Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joined WXAN radio host Will Stephens to discuss the causes and implications of Illinois’ record population loss in 2021.
Dabrowski explained that the measure of population loss is meaningful because it captures all of the factors affecting the quality of life in Illinois: taxes, pandemic mandates, crime rates, finances and family values.
If your population increases, he said, it’s because people believe that in Illinois their families and their businesses will thrive; It’s a good place to get an education and be an entrepreneur.
But Illinois lost 114,000 people in 2021 – the equivalent of Peoria.
“What we see in Illinois is a sad continuation of people fleeing the state. It’s a scary measure that people, in the end, can’t find their opportunities here,” Dabrowski said.
And it falls on deaf ears.
“Politicians will talk about the problems we have in Illinois, but they don’t blame the right things and they certainly don’t call for action to fix the right things. That’s why we perpetuate the losses.”
Stephens and Dabrowski share high expectations for candidates aiming to take over the governor’s office in 2022.
“They’ve got to be principled,” Dabrowski said. “If you say you’re for reforms, you’ve got to be principled and stick with them, and then you’ve got to make the case to the people. You’ve got to bring the people along.”
With $162 billion more from taxpayers, couldn’t you deliver a few bond upgrades, too
Audio and summary 
A largely unasked question is becoming glaring: Is Illinois doing all it should to use artificial intelligence to make government cost less and work better? So far, the evidence says no.
Curious? What I don’t understand is with the population loss you would think there would be an enormous amount of abandoned homes throughout the state. Even Rockford has less empty homes than a few years back. When someone moves they sell their homes to someone else. Renters just rent another apartment not to far away. How large a family is moving out vs family size of those moving in. One reason may be people are delaying having a family in which case the population does not increase. I read that the last 12 months has the lowest birth rate for… Read more »
I don’t quite understand it either. We closed end of September, got $20K more than expected the day after it listed, and still had numerous other showings cancelled. Maybe it was just our timing was right, some houses in neighborhood were listed for 90+ days. God have mercy on those left behind, we’re outta there. Already saved $10K in property taxes.
I wonder if this adjustment made the Census numbers right. Something was fishy with the 2020 census.
The damage has already been done. Illinois will forever fall behind to better managed neighbors. Rather than hope for change, the better course is to face reality and join those leaving.