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ILLINOIS
LOST 86,000 PEOPLE ON NET TO WISCONSIN OVER THE PAST DECADE
Illinois Policy Institute
Illinois lost almost 24 residents per day
to Wisconsin from 2006 through 2015.
Each year, thousands of Illinoisans move to Packers’ territory to
escape the high tax burden south of the border.
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 Illinois suffered a net loss of more than 11,000 people to Wisconsin in 2015,
according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. That’s the equivalent of more
than 31 Illinoisans becoming Wisconsinites on a daily basis.
Illinoisans have routinely relocated to the Badger State over the past decade.
During the 10-year period from 2006 through 2015, Illinois lost almost 86,000
people on net to Wisconsin. That’s an average net loss of nearly 9,000 people
per year and almost 24 per day.
Illinois’ population losses aren’t the norm in the Midwest. In fact, the Land of
Lincoln is the only state in the region with a shrinking population, and half of
the Illinoisans who left in 2015 relocated to other Midwestern states. Fleeing
Illinoisans are reacting to the hard-hitting effects of a struggling state
spiraling downward toward fiscal insolvency. But as more Illinoisans check out,
the state’s tax base is shrinking, making it even harder for Illinois to balance
its books.
It’s easy to see why Wisconsin is an attractive alternative to Illinois.
Whereas Illinois burdens residents with some of the highest property taxes in
the nation, Wisconsin’s property tax rates are currently at their lowest point
since the end of World War II.
Illinois’ out-of-step property taxes also hurt businesses, some of which
ultimately decide to move their operations a few miles north of Illinois’ border
into more manufacturing-friendly Wisconsin.
The buck doesn’t stop there. Wisconsin’s 4 percent unemployment rate is
significantly lower than Illinois’, which creeped back up to 5.7 percent in
December. Wisconsin also has Right-to-Work legislation on the books – which
gives workers the right to choose whether or not to participate in unions, and
has been shown to spur both jobs and income growth.
What’s more, Wisconsin reported an unexpected $21 million surplus for the
state’s upcoming budget, much of which came from hundreds of millions of
dollars’ worth of higher-than-anticipated tax revenues. Wisconsin Gov. Scott
Walker cut taxes by more than $4.7 billion during his tenure, so the increased
tax revenue isn’t the result of tax hikes.
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 Compared with Illinois, Wisconsin is friendlier to taxpayers and
businesses, and the state’s surplus has paved the way for
responsible state spending. Wisconsin’s close proximity also makes
the move from Illinois practical.
By contrast, Illinois’ rampant government spending and anti-growth
policies have buried the state in a $7.1 billion budget hole, while
pension debt and unpaid bills total more than $140 billion.
State senators are proposing multimillion-dollar tax hikes to stem
Illinois’ financial woes. But this would hurt businesses and
taxpayers and wouldn’t solve Illinois’ budget problems, which stem
from uncontrolled state spending. After raising more than $31
billion following the 2011 income tax hikes, for example, Illinois
still grew the budget instead of paying down debts.
Furthermore, the most prudent way to increase tax revenue is to grow
the state’s tax base: More people paying into government coffers is
far better than fewer people paying more. The following pro-growth
reforms would be a good start to making Illinois a state worthy of
investment rather than divestment:
Property tax freeze with structural reforms, to give taxpayers
much-needed relief and protect home values
Enactment of Right to Work, so that Illinois can compete with
surrounding states
Fixing cost drivers, such as pensions, workers’ compensation and
collective bargaining
Illinois is at risk of nosediving into a financial and economic
death spiral. As demonstrated by Wisconsin’s reforms and resulting
surplus, Illinois needs to make serious structural reforms to
attract people and investment all the while curbing irresponsible
state spending.
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