The results of that study, which was released Wednesday, found 1.8 million Latinos live in the Chicago area and make up 22-percent of the population. Half of the Latino population now lives in the suburbs.
According to the study, legal and illegal residents contributed significantly more in tax revenues than they cost in delivery of services. Within four years, they will make up a quarter of the area's labor force.
"Immigrants have played a critical role in shaping the character and economic life of the Chicago region and immigrant labor is needed to fill the jobs that can't be covered by this country's older workforce."
The report found the recession hit Latinos especially hard.
