“The city is essentially tapped when it comes to covering these public safety costs. The council must decide whether to raise taxes or cut services. There’s no other way to get around this.”

It would be unreasonable to attribute that level of departures merely to Illinois’ status as a high-tax state. Illinois has so many serious problems, mostly financial, that there are many reasons why people are checking out. But there clearly are limits to what people can — or will — stand, particularly if they feel they are not getting a bang for their tax buck.