxiety among the respondents, the following question was asked: "Did you ever worry that your total family income will not be enough to meet your family's expenses and bills?" Almost 60 per cent of residents said they did not worry about expenses, while everyone else expressed concern about financial obligations. Of those persons who did worry about bills, nearly one-third said they did so "all" or "most of the time." The remaining two-thirds said they worry just "now and then" or "some of the time." Nearly identical proportions of chronic worriers were found in the three cities, but Springfield registered noticeably fewer sporadic worriers than did Decatur or Peoria.

The survey also attempted to learn whether the financial situation of respondents in the three cities had been "getting better," "staying the same," or "getting worse" during the past few years. Only about one-tenth (11.9 per cent) judged their personal financial situations to be "getting worse." Most people considered their economic pictures to be "getting better" (44.2 per cent) or "staying the same" (43.9 per cent). Peorians were more optimistic in this regard than residents of the other two cities, while a larger proportion of Springfield residents reported that their financial situation was "getting worse."

Asked the amount of yearly income required for a "satisfactory life," the largest proportion of respondents (37.4 per cent) expressed a need for more than $20,000 per year to lead a "satisfactory life." Approximately one-fourth (25.3 per cent) said they needed $15,000 to $20,000 and 25.7 per cent gave a figure between $10,000 and $15,000. Fewer than 10 per cent felt that a satisfactory life would be possible with $10,000 per year or less. Striking differences were found to exist among the cities, with 45 per cent of the Peorians claiming they required more than $20,000 annually, while only 37 per cent of the Springfield residents and 29 per cent of the Decaturites expressed a similar need. Over 13 per cent of the Decaturites said they could lead a satisfactory life on $5,000 to $ 10,000 as opposed to 7 per cent of Peorians and 9.1 per cent of Springfield residents.

In summary, the findings suggest that the vast majority of persons were satisfied with their standards of living. However, four out of ten people worried about making ends meet financially, and nearly one-third of these were "chronic worriers." Most people surveyed considered their financial situation to be at least staying the same or getting better, with Peoria residents expressing the highest figure. Finally, although half of the respondents felt that a satisfactory life could be enjoyed withfrom$10,000-$20,000 yearly income, more than a third of the residents claimed $20,000 a year to be inadequate.


Men and women and their jobs

Employment figured prominently in the minds of residents of the three cities, and is demonstrably an essential element of the quality of life. The findings indicate that the work patterns in the three cities and among men and women differed widely. For example, a larger percentage of men than women worked full or part-time for pay. More than four-fifths of the men and more than two-fifths of the women were working for pay at the time of the interview. In Peoria 90 per cent of the male population was gainfully employed, while only 76 percent of their Decatur and 83 per cent of their Springfield counterparts held paying jobs.

Peoria also reported the lowest level of female employment, 36.1 per cent, among the three cities; 55.2 per cent and 39.4 per cent were the figures for Springfield and Decatur, respectively. The data show clearly that Peoria had the most highly paid jobs, thus reducing the need for married women with employed husbands to enter the work force, while Springfield's high employment rate for women is a result of the presence of state government.

The majority of nonworking men (69.8 per cent) were retired, while more than half (52.8 per cent) of the nonworking women gave some reason for their situations other than being retired, such as student, or out of work. Numerically, women represented a bulk of the unemployed workers in all three cities.

Well over three-fifths of the respondents — both males (63.5 per cent) and females
Tale of three cities
(62.1 per cent) — rated themselves "very satisfied" while an additional 27 per cent found themselves "somewhat satisfied" with their jobs. Only about 10 per cent of those interviewed noted a significant degree of job dissatisfaction. Among the three cities, 73.7 per cent of Peoria men felt "very satisfied," as opposed to 58.7 per cent of Springfield and 56.3 per cent of Decatur men. Except in Peoria, women were more satisfied with their jobs than were men. Only half of the Peoria women judged themselves "very satisfied," while nearly two-thirds of the Decatur and Springfield women felt similarly toward their jobs. Job dissatisfaction was most pronounced among Peoria women. Nearly one-fifth of that city's working women said they were "very" or "somewhat" dissatisfied with their jobs. For whatever reasons, female job dissatisfaction is highest where male job satisfaction is highest. The survey also indicated that unemploymet had hit Decatur especially hard. Finally, of

12 / January 1977 / Illinois Issues


the workers interviewed, most seemed very satisfied or at least somewhat satisfied with their jobs, although nearly 10 per cent expressed some degree of dissatisfaction.

Public schools and their own education

Amid all the controversy surrounding public education, few attempts have been made at the local level to solicit resident opinion about the quality of public education. Accordingly, citizen perception was sought on these topics: the quality of local public schools and the satisfaction of residents with the amount and quality of their own education.

The results varied substantially among the three cities. On the whole, citizens tended to rate their public schools as "good" (36.8 per cent), or "fair" (31.4 percent). Only 15.3 per cent judged them to be "very good," while a disturbing proportion rated them as "poor" (9.7 per cent) or "very poor" (6.7 per cent). Nearly two-thirds of the Decaturites and half of the Peorians felt their schools "good" or "very good," as compared to slightly over one-third of the Springfield residents. A full 40 per cent of Springfield respondents felt their schools were only "fair," compared to 30.6 per cent of the Peorians and 23.6 per cent of the Decaturites. In Springfield more than one-fifth said the schools were "poor" or "very poor." Comparable responses for Peoria and Decatur were 14.5 per cent and 12.6 per cent, respectively.

Paradoxically, residents of the three cities were more positive when discussing their own education. Nearly half of the people expressed a high degree of satisfaction with the amount of education they received, and an additional third were "somewhat satisfied." One-fifth of those interviewed felt "somewhat" or "very dissatisfied" with the amount of their own education. Whether dissatisfied persons considered themselves overeducated or undereducated was not revealed by the data. More than nine-tenths of the people praised the quality of their own education, with 55.9 per cent being "very satisfied" and 34.8 per cent "somewhat satisfied." Fewer than 10 per cent were critical of the quality of their own education with no substantial differences among the three cities.

Citizens of the three communities looked with considerable disfavor upon the quality of public education, with Springfield residents being the most critical. Among all public services studied in this survey, education ranked as the least satisfactory. Finally, though the majority of residents were satisfied with their own education, they tended to be more satisfied with the quality of their educational experiences than with the quantity.

Peoria, Illinois

Health, insurance and medical services

Less than half of the citizens in Decatur, Peoria and Springfield evaluated the state of their health as excellent, although over four-fifths rated their health "good" or "excellent." One-eighth of those interviewed reported "fair" health, and fewer than 5 per cent were in "poor" or "very poor" health. The differences between respondents in the three cities was minimal.

When residents of the three cities were polled on whether or not they carried hospital and medical insurance, more than nine-tenths of those questioned had some medical or hospital insurance. Springfield reported the highest percentage of persons having this kind of protection with 96.2 per cent, followed by Peoria, 92.9 per cent, and Decatur, 88.9 per cent.

The survey also asked whether or not residents had specific doctors and/ or clinics they visited. The results show that most people maintain a relationship with one doctor and/ or clinic. This was more likely to be true in Decatur (89.4 per cent), however, than in Peoria (82.1 per cent) or Springfield (81.8 per cent).

Additional information was sought to determine the level of citizen satisfaction regarding the available medical care. Nearly three-fourths of the residents reported being "very satisfied" with this feature of their communities, and most of the remainder were "somewhat satisfied." Very few residents were critical of the quality of medical care they usually receive. Although differences were not great, Springfield led the other two cities in being "very satisfied" with the quality of local medical care.

In conclusion, most residents reported experiencing good to excellent health, and most had some financial protection in case of illness. Moreover, the citizens surveyed were largely satisfied with medical services available in their city.

Safety, crime and police protection

Late in 1975, a Gallup Poll found that Americans felt crime to be the nation's top problem, overshadowing the twin economic evils — inflation and unemployment. The survey asked citizens about safety, police protection and crime. People were asked how safe they felt walking in the streets at night and how they rate the effectiveness of local police protection. Residents were also asked if they themselves had been victimized, and if so, whether or not these crimes had been reported to the police.

The survey shows that 38.0 per cent of the residents feel "very safe" while walking in their own neighborhoods at night; 35.8 per cent reported that they feel "somewhat safe," while 14.1 per cent feel "not too safe," and 12.1 per cent said they were "not at all safe." Peoria was considered safest of the three cities, with only 22.1 per cent considering nighttime neighborhood streets "not too safe" or "not at all safe." Likewise, 41.7 per cent in Peoria said they feel their neighborhood streets are "very safe" and 35.0 percent of the Springfield residents felt the same. Moreover, nearly one-third in the Springfield sample said they feel "not too safe" or "not at all safe" when walking in their neighborhood at night.

In view of the above findings it is paradoxical that residents gave high marks to the police protection in their neighborhoods. Three-fifths of those surveyed characterized local police protection as "good." However, about one-third described police efforts in their part of the community as "fair." "Poor" or "very poor" protection was noted by nearly one-tenth of the people.

The survey revealed substantial differences


January 1977 / Illinois Issues / 13


among the three cities in the way the citizenry rate police protection. More than two-thirds of the Peorians rated their police as "good," while less than half of the Springfield residents shared this opinion. More than 16 per cent of Springfield's residents labeled police protection "poor" or "very poor," compared to about 3 per cent of the Peorians and 5 per cent of the Decaturites.

Approximately one-third of all households surveyed were victimized by some crime during the previous year. Damaged or stolen property was the most frequently mentioned crime, with more than one-fifth of the households having been victimized in that time period. Physical attacks had been experienced by members in 1.8 per cent of the households, while 6.0 per cent had been victimized by such crimes as fraud or embezzlement. In all three cities people were more likely to be cheated out of money than to be physically attacked. The findings in the three cities confirm a reluctance to report certain crimes to the police. More than 40 per cent of all victims said they failed to report crimes. About 36 per cent of the crimes against property had not been reported. In crimes where persons were cheated out of money, 80 per cent had not been reported. Peoria, the city whose police services were the most highly regarded, has the lowest rate of unreported crimes. Decaturites, on the other hand, were more reticent about asking for police help. Although a substantial majority of people expressed considerable satisfaction with police protection, one household in every four became the target of a crime, and one out of four people were afraid to walk their own neighborhood streets at night. Furthermore, some residents were reluctant to report certain crimes to the police; at least one out of three crimes went unreported.

Taxes and services of their governments

In the mid-1970's, government — at all levels — began coming under heavy attack, and was increasingly blamed for a multitude of societal ills ranging from corruption to urban blight. The survey sought to determine whether or not this general feeling of cynicism prevailed among the residents of Decatur, Peoria and Springfield. People were asked to judge the responsiveness of local government officials and whether or not the availability of public services corresponded to the level of taxation. Residents were also asked to rate the quality of public services and to assess the impact of government — local, state and federal — upon the quality of life.

Regarding the responsiveness of local government officials, 31.6 per cent of all respondents thought that local officials generally adhered to the wishes of the majority; a nearly equal number, 29.4 per cent, felt that local officials did what they themselves thought best; but the largest contingent of residents, 39.0 per cent, said that local public servants do what influential citizens want. This view is much more pervasive in Springfield where 44.8 per cent of the residents shared this view; 38 per cent of the Decaturites concurred with this view, as did 33.5 per cent of the Peorians. One-fourth of the Springfield residents — as opposed to more than one-third of the Peorians — felt that the views of the majority were being heeded. Springfield clearly emerged as the most cynical of representative local government of the three communities.

When asked about the size of the local tax bite, the majority of people felt that taxes were "about right" in relationship to the services needed in their cities. Four out often people, however, thought that taxes were "too high," and one in every 33 residents judged their taxes "too low." Of the three cities, Decatur registered the highest degree of satisfaction with the level of taxation; 59.7 per cent considered taxes to be about right, compared to 56.6 per cent in Peoria and 49.1 per cent of Springfield residents.

Even the most reluctant taxpayer acknowledges the need for such public services as sanitation, fire protection, public transportation and recreation facilities. While the largest proportion of respondents, 68.2 per cent, considered these public services to be "good," only 23.9 per cent rated them "very good." Of those questioned, 31.8 per cent felt that public services were "fair" or "poor." Peorians and Decaturites were in general agreement on this issue, while Springfield residents were slightly less pleased with the quality of public services. It was evident that many people were not fully satisfied with this aspect of community life.

Tale of three cities

When asked their opinions of the impact of local, state and federal governments on the quality of life, a plurality of people in all three cities felt that, within the past few years, government had made "no change" --for good or ill — in the quality of life. Fortysix per cent held this view about local government, 54.0 per cent about state government and 42.7 per cent about the federal government. Over 44 per cent of the people said that local government had improved the quality of life, while only 33.7 per cent made this judgment about stake government and only 31.1 per cent about the federal government. The results suggest in fact, that the more remote a governmental unit the less positive was its impact. Of those surveyed, 26.2 per cent claimed that the federal government had worsened the quality of life in recent years, while only 12.3 per cent charged the state government with this offense and only 9.4 per cent the local governments.

The three cities were somewhat divide on this question, with Peoria residents giving less credit, than did those of Decatur or Springfield, to the federal or state governments, but more credit to the local government for improving the quality of life. Also, but by a small margin, Peoria came down

Springfield

Springfield


14 / January 1977 / Illinois Issues


hardest upon the federal government.

In summary, the survey discovered that many residents viewed their local officials as politically motivated and subject to the influence of powerful individuals or groups. While a sizable percentage of persons approved the level of taxation in their communities, a large number of persons thought taxes too high in relation to the services and facilities provided. One out of every four persons praised government services unreservedly, but three of every ten people spoke disparagingly of these services. Finally, residents agreed that local governments were more beneficial to the quality of life than were the state or federal governments.

The best and worst with optimistic future

It is conceivable that a resident could dislike several aspects of a city, but still be satisfied with the city as a whole. Therefore, the survey sought to gain a generalized picture of life in the three communities. Citizens were asked how satisfied they were with their city as a place to live. Persons were then encouraged to tell what they liked best about their cities, and what they thought were the worst problems. Finally, they were asked whether they felt the quality of their cities had improved within the past five years, and whether they anticipated improvement in the next five years.

Regarding overall community satisfaction, 56.0 per cent of the citizens of the three cities said they were "very satisfied." In fact, 85.8 per cent described themselves as at least "somewhat satisfied" with their cities. On the other hand, 14.2 per cent expressed varying degrees of dissatisfaction with their respective cities. Springfield residents appeared to be slightly more satisfied with their city than were persons from Peoria or Decatur, but the intercity differences were statistically negligible.

The findings reveal that people enjoy living where they have roots — friends, families, neighborhoods. Living in the town of their birth was reported by 17.2 per cent of the people as what they like best about their community. Thirteen per cent gave social relationships and the friendliness of people, while 10.5 per cent said the presence of family and friends was what they liked best about their cities. In all, 40.7 per cent stressed social or family ties. Some people, 16.3 per cent, liked the size of the city, while employment ranked high in the minds of 8.6 per cent of the persons responding.

Though most people were quick to describe what they liked best about their cities, only 43.1 per cent of the respondents were able to identify any pressing community social problems. Many residents were either unaware of local social problems, or else did not consider them serious enough to mention. Asked to name the most pressing social issue, 41.4 per cent of those who responded listed race relations. Another 17.8 per cent considered housing and urban development to be the most important concerns. More than 6 per cent of the people felt that vandalism and petty crime were the most crucil issues, while 6.3 per cent listed drug abuse and alcoholism. Five per cent chose unemployment as the most serious problem. Other concerns included inadequate school facilities, poor city government and ineffective health care delivery.

As a final look at the three communities, the survey gathered perceptions of past and future quality of life trends. The results show 86.9 per cent of the people questioned had lived in their city for at least five years. Of that subgroup 43.2 per cent felt that the quality of life had remained "about the same" during those years. Thirty-nine per cent described the quality of life as "better" now than five years ago; however, nearly one-fifth of the people claimed that it was "worse." Peorians showed a greater tendency to view the quality of life as better now than in previous years. A larger proportion of Springfield residents felt conditions were worse.

Nearly half of Peoria residents cited racial difficulties as the most pressing social problem, whereas only one-third of the Decatur people surveyed felt racial difficulties were their greatest community problems. Less than 10 per cent of the people in Decatur felt housing to be the most critical, while 26.0 per cent in Peoria identified housing as their most critical community problem.

As for the future, residents of all three cities tended to be optimistic. Half of the respondents predicted that life in their communities would be "better" in five years than now. However, nearly one-fifth of the people believed that the quality of life would deteriorate by the end of the decade. Nearly a third expected little or no change in the years ahead. Again, Peorians see a brighter future than residents of the other two cities. Fifty-eight per cent of the Peoria residents felt that the quality of life would improve, while 44.7 per cent of Springfield residents concurred.

To summarize, the survey found that most people in Decatur, Peoria and Springfield were generally satisfied with their city. The three cities fulfill a social need in that residents enjoy living where they have social and family roots. Also, among those people identifying community social problems, racial matters loom as the most ominous, followed to a lesser extent by housing difficulties. Finally, despite the past five-year period in which many people saw little or no improvement in the quality of life, the future was viewed with optimism by a majority of the citizenry. ž


Selected State Reports

State Documents
• "The Governments of Springfield: A Survey of Citizen Attitudes," Center for the Study of Middle-size Cities, Sangamon State University, Springfield (1974).
Results of 1974 citizens' attitudes toward and knowledge of local government. Questions regarding Springfield, Sangamon County, adjacent townships and special districts were considered.

• "Comparative Demographic Profiles for Selected Illinois Middle-size Cities," by Daniel M. Johnson of the Center for the Study of Middle-size Cities, Sangamon State University (1974) Series No. 2-8.
Demographic profiles for Springfield, Peoria, Decatur, Bloomington, Normal, Champaign and Urbana are given. Population growth, racial composition, educational levels, employment status, occupations, income, marital status, housing characteristics and means of work transportation are considered.

• "Youth and Society in Illinois: Summary of Major Findings," Institute for Juvenile Research, by the research staff, Illinois Law Enforcement Commission (1975), 88pp.
To measure the incidence of adolescent delinquency and to identify correlates of certain types of violative behavior, 3,112 Illinois youths ages 14-18 were surveyed. Survey findings are summarized in these areas: violence, theft, alcohol use, drug use, auto violations, and impropriety.

• "Illinois State Airport System Plan: A Summary of the Consultants' Recommendations," Division of Aeronautics, Illinois Department of Transportation (June 1975), 21pp.
Includes numerous maps and tables on such subjects as the existing Illinois airport system, levels of service, forecasts of aeronautical demand, and objectives of the state plan.

Items listed under State Documents have been received by the Documents Unit, Illinois State Library, Springfield, and are usually available from public libraries in the state through interlibrary loan. Requests for copies should be sent to the issuing agency. / S.C. ž


January 1977 / Illinois Issues / 15

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