By: Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner
Whether they’re doing it on purpose or out of just plain ineptitude, Illinois’ political leaders have been slowly destroying this state. More recently, they’ve moved into overdrive.
What we’re talking about is all the wealth the state is giving up by pushing out wealthier taxpayers and inviting less wealthy people in. Not to mention the flood of illegal immigrants that have been “welcomed” to Illinois, many fully dependent on the state.
Not only is Illinois a net loser of people to other states, but the people leaving Illinois make far more than the people coming into Illinois, making things even worse.
The taxpayers that left – about 156,000 of them in 2022 – made on average $124,000 in income, according to data based on the IRS’ annual taxpayer migration report. In contrast, the 111,000 taxpayers that moved into Illinois made on average only $86,000.
That’s a massive $38,000 difference per person lost – a gap that has accelerated significantly in recent years. Compare that to 2010, when the difference was about $5,500. Illinois is increasingly chasing out its wealthy.
In total, Illinois lost a net 45,000 tax filers in 2022, or a total of 87,000 Illinoisans when those tax filers’ dependents are included. The state netted a similar loss of residents – about 90,000 each year – in 2019, 2020 and 2021 (see Appendix A on number of people leaving).
The losses of wealth as a result of that outmigration have also been staggering. In 2022 alone, the state had nearly $10 billion less to tax because of resident flight (see Appendix B on the income losses). The losses to the tax base have been piling up for years.
“Don’t worry,” Illinois leaders want residents to think. “Our population has finally begun to grow again.”
What they’re not telling you is that it’s all because of the spike in illegal immigrants.
Illinois was attracting about 25,000 (official) international immigrants a year until the Biden administration opened up the Southern border. And just like that, the number jumped to 61,000, then 93,000, and finally to 113,000 in 2024 alone.
Illinois and Chicago’s sanctuary status are sure to have played into that immigration increase.
A Wirepoints reader recently summed up the situation well:
“It can’t be good for the Illinois economy when the upper-middle class and wealthy are moving out while most of the illegal immigrants may end up staying…”
He’s right. Illinois is losing people, businesses and investment, destroying its economic vitality. The state’s dismal job creation, high unemployment rate and meager economic growth – the nation’s 4th-worst since 2019 – are all evidence of that.
Nothing will change until Illinoisans vote in a whole new class of lawmakers. Those that finally put Illinois residents first.
Read more from Wirepoints:
- Mike Madigan is gone. But Illinois’ legal corruption remains.
- Six questions Gov. Pritzker should have been asked during his testimony on Illinois’ sanctuary status
- Illinois leaders continue to push resistance, non-compliance, unrest
- Illinois has a millionaire problem
Appendix A.
Appendix B.
Audio and summary 
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
Public service announcement for fleeing Illinoisan’s,
Please leave your voting habits and alien servant(s) at the state line. Thank-you.
These IL economic morons will be looking to federal funds hoping for a return to power; because that’s how Corruptocrats think……..
Only humans reverse the survival of the strongest/fittest/smartest doctrine. Doesn’t work out well
You don’t destroy a state by substituting poor people for rich people. You fundamentally transform it. It is called Obozonomics.
How many businesses has Illinois lost because the owners do not want to get robbed blind or fatally shot?
Ted and Mark — i truly wonder why you both stay in Illinois. Both of you are beyond intelligent, so why stay when the ship is settling on the ocean floor?
Somebody needs to be documenting the fiasco from inside the belly of the beast. Ted and I are fortunate enough that the costs of living here don’t dictate our decisions. Also, my wife’s mom is in a nursing home in Chicago.
I am going to make a recommendation to Wirepoints fans. If it’s something of a flip-of-a-coin decision family and friends will prompt you to do things putting the economic side of the decision in second place many times. Only you can decide at what point that allegiance no longer seems so persuasive. What’s right for one person may well seem wrong to another, but you are the captain of your own ship, aren’t you? Blaming some other person or group for the results of your life’s choices isn’t a winning strategy for how it all unfolded. I’m not addressing my… Read more »
Many of us would’ve been long gone except for family ties. I tried but failed to get my adult children to move out of Illinois. Now, I’m staying put because of the grandkids. Those without grandchildren may not understand what an extraordinarily strong emotional bond young grandchildren create with their grandparents. Also, my kids and their spouses very much benefit from my wife and me, because of close proximity, being readily able to help out with our grandkids. Even moving only around 50 miles farther away to southern WI or NW IN would make it impossible for us to provide… Read more »
No doubt those family ties to stay in Illinois are strong. The politicians that continually raise taxes know this and that’s why they don’t believe the everyone will leave argument. A few thousand dollars in additional annual taxes compared to the average state is frustrating but not enough for most people to abandon their family.
I remember my famous last words to my wife before we had grandchildren: grandmothers are into grandchildren; grandfathers – not so much.
Also, as we grow older in retirement, my wife and I are noting some relatives our age whose health is going downhill quickly. That should make us think more about keeping closer contact with our close relatives, who happen to be living near us in the Chicago area.
There may be the rare exceptions, but in general when you make a decision you are getting some things you value while getting other things you don’t or at least place as far lower in your value scheme. We tend to want the former while forgetting the latter. But, as time passes your initial happiness in moving often dissipates as your new reality becomes more obvious and those “second thoughts” start to become the norm. Personally I think it’s better to go beyond your comfort zone periodically, but my wife has the opposite view: “the devil you know may be… Read more »
Yes, so very many decisions in life involve trade-offs. Also, there are ways to soften the blow of high taxes in Illinois; one of the most obvious is to live in a smaller, less costly residence. However, I understand “smaller, less costly residence” has one meaning for retirees and a different one for couples raising a family. I’m not lobbying to stay in Illinois, but since it looks like my wife and I will be living here in the foreseeable future, I can maintain my sanity longer by focusing more on the positives of our situation, of which there are… Read more »
Life is what you make of it. Happy people surely are not that way always but predominantly so. People who are otherwise almost always find some excuse(s) to convince themselves x, y and x out to get them, and it’s not predominantly their fault at all. It’s the adult body operated by the teenage mind and refusing to rise above it.
Congrats Ted, this article was reprinted on Zerohedge!
Great data… too bad Democrats are too stupid to understand it. They are all economic illiterates. Funny how they complained when Texas shipped them all the illegals, now they want to keep them.
Intentional.
Engineering a third world population to keep the political majesties in power.
Doesn’t matter if they leave behind a third world pit for everyone else.
Leftist voters function on hatred of anyone who disagrees with them so they won’t care even when it’s too late – they will simply have more drug dealers and prostitutes to do business with.
California: Hold my beer…
The exodus from IL, CA, NY, WA, OR, and other progressive dumps is very bad news for central and south FL, because that’s where the majority of them are settling. They completely destroy their states to the point where it’s even too horrible for them, and they bring that very same ideology, lifestyle, and crap attitude to FL. We LOATH these people and make certain they know they are unwelcome. They ruined CA, then CO, TX is almost gone, so FL is their latest target.
Anecdotally, I see many of them coming here, too.
Everyone that I know that has left IL, probably over 20, have red states attitudes—that’s why they left. They are not bringing IL policies to their new states, they even deny their past IL experiences. However, those leaving CA and WA and going to ID and MT are a different story.
Let’s see if this makes the MSM. It is so antithetical to the traditional American values many of us still cherish and value. An excessive and growing amount of debt that fuels and provides cover for realities like the net revenue migration will cause the downfall of the state. We are a zombie state that marches forward only by borrowing against “revenue” that should materialize tomorrow – well, and by rolling over the existing debt that did the same. The local media’s dereliction of duty to report on this and to explain (without opinion) the implications of this are reprehensible.… Read more »
It is not a swap. The rich are leaving in ever increasing numbers because of the excessive tax burden and crime. Lucky to have the poor immigrants to replace them. The public-sector never-ending lust for money has destroyed the quality of life for so many workers. Business are fleeing in record numbers and that will keep happening. The public sector now owns Illinois.
JB had better win the presidency in ’28. He’d still have to bully other states’ Democratic congressmen into federal bailouts for Illinois and Chicago, but it’s really the only hope at this point.
he’s already sippin his pea soup through a straw, what more do u want to do to the guy
These people are not immigrants; they are illegal aliens and should be treated as such.
Beat up on the poorest people? Shameful behavior, you are supposed to help the poor. The public sector is who is hurting Illinois, the poor immigrants work for a hard living.
They will start voting differently when they realize their own place at the trough is threatened. The grift will continue.
A really effective bust-out-buy-up plan. 1. Bust out property values by excessive property tax rates (collar counties by far highest in America near 3% of property value) and pension debt encumbrance. 2. Pritzkeresques Buy up all busted-out property at pennies on the dollar using zero personal risk leveraged debt offered only to insiders by friends and family banks(Pritzker Franks and other political powerbrokers). 2.a. Zero personal risk to Pritzkeresques because taxpayers back/bailout any downside risk while overleveraged insiders enjoy 100% of upside profits. 3. Once property title transfers to privileged insiders during dead-of-the-afternoon, closed-to-competitive-bidding sessions, those pesky taxes/regulations/pension obligations get… Read more »
look at the good old boy network with property tax and foreclosure sales in illinois… compare that to Florida or Arizona and you will quickly see how its rigged