More than 87,000 people moved out of Illinois taking with them nearly $10 billion in income, according to the latest Internal Revenue Service data. For the last six years, the total lost adjusted gross income is more than $47.5 billion.
For nearly a decade, annual population estimates from the U.S. Census show Illinois losing population. For well over a year, Gov. J.B. Pritzker has denied the state’s population decline, saying the Census is getting it wrong. In May, he doubled down.
“You should take what I’m saying as truth that actually when we count people, it turns out we’re gaining,” Pritzker said.
