It’s time for “non-playing characters” to revolt in Illinois – Wirepoints

By: Matt Rosenberg

Illinois has earned a reputation as the place people like to leave. Data from the IRS, the Census Bureau, U-Haul and United Van Lines, and most recently from the Allied-Zillow Magnet States study, all show that Illinois is bleeding more people than almost any other state in the country. Practically all of the fresh leakage is due to outmigration driven by high taxes, arrogant governance, and toxic corruption.

The root cause of the Illinois exodus is that our politicians see us as bit players. “Extras” in movie-speak. Or what are called “non-playing characters,” or NPCs, in video games. They have rote lines, take no initiative, and usually get killed. They’re how the real players rack up points. But here’s a subversive twist. In some gaming platforms, NPCs can revolt. Win bigger roles. Make things happen. That’s what Illinois needs. Very, very soon.

There’s a movie you should see on HBO Max called “Free Guy.” It’s about a simulated world where only wired operators wearing special glasses can accumulate power and status. Illinoisans can think of them as the Madigan class. In “Free Guy” the other main characters are roving thugs who terrorize NPC citizens daily with violence and robberies. The atmo is dire: low-cruising airships and street warriors spewing bullets, ubiquitous burning pyres, and one poor guy whose hands are locked into an “Up” position because he’s been mugged so often. The unanointed just roll over for domination by the selfish, nasty few. They know nothing else. 

But one NPC is a bank teller named Guy and something’s been quietly written into his character’s code by the game’s developers. Eventually Guy leads a grassroots uprising. All the NPCs – that’s us Illinois taxpayers, okay? – realize they can take their world back. 

Appealing, huh? Every now and then this happens in real life. Since November there has been a revolt in cities. And in an entire state: Virginia. One marquee contest there involved Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe. He lost to Republican Glenn Youngkin partly because he said parents had no right to challenge skewed, racialized curricula

Voters ousted a clueless trio from the San Francisco school board in February. Voters elected a pro-police, pro-charter school Democrat named Eric Adams the Mayor of New York City. Yes, the jury’s still out on him. That’s okay. 

Voters chose a law-and-order Republican as City Attorney in Seattle. They rejected a Minneapolis ballot measure to end the police department as currently conceived. 

In Chicagoland, parents and students in suburban districts rose up against unreasonably extended COVID mask mandates all around, including at Glenbrook High Schools North and South, and in Park Ridge-Niles District 64.

If Illinois wants to draw population again – rather than repel it – public officials need to check their arrogance. It starts with understanding the ongoing Illinois exodus is fueled by a well-deserved perception: “They don’t hear us. We don’t count. To them we really are bit players. There are friendlier climes. Bye.”

So here are a few ideas for the Democratic supermajorities in the State House and State Senate and our billionaire Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker. And for their election challengers this year. 

Don’t short-circuit transparency and full debate on landmark legislation. Specifically, don’t approve a sweeping 786-page criminal justice reform bill in the wee final hours of a lame duck session, without public debate. I’m talking about the one rushed into law in early 2021 by majority lawmakers and Pritzker. 

The legislation does many things. Some of it might even be good. But to the rightful chagrin of police it sharply limits pre-trial detention even for alleged violent criminals. It sharply cuts length of post-prison supervised release for Class X, Class 1, and Class 2 felons. It morphs rightful police accountability into a “gotcha” set-up. This by allowing for anonymous officer decertification complaints to the state; and rescinding required sworn affidavits for local complaints against police. The law also institutes a state review of removing the legal shield – called “qualified immunity” – that cities provide to police officers. Qualified immunity protects police from paying damages if they lose lawsuits alleging their split-second discretionary actions deprived defendants of “clearly established” civil rights.

There’s more that major players can do.

Don’t treat us as fools. Pritzker promised a fair and impartial approach to required remapping of state legislative districts, and then caved to the naked partisan instincts of his party by signing off on new maps aimed at protecting the Democratic supermajorities.

Ease up on taxes and the fiscal hemorrhaging. Illinois has the heaviest household tax burden of all 50 states, according to a recent report from MoneyGeek. A married couple with national median household income, one child, and a standard-priced home would pay more than $13,000 a year in state and local taxes in Illinois. This isn’t a one-off. A Kiplinger report last November found Illinois to be the least tax-friendly state in the nation. 

Don’t prop up Chicago Public Schools by doubling operational per-student expenditures as enrollment slides dramatically. And let the free market and performance data drive CPS decisions about which schools to keep open and which to close. Yet, to a 2021 bill mandating an elected school board in Chicago, the legislature attached a moratorium until 2025 on closing any Chicago schools. Keeping open schools with one-third or two-thirds of the seats empty makes no sense. 

Taxpayers aren’t made of money, although shocking tax hikes in Chicago and Cook County suggest that officials think so. Like state lawmakers micro-managing local school closure powers, politicians see us as non-playing characters in their fantasy world.

Local officeholders and legislative enablers treat us like nobodies in another way. Through stealth voter suppression. They should quit allowing local elections in odd-numbered years that slash registered voter turnout to around one-third in Chicago and less than one-fifth in Cook County suburbs and other jurisdictions statewide. 

With cooperation of state lawmakers – a new bunch of them, let’s hope – local elections should be allowed to be scheduled at the same time at Presidential contests. When turnout runs to 70 percent or higher. Assuming local officeholders want more voters rather than fewer. 

Odd thing is: these weird local election schedules have been in place for years. There’s the big tell. Local officeholders don’t want more civic engagement. Not through expanded voting. 

In “Free Guy,” the protagonist comes to a breakthrough. He tells an assembled throng, “Are you sick of living in the background?…Of being taken hostage?…Robbed?…Things can be different…We don’t have to be spectators to our own lives.”

Illinois voters: it’s an election year. No one will blame you for moving to one of the most popular states for inbound migration. Like Tennessee, the Carolinas, Florida, Texas, and Arizona. Although there’s another option. You can help set the new agenda of Illinois. 

But first you have to step up.


Matt Rosenberg is senior editor of Wirepoints, and author of What Next, Chicago? Notes of a Pissed-Off Native Son.” He has worked in journalism, public policy, and communications for more than three decades.

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48 Comments
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KJ
2 years ago

Illinois’s government is designed for two parties. Our first option, Democrats, will do or say anything to win elections. The second option, Republicans, will do or say anything for their financial backers. Neither party wants to govern.

Being Had
2 years ago

Not surprising, but the Cook County democrats like Pritzker. Voters want to ask why they like him and insist on getting an answer. Pritzker pays big to play and bends over backwards to meet the demands of their supporters, public union hacks, who will cast votes for him and Amendment I.

At the same time, they don’t like Lightfoot. I don’t think they know who is going to oppose her, but it won’t be Preckwinkle.

NoHope4Illinois
2 years ago

I think dropbox ‘voting’ changed everything, putting the means in place to effectively steal statewide elections at will.

Lin Feddor Cappozzo
2 years ago

Interesting article. Many points to ponder. Low voter turnout? Gee let’s state the obvious. Insanity! Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. It’s disheartening to go vote, hope and wish for change and nothing changes. This movie is on my watch list. Loved Ryan Reynolds’s in Deadpool. Schools don’t get me started. If I had school aged kids I would home school. As the reference to the movie, many are sick of living in background. Sadly in todays world say the wrong thing you are canceled, shamed, called names, too many to list, and then surprise,… Read more »

2 years ago

I think the biggest barrier to voter turnout in local elections – and some surveys to verify this would be helpful – is that registered voters don’t think participating will make a difference. That outcomes generally are predetermined and politicians don’t usually fix or improve problems like escalating crime and taxes, and poor public schools. The beliefs help to fuel the validity of the perception. It’s a vicious circle. So, blue-sky moment. Picture a post-partisan or trans-partisan movement to inspire the masses to get off their rear ends and finally vote for change. An Illinois Reform Initiative, a 501(c)4. Well-bankrolled… Read more »

Tim Favero
2 years ago

Excellent article Matt. I notice towards the end of your article you mention high-destination states for Illinoisans fleeing our tax-rich state, which is the least tax free in the country. I am going to be one of those fleeing Illinois in the next two years as I live in Lake County, Illinois, where our property taxes are the highest in the country as a percentage of home value, and the highest in the country as a percentage of household income. I also read about seven years ago, 11% of the homes in Lake County, IL with a mortgage, has higher… Read more »

2 years ago
Reply to  Tim Favero

Sad to hear that, Tim. Year after year Illinois is near the highest among all 50 states in effective property tax rate. It’s a big thing. One of many.

Last edited 2 years ago by Matt Rosenberg
susan
2 years ago

Working on pay-to-play metaverse game which rewards players (crypto tokens) for evidence of political malfeasance at local levels.
Immutable blockchain Database created as nft with ownership to content creators. Access to database details will cost tokens, enabling ‘royalties’ rewarding neighborhood watchdog participants.
Future candidates at big league levels will not be able to scrub their own ‘farm team’ records from this database like they do from Wiki.

NB
2 years ago
Reply to  susan

Fantastic–an Illinois pay-to-play video game!!!!, the possibilities are endless. As a 2nd class chumbalone taxpayer my character would be a guy who has to grab his ankles and squeal like a pig every time i get hit w a new tax

susan
2 years ago
Reply to  NB

actually it is profitable, crowdsourced documentation system for the everyday political corruption at local government level.
End results may include civil litigation, when out-of-town attorneys (who are not beholden to local governments for their primary compensation) see a coherent bulletin board listing details of evidence of actionable fraud or taxpayer objection cases.
At present there are only rewards, no adverse consequences, for government malfeasance.
At present, there is no reward but plenty of risk and expense citizen watchdogs.
This is the answer to that problem: it is how to make corruption less profitable while incentivizing good actors.

Themis
2 years ago
Reply to  susan

Sounds interesting. Where can we follow your progress or sign up for notifications?

susan
2 years ago
Reply to  Themis

I’m working on it! ask me in comments. testers will be helpful… some tricky parts are blockchain adaptation, oracles for verification of legal citation references, and the automatic dispensing of ‘rewards’ in decentralized way but avoiding inevitable bad actor attempts at theft or project sabotage. The aim of all such projects is full decentralization but there must be centralized governance of project design at first. the design is not (at first) beautiful like video games but will be evocative of regions of corruption (sinkhole of life-value) or less-corruption (fertile fields capable of sustaining life). Real-life mapping to Earth geography includes… Read more »

Jay
2 years ago

Since I haven’t played a video game per se since Wolfenstein 3D in 1991, I’d probably be amazed at what those transistor doo-dads can do now. But…don’t you think that the smart politicians in Chicago–and there are a few of ’em–are ‘war gaming’ various scenarios out? In the cocktail shaker are different parts population exodus, crime stats, fiscal status, alderman corruption cases, tax hikes…and maybe throw in a paralyzing snowstorm, flood or pestilence. What gets the Big 4–Lightfoot, Evans, Preckwinkle, Foxx–out and in what timeframe? Kind of like short & long-term options strategies with the underlying being the well-being of… Read more »

2 years ago
Reply to  Jay

I think you’ve identified why Arne Duncan took a pass on running for Mayor, after all the positioning and build up. He looked around and said, mmm, lose-lose. But Lightfoot’s running again. And the others. The cynic would say power for its own sake is the draw. But the officials you name would each claim many successes with more to come. Most related to spending, programs, development, and cherry picked or distorted metrics. So I’m not sure any of them are gaming an exit. Being in the game is its own reward.

Last edited 2 years ago by Matt Rosenberg
debtsor
2 years ago
Reply to  Jay

We live in the golden age of video gaming right now. Never been a better time in history to play pc or console games. The quality and depth of games these days exceeds anything that Hollywood puts out. And it hasn’t quite gone woke yet other as woke games fail miserably in the gaming world.

Honest Jerk
2 years ago

“Illinois voters: it’s an election year. No one will blame you for moving to one of the most popular states for inbound migration. Like Tennessee, the Carolinas, Florida, Texas, and Arizona. Although there’s another option. You can help set the new agenda of Illinois.”  Understand if you remain, housing in the other states mentioned will become more out of reach. Understand by staying, if down the road you change your mind, leaving will be even more expensive than now. Ask yourself, what is more likely, Illinois continues on the current path towards financial ruin, or it does a U turn.… Read more »

2 years ago
Reply to  Honest Jerk

What if I said the chances for a U-Turn starting this year are at least 50-50?

Honest Jerk
2 years ago
Reply to  Matt Rosenberg

I would respectfully disagree. There will always be small signs for hope and it’s easy to fool yourself that things might improve. What are the chances Illinois taxes will be lower any time soon?

ProzacPlease
2 years ago
Reply to  Matt Rosenberg

I always wonder why the “just move” advocates think that progressives will leave other places alone. The progressive agenda must be defeated, or there will be no escape. They will not allow Florida and Tennessee to stand as a sort of East Germany/West Germany contrast.

Honest Jerk
2 years ago
Reply to  ProzacPlease

The way to defeat the progressive agenda is “just move”. States that lose taxpayers year after year will eventually collapse.

2 years ago
Reply to  ProzacPlease

Actually, yes. Good point. Montana will be Progressive before you know it. Idaho, too. You can see it already in Texas. And because there’s an oversupply in the states they’re leaving, it’s politically strategic for them to disperse. Plus, for the time being they get lower taxes, lower crime, and better governance into the bargain.

Last edited 2 years ago by Matt Rosenberg
debtsor
2 years ago
Reply to  ProzacPlease

Some areas have more progressives than others. IL has a lot of them and they comprise a larger % of the Democrat party.

Admin
2 years ago
Reply to  ProzacPlease

Right, Prozac. They are already destroying Austin TX. Houston and Dallas are nearly lost. They must be taken down comprehensively — their entire movement — not just locally.

Last edited 2 years ago by Mark Glennon
Thee Jabroni
2 years ago
Reply to  Mark Glennon

please explain to me Mark why it seems all the large cities are mostly democrat leftists and progressives?

debtsor
2 years ago
Reply to  Thee Jabroni

Democrat power in major cities goes back over 100 years in many cases. Democrats ran most of the country from the 1930’s through the 1990’s, other than a few presidencies here and there. Even Reagan had a House of Reps with 269D to 166R during the 83-84 congress. I once asked my parents how they could have voted Democrat in their youth and they said “everyone did”. The Democrat power structures in major cities are vestiges of decades old entrenched Democrat political systems. The Democrat party stays even though the policies and people change. Daley I and II would be… Read more »

Last edited 2 years ago by debtsor
Thee Jabroni
2 years ago
Reply to  debtsor

thank u debstor

Steve Hammer
1 year ago
Reply to  ProzacPlease

It’s not just the Progressives that rule our State, the weather sucks at least 50% of the year too. After 60 plus years, finally have an exit strategy 🙂

debtsor
2 years ago
Reply to  Matt Rosenberg

Housing is going to crash big time, never been a bigger bubble worldwide than now. China’s real estate bubble popped a few months ago and it’s a slow motion train wreck
of Ponzi schemes, bond defaults, declining prices and crumbling buildings. This is coming to America
Too. The good news is that Chicago will crash less than other places because our prices barely rose.

Rick
2 years ago
Reply to  Honest Jerk

Elections are rigged now that we have mail in ballots. My wife and I got our mail in ballots sent to us unsolicited, didn’t ask for them. We thought, ok we’ll mail them in. Then we soon realized that whoever opened the envelope would see Trump and throw out our ballots. So on election day we showed up and voted in person. Sure enough, someone must have thrown out our mail in ballot because nobody stopped us from voting! The system had no record of the mail-in ballots. Elections are rigged, fraudulent, especially in Illinois.

Thee Jabroni
2 years ago

Wait just a second,ive seen JB’s political ads and he says that he’s working for ALL Illinoisan’s,and his job’s not done yet.I personally believe him

Freddy
2 years ago
Reply to  Thee Jabroni

I think every politician should be hooked up to a lie detector every time they open their mouths. It would be great to see how fast the machine would overheat and self destruct.

Thee Jabroni
2 years ago
Reply to  Freddy

I honestly dont think the politicians have the capability to not lie and try to bullshit everyone,thats all they know how to do.The lie detector machine would be engulfed in flames in about 10 seconds if they hooked it up to JB’s fat little sausage fingers

Freddy
2 years ago
Reply to  Thee Jabroni

True-If the baseline questions are all answered in lies then all the answers would be lies. Think of all the promises that are made by the pols to get elected. How many are followed thru. I am still wondering what was in the 5,000+ bills that were left to die by Madigan in some obscure committee? A lot of effort was probably put in to draft those bills but one person had the power to never let them be seen on the assembly floor. My guess is most were sponsored by Republicans. If any Republican lawmakers reads this try to… Read more »

Pat S.
2 years ago
Reply to  Freddy

Do you believe Speaker Welch is an improvement? I don’t.

Rick
2 years ago
Reply to  Freddy

Politicians can lie and still believe their lies so I’m not sure the machine would work. Jussie seems to able to continue his lie as his truth, same for politicians.

Thee Jabroni
2 years ago
Reply to  Rick

Juicy for mayor!!!

state_pension_millionaires
2 years ago

I like the spirit and you are right, legislators in Illinois treat the non-public union taxpayer without any real respect, whatsoever. Its extreme here of course (#1-2 in tax burden; #1-2 in political corruption; and #51, behind Puerto Rico, in fiscal condition). But they will not change, as they know this game well and with their public union allies, play hardball. They live, overall, by: quid in me est? We have two options, let the host die off (continue to flee to other states), or fund some sort of ruthless powerful lobbying group to counter them at the grass roots… Read more »

2 years ago

So, you feel that old fashioned electoral politics – and voters on their own – have little potential for engineering reversal? I mean, I can understand why someone would say that looking at the many decades in Illinois of building up to today’s policy wreckage. But is there another scenario for change other than a) leaving; or b) your suggestion?

Abe`s Ghost
2 years ago
Reply to  Matt Rosenberg

Matt theres only A as a solution for any normal thinking adult Illinois is the California New York of the Midwest you me we are surrounded by brain dead zombie voters intent on punching a vote for anyone with a D behind their name black and brown have been hypnotize into believing only to vote Democrat as well as the Marxist white liberal same in both other states in mention look to those states for Illinois`s future BLEAK at best

debtsor
2 years ago
Reply to  Abe`s Ghost

Read the top comments of the NYT, it’s the same refrain: “I am disappointed with the Democrats, they’ve gone crazy, but I could never ever ever vote for a racist transphobe Republican, I’d rather just not vote.”

That’s a good description of the average IL voter.

Honest Jerk
2 years ago
Reply to  Matt Rosenberg

Matt, I believe your fellow Wirepoint authors have mentioned in the past that they don’t believe significant positive change will come until the state hits rock bottom and I agree with that assessment. The people leaving are expediting the journey to rock bottom and are in fact helping Illinois. People leaving is a good thing.

2 years ago
Reply to  Honest Jerk

Fair enough. But how exactly do we know when we’ve hit rock-bottom? Or at least, when would *you* say we’ve landed there? After….what?

state_pension_millionaires
2 years ago
Reply to  Matt Rosenberg

Nice to have your articles and your comments in these threads Matt. We have seen some big pluses, such as Wirepoints and non-union taxpayers no longer happy talking about “a city that works”. We know fully that we are being abused by a collective political class of extreme incompetence and corruption. That’s a plus…people are upset and talking. The Ill pols have us locked down. The taxpayers have to pay for the lavish public sector pensions and medical benefits, (as well as salaries), with no municipal bankruptcy options. The ILL pols, and their public sector union pals, know that there is trillions of home/business value… Read more »

Themis
2 years ago
Reply to  Matt Rosenberg

I would say we are approaching rock bottom when a large majority of people are deprived of things they count on government providing every day. Some municipalities are already having their tax income garnished to pay for pensions and so have had to cut police/fire staff. When garbage collection is cut to every other week or less and starts to pile up in neighborhoods, when people change their driving routes because a major road is undriveable or a bridge washes out and isn’t replaced, when power or other utilities are regularly diminished or cut. Probably the biggest attention getter would… Read more »

Honest Jerk
2 years ago
Reply to  Matt Rosenberg

When Illinois can’t pay the public pensions. That’s when the public unions will allow the Dems to take a new direction.

debtsor
2 years ago
Reply to  Honest Jerk

Rock bottom is when Naperville looks like East St. Louis Elgin or Joliet and we aren’t quite there yet.

Last edited 2 years ago by debtsor
Pat S.
2 years ago
Reply to  debtsor

Not yet, though Chicago crime creep is hitting the NW suburbs. Last week in Mt. Prospect a woman was carjacked by armed blacks in her own driveway. Just a day or so ago, the shooting in Rosemont at the mall. And retail theft in Oak Brook.

Those made the news; most don’t.

We don’t plan to stick around to see how it all ends.

debtsor
2 years ago
Reply to  Pat S.

There’s some hope that the crime and CRT issues will turn the suburbs and state red, even if Cook County itself, due to large BIPOC populations, stays as blue as ever.

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A statewide concern: Illinois’ population decline outpaces neighboring states – Wirepoints on ABC20 Champaign

“We are not in good shape” Wirepoints’ Ted Dabrowski told ABC 20 Champaign during a segment on Illinois’ latest population losses. Illinois was one of just three states to shrink in the 2010-2020 period and has lost another 300,000 people since then. Ted says things need to change. “It’s too expensive to live here, there aren’t enough good jobs and nobody trusts the government anymore. There’s just other places to go where you can be more satisfied.”

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