Taxes, Job Market Causing People To Leave Illinois
From the Chicago Tribune
Megan Ciaburri grew up in the northern suburbs. When she married someone from the area, she expected they would get an apartment in Chicago or buy their own home in the 'burbs.
Their jobs are here. Their families are here. But come July, the newlyweds will be packing their bags for Texas.
"I thought it was going to be a lifetime thing — living in the Chicago area," said Ciaburri, 28. "But I just don't see us getting ahead by staying here."
Sky-high property taxes make homeownership a pipe dream, she explained. And the job market — terrible. It seems there are always more headlines about companies leaving Illinois than moving in. She and her husband both have jobs now, but what about in five years when there might be kids in the picture?
As Ciaburri laid out all the reasons why it made sense to move, my heart ached.
I was born in Chicago, raised on Superdawg and Portillo's. In my early 20s, I made a hard pitch for Illinois to my then-boyfriend-now-husband.
"It's better here," I told him.
It should be. But thousands of people just like Ciaburri have decided it's not.
A startling pair of Gallup polls recently suggested that Illinoisans are an unhappy lot. Half of us would move elsewhere if we could. One in 4 says Illinois is the worst possible place to live in the entire U.S.
Naysayers claim it's all talk. It isn't.
Not long after the Gallup polls came out, the Internal Revenue Service released fresh numbers showing which states people are moving to and which states people are fleeing.
Spoiler: Illinois didn't earn any positive marks in this report, either.
According to the IRS, Illinoisans don't just want to move; they are moving. And they've been moving for a long time.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Chicago Tribune
Megan Ciaburri grew up in the northern suburbs. When she married someone from the area, she expected they would get an apartment in Chicago or buy their own home in the 'burbs.
Their jobs are here. Their families are here. But come July, the newlyweds will be packing their bags for Texas.
"I thought it was going to be a lifetime thing — living in the Chicago area," said Ciaburri, 28. "But I just don't see us getting ahead by staying here."
Sky-high property taxes make homeownership a pipe dream, she explained. And the job market — terrible. It seems there are always more headlines about companies leaving Illinois than moving in. She and her husband both have jobs now, but what about in five years when there might be kids in the picture?
As Ciaburri laid out all the reasons why it made sense to move, my heart ached.
I was born in Chicago, raised on Superdawg and Portillo's. In my early 20s, I made a hard pitch for Illinois to my then-boyfriend-now-husband.
"It's better here," I told him.
It should be. But thousands of people just like Ciaburri have decided it's not.
A startling pair of Gallup polls recently suggested that Illinoisans are an unhappy lot. Half of us would move elsewhere if we could. One in 4 says Illinois is the worst possible place to live in the entire U.S.
Naysayers claim it's all talk. It isn't.
Not long after the Gallup polls came out, the Internal Revenue Service released fresh numbers showing which states people are moving to and which states people are fleeing.
Spoiler: Illinois didn't earn any positive marks in this report, either.
According to the IRS, Illinoisans don't just want to move; they are moving. And they've been moving for a long time.
Read more in our daily News Update...