United States Census Bureau

Illinoisans flee the state for neighboring Indiana, Missouri and Wisconsin

By Michael Lucci
01/24/2014
The story of Illinois’ steady out-migration problem is well known, but just where are Illinoisans moving to? Is the outflow driven entirely by retirees and beach-goers moving to Florida? Not according to the U.S. Census Bureau, which just released its 2012 American Community Survey of state-to-state migration flow data. These data use census surveys to...

TAGS: population

Illinois’ sputtering population growth

01/09/2014
The U.S. Census Bureau announced that Illinois had the sixth-lowest population growth in the nation in 2013. The state’s population growth was just 0.11 percent, adding only 14,000 people to its population of nearly 13 million people. Other large states such as Georgia, North Carolina, Florida and Texas grew seven to 13 times faster than...

TAGS: population

Trapped in Chicago’s worst schools: Education outcomes in Chicago’s lowest-performing public schools

10/24/2013
THE PROBLEM More than 21,000 students in Chicago Public Schools, or CPS, are being left behind. They are attending schools that fail to prepare them for life. A majority of students attending the lowest 10 percent of elementary schools and high schools in Chicago don’t have basic competence in reading, science and math. They’re significantly...

TAGS: CPS: Chicago Public Schools, CTU: Chicago Teachers Union, Illinois Standard Achievement Test, ISAT: Illinois Standards Achievement Test

High revenue growth in Illinois leaves lawmakers hungry for more

By Benjamin VanMetre
10/05/2013
Progressive lawmakers in Illinois continually argue that the state has a revenue problem. They argue that,  with a little more cash in the coffers, Illinois could solve its countless fiscal woes. This talking point is part of a larger sales pitch used to advocate for higher taxes in Illinois. But it’s not true. In fact,...

Federal agencies stage fake “shutdown” of websites

By Brian Costin
10/01/2013
This morning we began to notice that a number of Federal agencies have “shutdown” their websites. We put that shut down in quotes because the websites aren’t really shutdown. In reality, federal agencies have “shutdown” websites while keeping them online to say they are “shutdown”. For example, here’s the page you will see when you...

Census: Chicago slowest growing big city in U.S.

By Hilary Gowins
05/25/2013
The state of Illinois has been experiencing net out-migration for the last decade. That is, the number of people choosing to leave the state is outpacing the number of people moving to Illinois. Illinois had the eighth-lowest population growth in the nation between 2002 and 2012. And compared with its neighbors, Illinois’ population growth is...

TAGS: Chicago, outmigration, population

Facing facts: the numbers show Illinois is losing people

By Benjamin VanMetre
03/16/2013
Illinois loses one resident every 10 minutes to net out-migration. It should be no surprise that people are fleeing Illinois. Illinois ranks 48th in economic outlook, 45th in GDP growth between 2000 and 2010, and 47th in its level of entrepreneurial activity. There is little opportunity left for Illinois’ families and entrepreneurs to succeed. And...

Even before record 67 percent tax hike, Illinois has 11th-highest tax burden nationwide

By Ted Dabrowski, John Klingner
10/23/2012
The Tax Foundation has reaffirmed Illinois’ status as a high-tax state in its newly released 2012 Annual State-Local Tax Burden Ranking. Based on the Census Bureau’s 2010 data, the report found that Illinois’ overall tax burden per resident is the 11th highest in the nation. Some highlights from the report include: At 10.2 percent, Illinois has...

Illinois’ out-migration crisis

12/20/2011
by Ted Dabrowski Illinois is bleeding people to almost every state in the nation. People are packing up and voting with their feet. Gone – goodbye. When people leave, they don’t just take their belongings. With them go their earnings, their spending power and their contribution to society. When they own companies, they even take the...