Rural Illinois is shrinking. Meanwhile, the state’s rural areas tied to meatpacking and food manufacturing have seen immigration slow population losses and, in some cases, keep local economies afloat. In rural areas, that share was even higher at 87%, according to analysis from Daily Yonder using U.S. Census Data. At a meeting with Illinois pork producers in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 12, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., expressed the importance of immigrant labor, as reported by Riverbender.com. “Illinois pork production relies heavily on foreign workers, working on the farm, in meat packing plants, in restaurants, and in grocery stores.