Though the median household income in Belleville is only $43,318, Belleville Township School District 201’s top administrators are making six-figure salaries.
Occupational licensing requirements present one of the steepest barriers to low-income Illinoisans starting careers in beauty services. Illinois requires anyone seeking to become a barber, cosmetologist, nail technician or hair braider to obtain a state license, essentially a permission slip to work. Unlike 45 other states, Illinois offers only one pathway to licensure for each...