By: Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner
It’s another year of population shrinkage for Illinois, the third year in a row since the 2020 Decennial revealed Illinois was just one of three states in the entire country to lose population between 2010 to 2020.
The latest state population estimates for 2023 were released by the US Census and Illinois’ population dropped by 32,000 between July of 2022 and June 2023. The only bigger losers nationally were New York and California, which lost 102,000 and 75,000 people, respectively.
In contrast, the nation’s biggest winner was Texas, which added nearly 475,000 to its population. Florida was second with a 365,000 increase, while North Carolina was third with an addition of nearly 140,000.
The state’s losses continue to expose why Illinois’ noncompetitiveness – on taxes, jobs, home values, debts and more – matters. It’s causing the state to shrink.
Illinois’ losses continued even as all of its neighbors grew. Indiana added nearly 30,000 people in 2023 while both Missouri and Wisconsin added about 20,000 each.
Three-year losses pile up
Illinois has now lost nearly a quarter of a million in population since 2020 – the nation’s 3rd-largest decline over the near three-year period. Both California and New York have each seen their populations shrink by over 500,000.
The comparison to Illinois’ neighbors is even more dire over those three years. Illinois stands out not only for the size of its losses, but also for the fact that all of its neighbors except Michigan grew.
A breakdown of components
Illinois’ losses are lower this year compared to the last two – the state lost over 100,000 of its population in both 2021 and 2022 – with the end of the pandemic likely playing a large role nationally according to the Census: “Population trends are returning to pre-pandemic norms as the number of annual deaths decreased last year and migration reverted to patterns not seen since before 2020.”
In 2023 Illinois deaths declined, and international in-migration rose. The state also experienced a loss of more than 83,000 residents to out-migration – a drop of about 60,000 compared to last year. Combined, those elements resulted in the net population loss of 32,000 for the state.
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Illinois’ political elite continue to find new ways to dismiss the state’s declining population. Some, including Gov. J.B. Pritzker, continue to claim the state is still growing.
But evidence continues to pile up every year – from the moving van companies, the IRS and the Census – to the contrary.
The bill passed despite their votes in response to certain incidents where local prosecutors are thought to have been too lenient with non-citizens assaulting cops.
The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board cited Wirepoints’ analysis of Chicago student proficiency data in their latest piece condemning the Chicago Teachers Union’s outrageous contract demands…all while a vast majority of Chicago’s children graduate unable to read at grade level.
Ted joined Tom Miller of WJPF to talk about the details of Gov. Pritzker’s proposed $52 billion budget, why the state is struggling now that federal covid dollars have run out, the controversy surrounding Tier 2 government pensions, why Illinois’ expensive education system fails to teach children to read, the outrageous demands of the Chicago Teachers Union, and more.
Multi-decade increases in political corruption, centralization and power, declines in citizens’ rights, safety, education, business conditions and other significant variables.
Stay and fight, or move for better quality of life and future for your children?
Numbers talk.
New Illinois state motto;
Stay and Pay, Leave and Save!!
THIS DATA IS FALSE!!! MAGA RACIST NAZI FASCIST DEPLORABLE REPUBLICAN CISGENDER CARNIVAL BARKERS!!!!!
You forgot the new, popular one: Enemies of democracy.
The smart ones are leaving Illinois.
The dumb & cowardly are staying.
Thumbs downing the simple truth doesn’t change it nor make you look smarter & stronger. It just shows mental fragility. Like the Kremlin.
So, all of us who stay are “like the Kremlin.” Got it. Look, we’ve never criticized those who choose to leave. In fact, we’ve said that’s wise if all other things are equal. But to those who leave I would say this firmly: You sure better not be sitting on your asses in a sane state thinking you are safe from the madness going on.Today’s radical, progressive surge is a full-on threat to nothing less than civilization itself. You better be doing all you reasonably can, in whatever say suits you, to fight it. Illinois is just one front on… Read more »
This argument could be applied to Israelis? They are surrounded by literal existential threats, would you say they are too stupid and afraid to start new lives elsewhere? Are they are too stupid and afraid to go to unknown regions and face unknown threats for which they may have no tried-and-true defenses (while at least at home, one knows one’s own self-defense mechanisms)? You are right, but you are also wrong. Nobody is calling YOU a coward, or calling your personal integrity into question. We whom you address will assume, until you inform us otherwise, that you are merely pointing… Read more »
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No it can’t. Israel is very very VERY different than Illinois. The Israeli government provides safety & sanctuary from the hostility & persecution jews have faced around the world, the rest of the middle east and throughout history. Illinois doesn’t provide safety. In fact it openly hurts its citizens and provides a hostile living environment.
Also, we don’t have Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa and Missouri periodically declaring war on us and dispatching suicide bombers, kidnappers, etc. across our borders. As much as Packer Backers despise the Bears, you probably won’t hear Wisconsinites chanting “From the river to the lake, Cheeseheads will be free!” anytime soon.
They call us FIBs and ‘dem fightin’ words.
No it can’t. Israel is very very VERY different than Illinois. The Israeli government provides safety & sanctuary from the hostility & persecution jews have faced around the world, the rest of the middle east and throughout history. Illinois doesn’t provide safety. In fact it openly hurts its citizens and provides a hostile living environment.
Indiana and other commenters: Please be aware that our spam filter temporarily holds for review comments with some ethnic words like Jew or Israeli. We set those comments live as soon as we review them. We don’t censor them unless they contain something truly racist, gay-bashing, antisemitic or the like. On the rare occasion when they do, those commenters get permanently banned. We have been very fortunate on that, and have only had ten or so people banned for that since our start.
How does all the progressive, DEI, equity hustling, blaming & shaming, etc work in a declining population state and declining/ or flat GDP state? And with no big fed bailout $bucks$ on the horizon?…and we’re still burning through the end of our COVID $cash$
Funny how the blue elites look down their noses at “ the deplorables “ in red states, yet they are flocking there to spread their progressive/ socialist/ Marxist agenda.
Yep, my never Trump neighbor is moving to Florida, he also hates DeSantis.
He’d do well to hide his political views there. Lots of gators and guns in FL.
Also extremely high property insurance rates with high deductibles.
I’m no economist ( the same could be said for those tasked with the economy in Joe’s cabinet) but I would argue that the overall lower cost of living and the absence of obscene taxation would offset the insurance costs. And is the whole state in that situation, or areas more prone to devastating storms, flooding, etc?
To your neighbor: Interesting that those who have destroyed the ‘compassion professions’ (such as: churches, volunteers, nursing, emergency medical provision, police, military)(no vax? =no job! no pension? we will make special exception to law in YOUR case! Volunteer, maybe, but…Christian? Go to H@!!) expect that their own loudly blasted ‘protected political speech’ nonsense hatred of these sectors will be overlooked for themselves personally, when they need…medical or police or emergency or compassionate assistance. Dude. Next time a nurse approaches you with a ‘professional smile’ pasted on her face…are you SURE you are safe???? Think about it. Not everybody is afflicted… Read more »
The Toliet Bowl king, JB ( Just Bull….) Cannot
Make people stay in this communist ideology
State. Outmigration of people will continue and with them goes the wealth needed to support the terrible union’s, bring in all the
Illegals they drain not fill the state and city
Coffers.
Deck chairs all in a row, as the band starts playing “ Nearer My God To Thee “.
The only difference between the far left Illinois Dems and the captain of the Titanic is that the Illinois Dems *intentionally* steered the ship towards the iceberg! They wanted the worst case scenario.
Unfortunately for the Dems, there’s enough lifeboats for the residents of Illinois, i.e., the free red states of America.
Check this paragraph, Indiana is listed with 2 different amounts. I think the second one should say Wisconsin.
“Illinois’ losses continued even as all of its neighbors grew. Indiana added nearly 30,000 people in 2023 while both Missouri and Indiana added about 20,000 each. “
Should IL license plates be rented out to U-Haul for advertisement? State could get maybe $5/ plate. Could be used for the unfunded pensions.
250,000 taxpayer citizens gone in just 3 years is like Rockford and Peoria being gone. Would guess the demographic of those leaving are folks with above average networth.
Emblematic of Blue Democrat led States.
Nothing that Governor Abott can’t fix.
Where is conspiracy theory Raj when we need him to accuse the Census Bureau of fabricating numbers?
Time for new license plates:
Illinois – Land of Shrinkin’
Why before you know it Governor Pritzker will be calling Governor Abbott begging for more immigrant busses. Gotta keep the population numbers up for the House apportionment and electoral votes you know.
Governor Carnival Barker isn’t going to like this one bit.
Interested to see as to how comrade Flintstone will work the “Xenophobic, racist, white supremacist MAGA hat wearers “ into the mix. He’ll try after he gets done blaming Abbot, DeSantis and Trump for his boneheaded decisions.
He just won’t believe it. He will tell everyone else not to believe it. He will spin it, you can count on it.