Veteran Illinois State Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) says that Illinois' steadily declining population tells you everything you need to know about the direction of the state overall.
“It tells me we’re still heading in the wrong direction,” Ugaste told The McHenry Times. “Here we are the fifth largest economy in the country and we’re losing people. That’s inexcusable.”
The latest U.S. Census Bureau statistics show the state has lost nearly 170,000 people over the last decade, including 49,000 Cook County residents alone. Over that same time, at least 93 of the state’s 102 counties have also experienced decline, with as many as 10 different counties having lost a minimum of 5,000 residents.
Rep. Dan Ugaste
| File Photo
“Current leaders think the only way to resolve an issue is with tax increases and the people in this state realize they’re already overtaxed,” Ugaste said. “The truth is you’re not going to get anyone to move here with higher taxes. You may be able to plug a short term goal, but without addressing the larger problem that’s all it is.”
Ugaste lists the state’s most pressing issues as public pensions, property taxes, regulations and an anti-business atmosphere.
“We need to seriously deal with those issues, if we do maybe we’ll have a chance of changing direction,” Ugaste said. “We on the republican side are always discussing those things, trying to get democrats to be open to doing things differently.”
As it is, downstate counties have been among the hardest hit regions, losing in the neighborhood of 144,000 residents since 2010, or 3.2% of its population from that time.
Ugaste sighs it’s obvious that change can’t come to Springfield too soon.
“My greatest fear is that nothing will be done and we will continue down this path of destruction,” Ugaste said.
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