Chambana Sun

Veteran Illinois state Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) laments Springfield can’t seem to get out of its own way in the fight to put the teetering state back on the right course.

“People are leaving Illinois because there aren’t enough good jobs for people that want them and the taxes are way too high on everybody else,” Caulkins told the Chambana Sun. “On top of that, this isn’t a business friendly state, taxes are too high and there too many regulations to attract new businesses.”

Caulkins added such a combination makes it easy to see why people are fleeing in droves, leaving Illinois just one of four states to actually lose population over the last decade. Recent data compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau pegs the losses at 170,000 residents, adding 93 of the state’s 102 counties have all suffered decline, topped by Cook County’s loss of almost 49,000 residents.

 Finally, at least 10 counties have suffered losses of more than 5,000 people, with Caulkins unsure of what to expect next.

“We need to be reforming our pensions to we can free up some money to invest in infrastructure,” he said. “Beyond that, we need to become a more business friendly state. At the end of the day, you can have all the regulations you want but if the jobs are leaving there’s going to be struggle.”

Caulkins adds Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s growing penchant of governing by executive order doesn’t help.

“All these draconian styled lockdowns are the last thing we need,” he said.

 A deeper dive into the numbers highlights how downstate counties have particularly been hard hit by the exodus, with the region having lost 144,000 residents or 3.2% of its 2010 population over the same time period. In addition, data shows the losses in Cook County represent the second worst losses of residents in any country across the country, with only Wayne County in Michigan losing more people.