Decline and fall: Pennsylvania passes negative-growth Illinois in population rank

Abandoned home on Chicago's 

South Side

When I'm asked why I go into the worst neighborhoods of Chicago and its inner suburbs to take photographs of abandoned houses and factories, I reply that I'm doing so because I am preparing myself for Illinois' future.

Scratch that--the next time I venture out to do the same it'll be to document the present.

From the Quad City Times:

Illinois was just one of eight states in the nation to lose population between mid-2016 and mid-2017, with much of it due to people leaving for other states, according to new estimates published Wednesday by the federal government.

Illinois' population fell by 33,703 people to just over 12.8 million, according to the estimates. The loss caused it to slip behind Pennsylvania to the 6th most populous state in the nation.

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Illinois' population loss was the worst in the country on a numerical basis, and on a percentage basis it was second from the bottom, with only West Virginia faring worse.

Most of Illinois' population decline was due to a net loss of 114,779 people moving to other states.

Illinois is the most glaring example of the blue state model--which involves overly-generous salaries for public-sector union state employees who are given lavish pensions when they turn 50. The union bosses in turn contribute copious amounts of cash to the coffers of Democratic politicians. Everyone wins but Illinois taxpayers such as myself. Sure, Illinois has a Republican governor, but the ultimate power resides in Boss Michael Madigan. The Chicago Democrat has been state House speaker for an unprecedented 32 of the last 34 years--he's also chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party and his daughter is the state attorney general. Madigan draws the legislative maps for the General Assembly.

At the border--why didn't I leave

when I had the chance?

What is the saying about absolute power?

In an attempt to pay for these pension obligations, Madigan rammed through an override of Governor Bruce Rauner's veto of a massive income tax hike this summer.

Reuters calls Madigan "The man behind the fiscal fiasco in Illinois."

ILL-inois is burdened with about $16 billion in unpaid bills. It has one of the worst-funded state public pension systems. In regards to municipalities and other government agencies, things may be even worse.

It's easy to understand why people are heading for the exits.

Why am I still here?