Preliminary numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau released Monday demonstrate once again the shrinking state of Illinois. For the sixth straight year, the state’s population dropped while every bordering state’s population grew.
The early numbers show Illinois’ net population dropped from July 2018 to July 2019 by 51,250, down slightly from last year’s net loss of 55,757 residents, an updated number. The figures continue to confirm a sorry trend. The state is bleeding residents while each of its six neighbors — yes, we’re counting Michigan, which shares a lake border with Illinois — has grown every year since 2011.
It’s not the weather pushing people out of this state to … other Midwest states. It is loss of opportunity, high taxes and frustration at fiscal mismanagement by government leaders that penalizes taxpayers. Who is going to pay for all the pension debt, interest on the debt and the mountain of unpaid bills at the Illinois comptroller’s office? Taxpayers who stay.
Since 2013, the last year Illinois’ population grew, the state’s net population has plummeted by more than than 223,000 residents. That number includes births, deaths, and domestic and international migration. That means it also reflects the Illinois Exodus about which we have been writing, urging state leaders to implement pro-growth policies. We’ve pushed legislators to allow voters to loosen the Illinois Constitution’s pension clause to protect what government workers have earned so far, but also allow lawmakers to scale back future benefits. That would ease income and property tax pressure across the state. It would give frustrated residents a reason to stay.
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