Prairie State Wire

Former Illinois State Treasurer candidate Jim Dodge is convinced Illinois’ dwindling population can be directly traced to what’s happening in Springfield.

“I think there are many individual reasons why this happened, but I think the summary of all of them is people are concerned about the future of Illinois and what it means for their families,” Dodge told the Prairie State Wire. “That could be based on taxes, corruption or educational performances. For any family, anyone of those reasons could be the most important one. In the end, people worry about the future of Illinois because it impacts the future of their family.”

According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau statistics, over the last decade nearly 170,000 residents have fled Illinois, including almost 49,000 people from Cook County alone. Over that same time, the state has lost population in at least 93 of its 102 counties.  Overall, as many as 10 different counties have lost at least 5,000 residents and Dodge fears the flood gates could soon be opening even wider.

“Until we restore trust in our political institutions to the point we believe they are trying to do the greatest good for the greatest number of people I don’t think the trend will change,” he said. “You got decades of bad decisions where the bills are coming due and a lot of people are choosing not to stick around.  At the end of the day, no one runs from prosperity.”

With Illinois being only one of four states to show losses over the last decade, downstate counties have particularly suffered, with the region losing 144,000 residents or 3.2% of its 2010 population over that time.

Meanwhile, data shows the losses in Cook County represent the second-worst losses of residents in any country across the country, with only Wayne County in Michigan losing more people.