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Illinois Health Information:

Illinois Department of Public Health data (IPLAN data system): Contains more than 100 health-related indicators at the state, county and community levels. 

1. Click on http://app.idph.state.il.us Click on IPLAN Data System in the menu at left of screen, and then "county-level report."
2. Click on "Community Summary Report" for a list of all the health indicators in your town or village; years 1990 -2005 are available.
3. Select your county and town.
4. Choose "Community Level Report" if you want to create a customized report with certain health indicators and compare towns or years. 

Note: Be sure to read the Indicator Descriptions – click on "IPLAN DATA SYSTEM" on the left menu on the home page of IPLAN and then on Indicator Details on the home page for IPLAN Data System. These descriptions will help you understand exactly what is being measured and how, as well as which years the data was measured. (You'll also see a really brief description of the Healthy People 2010 standards here to give you some standard of comparison.)

For County-wide data:

1. Lake County Dept. of Public Health http://www.co.lake.il.us/health
• Click on Publications (bottom of menu in left column) Open Community Health Status Report for county wide data on health measures.
2. For state-level and county-level data, look at the Illinois Department of Public Health website: http://www.idph.state.il.us/health/statshome.htm
   • Take a minute to look over your options for data here. The "County Vital Statistic Tables" might be of interest to you, as might the Death Statistics or Birth Statistics.
3. Healthy People 2010 (Ref. RA395 .A3 H44)  2 volumes
• This publication gives national goals and status of leading health indicators – provides context in which you can understand certain health problems of your own community, for example AIDS or heart disease.
• Also available online at http://www.health.gov/healthypeople) Click on “Publications” and then on Healthy People 2010 volume 1 and volume 2.  For updated information click on Latest Updates: Progress Reviews on the home page.

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Using Census Data:

For population data (age, race, ethnicity), income, education, housing, you’ll use U.S. Census reports (taken every 10 years).

1. The Lake County website has some of the data for your community (population, race, household and family size): http://www.co.lake.il.us
• Click on About Lake County (left menu)
• Click on Demographics
• Click on Detailed Demographics – Scroll down to find your community. You will be able to compare to other communities in Lake County and to other years.
2. 2000 results are available at:  http://www.nipc.org
• Click on Quicklinks and Census 2000 Updates
• Scroll down to Census 2000: Detailed 60-Page Demographic Profiles for All Counties, Townships, & Municipalities in Northeastern Illinois (March 19, 2004)
• Click "Go to the 60 page profiles." 
• Click Municipalities.
• Scroll until you see your community. Download the pdf file.
• Please do not print all 60 pages of this report!
• For a shorter summary of general demographs (age, race, etc.), click on:  http://www.nipc.org/test/dp234_CA_2000.htm. Click on “Download the File”

 

3. 1990 results can be found US Census website: www.census.gov .
• Click on "American FactFinder" to the left of the screen.
• Hover over "Data Sets" on the left of the screen. Click on "Decennial Census."
• Click on the blue "1990 Census" tab at the center of the screen.
  • You can now chose between Sumary Tape file 1 for summary data or Summary Tape File 3 for economic and racial data. Try each table to get complete statistics.
• For whichever summary tape you've chosen, click on "detailed tables" in the center of the screen under the blue 1990 census line.
• Click on the "name search" tab in the top center of the screen.
• Click on the dropdown box under "Restrict Search to." Select "Illinois."
• Type in the name of the community for which you need your information.
• Hit Search.
• Select your township, making sure it is the one listed in Lake County. Click on the "Add" underneath the box. Then click "show result."
• Select the data you want to see. Hit enter.
• Print out your reports. Notice that each set of data is identified above the table.

Note: The 2000 census results will not look identical to the 1990 reports, because some questions were phrased differently.  Pay attention to the description of the data you are using.

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Other Sources: (internet, books, observation, libraries, newspapers)

1. Lake County website http://www.co.lake.il.us
• Click on "About Lake County." Then click on "Communities." Select yours. There may be a brief history and/or a link to the community's website. You can also click on the links to Sex Offenders and Government (Departments, such as Health)
2. Google Maps: (http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl) -Type a major intersection of the neighborhood you are researching and hit search. Then, on the new map that loads, click "search nearby" to discover local parks, libraries, schools, grocery stores, whatever.
3. Environmental Protection Agency: http://www.epa.gov   Click on “Where you live” and then Search your community by zipcode.  Look at Envirofacts and Enviromapper.
4. Environmental Defense League: http://www.scorecard.org   Search by a specific pollutant or environmental hazard (e.g., lead) to see how your community ranks.
5. Illinois Manufacturer’s Directory (Ref. T 12 .W5) – you can search by zip code to see what industries are located in your community area.
6. United Way. Human Care Services Directory of Metropolitan Chicago (Ref. HV 99 .C4 C532)
7. State of Illinois Crime reports: Find Crime rates by type of crime and by county for the past several years. (Only county-wide data is stored here) Click on the year you would like to investigate and the area of the report you would like to see. (Section 2 might be most useful.) http://www.isp.state.il.us/crime/cii2006.cfm
8. State of Illinois sex offender database: http://www.isp.state.il.us/sor/. This is a list of registered sex offenders living in your communities. Click "I agree" at the bottom of this page, and then you can search by city name or zip code.

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