Why are fewer and fewer people choosing to call Illinois “home”?
One person moves out of Illinois every 4 minutes.
2021 marked Illinois’ eighth consecutive of year of population loss, with 122,460 more people moving out than coming in. Illinois was one of only seven states that saw a rise in residents leaving in 2021.
What’s driving this problem is actually pretty straightforward. People are leaving for:
-Affordable housing
-jobs
How do we fix the problem?
First of all, politicians need to fix the pension crisis. That means lawmakers must give voters the chance to support a constitutional amendment at the ballot box.
Reigning in pension spending will free up more budget dollars for local schools, financial aid for college students, programs to help people with disabilities, property tax relief, or all the above.
And Illinois needs to cut the red tape to create an environment that capitalizes on Illinois’ highly educated workforce, its central location and its natural resources. Those are the things that make job creators want to invest in the Land of Lincoln.
We can fix Illinois. It just takes the political will. And once we fix these problems, we can again focus on telling others what most Illinoisans already know: this is a great place to call “home.”
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