...State leaders have important
reasons for wanting to see their state
populations grow rather than shrink. A
growing population usually means more commerce, more economic vitality, and a
bigger tax base to pay for state services.
A shrinking population not only hurts
government coffers, but can weaken
a state politically by virtue of the
potential loss of U.S. House members
through redistricting every 10 years...
Every state has at least some residents who are looking for greener pastures, but nowhere is the desire to move more prevalent than in Illinois and Connecticut. In both of these states, about half of residents say that if given the chance to move to a different state, they would like to do so. Maryland is a close third, at 47%. By contrast, in Montana, Hawaii, and Maine, just 23% say they would like to relocate. Nearly as few -- 24% -- feel this way in Oregon, New Hampshire, and Texas.
These findings are from a 50-state Gallup poll, conducted June-December 2013, which includes at least 600 representative interviews with residents aged 18 and older in each state. Gallup measured residents' interest in moving out of state by asking, "Regardless of whether you will move, if you had the opportunity, would you like to move to another state, or would you rather remain in your current state?"
...If these states sound familiar to readers of Gallup's previous 50-state poll articles, it's because several of them also appear at the top or bottom of the states for resident satisfaction with state taxes, state government, and overall perceptions of how their state compares to others as a place to live. Gallup has the poll results and the story..
Here's what Illinoisans are saying:
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| 50% of Illinois residents would leave the state if they could. |
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| 71% of Illinoisans think their taxes are too high |
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| Illinois residents least trusting of their state government |
Not only do Illinois residents think their taxes are too high, have little trust in their state government but according to a Gallup Poll, a large percentage think Illinois is among the worst places to live. No wonder half the residents said they would leave Illinois if they could.
It's time to do something different.