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Rural County Population Nearly Doubled in Less Than a Decade

Posted by: Nate Berg

21 March 2008 - 9:00am

With a growth rate of more than 75% over the last seven years, Kendall County, Illinois, is changing fast and the local farming community is struggling to adapt.

"Kendall, one of the outlying counties that collars Chicago's five traditional collar counties, saw its population grow 77.5 percent, to 96,818 in July 2007 from 54,560 in April 2000."

"The spreading suburban sprawl has brought with it stores, restaurants and other development."

"Evidence of the population boom is easy to spot in Kendall, a county with farming roots."

"'One of the main things that people notice is certainly an increase in traffic,' Kendall County Board chairman John Church said."

"More people means new challenges for local government in terms of transportation, infrastructure and public safety issues, Church said. For example, there's a $30 million courthouse expansion in the works and the jail has had to be expanded, he said."

Full Story: Latest census finds Kendall County is booming
Source: The Associated Press, March 20, 2008
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The areas where we have severe blight and indications of more blight to come are basically the same as they ever were. How in the world are we ever going to move our community development selves into an alternative future that thinks differently about the challenges we face in our cities and low-income suburban and rural communities?
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