Kane County Reporter

Former Republican House hopeful Jeanette Ward isn’t surprised to see the state paying a steep price for what she views as all its stifling positions.

“I think policy has consequences, and the policy put in place by the Democrats has residents wanting to leave this state at an increasing rate,” Ward told the Kane County Reporter. “People are developing their exit plans, and they’re executing them without hesitation. That doesn’t bode well for the state, and Republicans have been warning everyone about these policies for years only to be ignored.”

Ward can’t see how that can continue for much longer, given the state’s crumbling status. 

The latest U.S. Census Bureau statistics show Illinois is now one of four states experiencing a population decline during the last 10 years, with almost 170,000 residents leaving.

The exodus equates to 93 counties seeing a dip in population over that time, topped by the Cook County area where approximately 49,000 people have fled. 

“If we don’t change course soon, eventually things are going to become so dire that it’s going to take things like draconian cuts to services we should be funding from revenues we should be taking in just to hold things together,” she said. “I know the governor is hoping for a federal bailout, but the truth is no one owes us, and we brought this all on ourselves.”

Additional analysis showed that downstate counties have seen 144,000 residents or 3.2% of its 2010 population over the same time period move out. In addition, data shows the losses in Cook County represent the second-worst losses of residents in any county across the country. 

“It really amazes me that nothing is being done,” Ward said. “I really don’t know how much longer this can continue before things are even worse.”