Residents continue pouring out of Illinois as taxes rise and the economy stagnates in the state.
In 2016, Illinois lost 37,508 residents bringing the state population to it’s lowest in a decade. With Illinois still failing to agree on a budget, senators have passed a spending bill that increases income taxes by 32% while property taxes rise and wages stagnate according to the Illinois Department of Revenue.
Along with rising income and property taxes, a new “Soda Tax” has been implemented in Cook County as well.
The unending tax hikes, poor economic growth, and stagnating wages are driving out young college graduates and prime working-age workers to leave the state in search of jobs else-where. In contrast, Illinois’s neighbor Indiana is retaining their prime-age workers because Indiana’s economy continues to grow to support their Indiana-natives.
As Illinois continues to make attempts to generate more tax money, tax-payers will continue to flee the state. Only an immediate budget solution and business-friendly tax reform can fix this problem.