Prairie State Wire

With partial data reported from the 2020 U.S. Census, Illinois lawmakers have received the news they've been dreading: with the first population drop in 200 years, the Prairie State lost a seat in Congress. 

Former economic advisor for the Reagan administration Art Laffer appeared on Fox Busines April 26 to speculate about the state's loss of a congressional seat. He noted that high tax rates are likely to blame. 

Laffer said low-tax states such as Florida, Texas and Nevada are drawing people out of high-tax states in droves. The consequence for Illinois may be less funding for infrastructure, social services and more. 

"It's really a move from high tax to low tax, not from blue to red states," Laffer said.

Illinois is one of three states to have lost population and lost the second-highest amount in the nation behind West Virginia. The state's number of congressional districts will drop to 17 from 18. 

Illinois Policy pointed to the state's history of public policy for the lack of competitive housing and employment opportunities compared to neighboring states and beyond. The policy organization reported that approximately half of all residents have considered moving out of state, citing high taxes being the driving reason. 

While the data recently released is not complete and the detailed numbers needed for redistricting the state's legislative borders are not ready, Democrats are moving forward with their plan to use what data is available to get a final draft of the new districts on the governor's desk by June 30. Republicans, however, continue to rally for an independent redistricting commission of Illinois citizens take on the task rather than politicians. 

Unless the governor follows through on his campaign promise to veto a partisan map, one of the state's GOP districts will likely be eliminated.