Census Bureau: Illinois has largest population loss in U.S.; Utah is fastest growing state

Illinois lost more residents than any other state in the country, according to figures released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau. 

The state, which has been battling image problems along with a General Assembly unable to approve a budget, lost more than 37,000 people from July 1, 2015 to July 1, 2016, the bureau report said. 

Meanwhile, Utah's population crossed the 3.0 million mark as it became the nation's fastest-growing state over the last year. Utah’s population increased 2.0 percent to 3.1 million from July 1, 2015, to July 1, 2016, according to the Census Bureau's national and state population estimates. 

"States in the South and West continued to lead in population growth," said Ben Bolender, chief of the Population Estimates Branch. "In 2016, 37.9 percent of the nation's population lived in the South and 23.7 percent lived in the West."

Following Utah, Nevada (2.0 percent), Idaho (1.8 percent), Florida (1.8 percent) and Washington (1.8 percent) saw the largest percentage increases in population.

North Dakota, which had been the fastest-growing state for the previous four years, mostly from people moving into the state, fell out of the top ten in growth due to a net outflow of migrants to other parts of the country. Its growth slowed from 2.3 percent in the previous year to 0.1 percent.

Nationally, the U.S. population grew by 0.7 percent to 323.1 million. Furthermore, the population of voting-age residents, adults age 18 and over, grew to 249.5 million, making up 77.2 percent of the population in 2016, an increase of 0.9 percent from 2015 (247.3 million).

Eight states lost population between July 1, 2015, and July 1, 2016, including Pennsylvania, New York and Wyoming, all three of which had grown the previous year. 

Illinois lost more people than any other state (-37,508).

Two states that had been losing population in the previous year, Maine and New Mexico, saw increases in population of 0.15 and 0.03 percent respectively.   

In addition to the population data for the 50 states and the District of Columbia, the new estimates show that Puerto Rico had an estimated population of 3.4 million, a decline from 3.5 million in 2015. Estimates of the components of population change (births, deaths, and migration) were also released today.

During 2017, the Census Bureau will release estimates of the 2016 population of counties, cities and towns, and metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas as well as national, state and county population estimates by age, sex, race and Hispanic origin. Population estimates for Puerto Rico and its municipios by age and sex will be released as well.

Molly Crusen Bishop: Holidays with the Greenhuts

“It can be said of Mr. Greenhut, more than any other one man that he has made Peoria commercially, for he has been connected with practically every business movement and enterprise of importance here.”

The above is a direct quote from the book History of Peoria City and County 1912.

Joseph Benedict Greenhut is one of the most intriguing and important influences on Peoria, Illinois. He left his footprints and heart in the city he considered home long after leaving for New York.

Joseph was born in Austria on Feb. 28, 1843. His father died when he was only 4 years old and his mother remarried and the family ended up in Chicago in 1852. He was sent to learn the tin coppersmith’s trade in St. Louis as a young teen and later attended school in Mobile, Alabama.

Eventually he came back to Illinois in 1861 when Abraham Lincoln asked for volunteers to preserve the Union, enlisting as a private in the Twelfth Illinois Infantry. He was seriously wounded but recuperated and being the tenacious man he was, he re-enlisted and he was then a captain in the 82^nd Illinois Regiment. He was elected Chief of Staff of the Brigade and served until 1864. He fought in many famous battles, including Gettysburg and Chattanooga.

He married Miss Clara Wolfner in October of 1866 as he had settled here in Peoria. They had four children, a daughter Fannie, and three sons, Benjamin, Walter, and Nelson. Walter died very young and is buried with many other family members at historic Springdale Cemetery. The Wolfner family and the Greenhuts both ended up in the distilling business.

Together Joseph and Clara Greenhut became quite the power couple in both business and charitable works. Joseph became one of the wealthiest whiskey barons in the United States. He invented and got a patent for something called a twine binder that was used in the McCormick reaping machine in the distilling business and helped make them even wealthier.

Mr. Greenhut was incredibly business savvy and very successful. He created the Distillers & Cattle Feeding Company in the 1880s, serving as its president, and he also created the Glucose Company and was an officer and director of the Central Railway Company. He was instrumental in the Commercial German-American National Bank, Merchants National Bank, National Bank of the Republic of Chicago, and of course he was famous for developing the Great Western Distillery.

Joseph and Clara were also admired for their genuine love for helping the poor and others, in Peoria and across the nation. They were known all over the U.S. for their vast contributions to National Jewish Charities.

Here are some of the many Jewish charities and clubs that Clara Greenhut was a part of: The Circle of Jewish Women, Peoria Hebrew Relief Association, Jewish Ladies’ Sewing Society, Ladies’ Hebrew Aid Society, Sisters of Peace Charitable Association, Ladies’ Hebrew Benevolent Society. She donated thousands of dollars every year to the poor people in Peoria. Clara Greenhut also served as vice president of the Peoria Woman’s Club, which is still to this day the longest running women’s club in the United States.

Joseph Greenhut refused to take his large military pension and this endeared him to even more folks in Peoria. He donated tens of thousands of dollars in 1899 for the Soldiers and Sailors monument located now at the Peoria Courthouse as well as the Greenhut Memorial Hall Grand Army of the Republic, dedicated to Civil War Veterans in 1909.

World famous Fritz Triebel created the Sailors and Soldiers monument that was dedicated on Oct. 12, 1899. President McKinley and his entire staff made a huge trip to be a part of the dedication ceremony. A huge parade beginning at Chestnut Street greeted McKinley as well as close to 6,000 children. The entire city of Peoria prepared for weeks for this special day. Lucie B. Tyng, Colonel Martin Kingman, and then Peoria Mayor Henry W. Lynch, as well as the President gave speeches and prayers and song in honor of the Civil War veterans.  McKinley noted that the monuments and the flag encapsulated every single battle the Union fought, and represented when Ulysses S. Grant accepted Lee’s final surrender. “Grant and the brave Union soldiers helped to keep us one Nation,” stated McKinley. The ceremony closed with everyone singing “America.”

President McKinley and his family were personal friends and guests of Joseph and Clara, and stayed at the Greenhut’s massive and beautiful High Street mansion, which is still standing in the High Wine Historic District. McKinley was assassinated a mere two years later, incidentally.

The Greenhuts eventually ventured out East to live in New York and were involved in many enterprises out there, not surprisingly. This included the Greenhut-Siegel Cooper Company, of which Joseph served as president.

The Greenhuts owned a country estate on the West End of New Jersey that was considered one of the largest on the East Coast. This mansion had been built by John A. McCall, who was the President of the New York Life Insurance Company.

 Yet,Joseph and Clara Greenhut never forgot their love of their “home,” which they considered Peoria. The Greenhuts kept their mansion open year round just for their yearly homecoming for the holidays with their family. Every year around Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year’s Day, they would return from the East for holiday celebrations with their entire family in Peoria at their mansion. Joseph was known to say it was well worth the expense to “celebrate at home” in Peoria.

Joseph died in 1918, and he and Clara are buried in a gigantic family crypt in King’s County, Brooklyn, New York, at Salem Fields Cemetery. There are several Greenhuts and Wolfners buried together at Springdale.

The love Joseph and Clara Greenhut had for Peoria, and the footprints they left behind are still here in Peoria, the home that the wealthiest whiskey baron’s in the U.S. came home for the holidays every year to “celebrate at home in Peoria”.

More layoffs at Cat, but dividend remains the same

Caterpillar Inc. said Wednesday that a new round of layoffs has started at its facilities around the world just before the holidays, the same day it also announced it is maintaining its cash dividend of 77 cents a share for its stockholders. 

The company said employees around the world started getting termination notices on Wednesday, but it declined to say how many or from what facilities the new layoffs would come.

Caterpillar said the layoffs were triggered by the expectation that sales and revenues will be lower in 2017 than they have been this year, the company’s fifth consecutive year of reduced sales and revenues, and the continuig need to reduce its cost structure. Earlier, the company said it expected revenues to be about the same as 2016.

“There is never a good time for announcements like this, but we recognize this is particularly difficult for employees and their families during the holidays,” the company said in a prepared statement. It added that it will try and place affected employees in other available jobs within the company and that displaced employees will receive severance packages and outplacement services to provide support during the transition.

Also on Wednesday, Caterpillar said its board of directors voted to maintain the quarterly cash dividend of 77 cents a share, payable Feb. 18 to shareholders of record at the close of business on Jan. 20.

"Our dividend has remained a high priority throughout this difficult economic cycle. We've been able to maintain our dividend because our balance sheet remains strong, we've taken the tough actions necessary to reduce our cost structure and have generated solid cash flow through the current downturn in our business," said Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman, who is retiring as CEO at the end of the year but will remain chairman through March, 2017.

Caterpillar has paid higher dividends to its shareholders for 23 consecutive years, and since 2007, the company's cash dividend has more than doubled. Caterpillar has paid a cash dividend every year since the company was formed and has paid a quarterly dividend since 1933.

Consumer confidence took a healthy leap in November

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index®, which had declined in October, increased significantly in November, which should be welcome news for retailers as the holiday shopping season get into full gear.

Most of the survey for November was conducted before Donald Trump won the presidential election, but experts said it was not likely the election had much impact on consumer confidence,

The Index now stands at 107.1 (1985=100), up from 100.8 in October. The Present Situation Index increased from 123.1 to 130.3, while the Expectations Index improved from 86.0 last month to 91.7.

"Consumer confidence improved in November after a moderate decline in October, and is once again at pre-recession levels," said Lynn Franco, director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board. The Index stood at 111.9 in July 2007.

"A more favorable assessment of current conditions coupled with a more optimistic short-term outlook helped boost confidence. And while the majority of consumers were surveyed before the presidential election, it appears from the small sample of post-election responses that consumers' optimism was not impacted by the outcome. With the holiday season upon us, a more confident consumer should be welcome news for retailers," Franco said. 

The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey®, based on a probability-design random sample, is conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and analytics around what consumers buy and watch. The cutoff date for the preliminary results was Nov. 15.

Consumers' assessment of current conditions improved in November. The percentage saying business conditions are "good" improved from 26.5 percent to 29.2 percent, while those saying business conditions are "bad" fell from 17.3 percent to 14.8 percent. Consumers' appraisal of the labor market was moderately more positive than last month. The percentage of consumers stating jobs are "plentiful" increased from 25.3 percent to 26.9 percent, while those claiming jobs are "hard to get" was unchanged at 21.7 percent.

Consumers' short-term outlook, on balance, was more optimistic in November. The percentage of consumers expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months fell from 16.4 percent to 15.3 percent; however those expecting business conditions to worsen also decreased, from 11.8 percent to 10.0 percent.

Consumers' outlook for the labor market was likewise somewhat mixed. The proportion expecting more jobs in the months ahead was virtually unchanged at 14.5 percent, but those anticipating fewer jobs fell from 16.6 percent to 13.8 percent. The percentage of consumers expecting their incomes to increase—17.5 percent—was little changed from last month, while the proportion expecting a drop in income fell moderately, from 10.2 percent to 9.0 percent.

The Conference Board publishes the Consumer Confidence Index^®, on the last Tuesday of every month. Subscription information and the technical notes to this series are available on The Conference Board website: https://www.conference-board.org/data/consumerdata.cfm.

The Conference Board is a global, independent business membership and research association working in the public interest. Its mission is unique: To provide the world's leading organizations with the practical knowledge they need to improve their performance and better serve society. The Conference Board is a non-advocacy, not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status in the United States. www.conference-board.org