New data shows Illinois since 2010 lost up to $32 billion in income from people moving out. Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s graduated income tax plan would hike rates on residents most likely to leave the state, on net.
It’s the fifth year in a row Illinois has lost people. And the fifth year in a row that the loss has gotten worse. No other state finds itself adrift in five consecutive years of worsening population decline.
Chicago’s $1.15 billion projected budget gap is the latest in a decades-long string of structural deficits. Making Chicago’s high taxes worse is not the solution.