North Cook News

In the mind of Illinois state Rep. Tom Morrison (R-Palatine), a new survey that finds successful millennials are leaving Illinois at a rate faster than every state but New York is the latest example of the state's policymakers not being able to get out of their own way.

“I think it demonstrates once again that the longer Illinois delays solving it root problems, the harder it will be to retain and attract productive and growing families,” Morrison told North Cook News. “Illinois does offer amenities that are attractive, but people have the ability to weigh all the pros and cons of different jurisdictions or regions.”

According to the Smart Asset survey, at least 2,248 so-called successful millennials, all under the age of 35 and boasting adjusted gross incomes over $100,000, made their getaway from Illinois over a 12-month period beginning in 2015, further igniting a trend that has seen the state’s overall population dip in each of the last five years. On top of that, a University of Illinois at Springfield poll conducted in 2018 found that two of every three state residents under the age of 35 admit they have pictured themselves being someplace else with the state’s runaway taxes accounting for most of their angst.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker

With Gov. J.B. Pritzker having just enacted his first state budget, replete with at least 21 new provisions that raise taxes or fees, Morrison said he knows things figure to get worse before they get better.

“Property taxes are still one of the biggest drivers of our housing costs and we have to look at the root causes of why that is,” he said. “State and local laws helped to lock in the status quo of expensive local and state government. Not only haven’t we seen pension reform, but this last session we reversed course. Instead of modernizing state and local government, we’re continuing bad practices that drive up costs.”