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According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2022 estimates, 92
of Illinois' 102 counties lost residents from July 2021 to July
of last year. Cook County lost a staggering 68,314 people, the
second highest total by number in the country behind only Los
Angeles County.
Mark Glennon, founder of the nonprofit Wirepoints, said high
taxes are just one of the reasons for the exodus.
“The economy, crime of course, is the big one right now that is
driving people out of Chicago and other places,” Glennon said.
Other Illinois counties that lost a large amount of residents
include Lake County at around 3,000, St. Clair County at 2,300,
and Kane County lost 2,000 people.
Despite the nonpartisan data from the Census Bureau, Gov. J.B.
Pritzker said Illinois’ population is increasing.
“We did not lose population as you saw when the Census Bureau
data came through for the 2020 census,” Pritzker said. “We
actually gained population especially as they looked more
closely after the initial announcements at what happened state
to state.”
Glennon disagrees and said he expects the trend to continue as a
result of those responsible for running state government.
“A recent Trafalgar poll showed that some 7 percent say they’re
going to move in the next three years to a place that is more
politically likable to them,” said Glennon.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Illinois’ population has
dropped for nine consecutive years. Only West Virginia has a
longer streak. During that time, Illinois has lost 516,000
people, larger than the populations of Rockford, Aurora and
Naperville combined.
Illinois has lost 10 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives
since 1930, and recently lost a congressional seat.
Kevin Bessler reports on statewide issues in
Illinois for the Center Square. He has over 30 years of
experience in radio news reporting throughout the Midwest.
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