(WBBM Newsradio) -- Republican state lawmakers said the newly released U.S. Census figures prove their oft-cited criticism: Supermajority Democrats are running Illinois into the ground
State Rep. Ryan Spain, R-Peoria, was among the GOP members on Monday who cited a familiar litany of negatives — high property taxes and problems with worker’s compensation and medical liability. In short, they say, Illinois is not a welcoming state for businesses.
“There are lots of things we can do and need to do, and unfortunately the majority party is not responding to those things,” Spain said.
The U.S. Census Bureau said Illinois is one of three states that lost population between 2010 and 2020, suffering a drop of 1.4%. It’s one of seven states that will lose one Congressional seat, which will dull its influence in Washington and perhaps reduce federal aid.
Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker, who is in his first term, has his own explanation for what has happened. He said many college-aged students are going to other states to attend school because it costs too much in Illinois.
“Some of our best students are being offered full scholarships to places like the University of Alabama or the University of Iowa, other places,” he said.
Pritzker said he’s working on it by trying to offer more grant money for Illinois students.
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