Poll: Taxes, economy top concerns for Illinoisans
A recent survey also shows that fully half of residents would move out of the state given the opportunity.
Pocketbook issues concern Illinoisans significantly more than other issues and account for why so many would leave if given the chance.
More than half of Illinois voters polled cited high taxes as a top issue in a list of seven issues facing Illinois, according to a survey conducted for the Illinois Policy Institute.
Next was the economy, selected by 41% of respondents. That percentage has risen sharply in the past year, from 24% at the beginning of 2025 to 35% in the first quarter of this year. The percentage citing taxes fell from 58% in the first quarter.
Voter irritation with property taxes is high. Over 61% said they were somewhat or very dissatisfied with the value their community gets for those taxes. Fewer than 24% were somewhat or very satisfied.
Illinois is tied with New Jersey for the highest effective residential property tax rate. State residents pay the highest combined state and local tax rate in the country. Per-capita state and local taxes were in the top 10 in the country in fiscal 2023.
The resulting financial stress has more residents considering an out-of-state move. Just over 51% of poll respondents would leave Illinois if they had the opportunity, the highest percentage in the past six quarters. About 39% would stay — lowest since the beginning of 2025 — and about 10% were unsure.
Among the half who would leave, almost 69% cited taxes as a top one or two issue facing Illinois. The next-highest issue cited in that group was state governance, at about 32%.
Plenty of people have already acted on the widespread desire to get out. From July 1, 2024, to July 1, 2025, more than 40,000 residents left Illinois for other states.
Despite so many Illinoisans eyeing the exits, the General Assembly did virtually nothing this year to deliver tax relief. They passed an essentially meaningless six-month pause in the automatic annual increase to the state gas tax, saving drivers a mere 1.3 cents a gallon from July 1 to the end of the year. They also added taxes on online fantasy sports operators and digital ads in a budget that awaits a signature from Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
The poll of 517 likely Illinois voters was taken May 9 to 11 by M3 Strategies for the Illinois Policy Institute, with respondents chosen randomly from 2024 general election voters. The margin of error is 4.13 percentage points.