A new report says Rural Life in Illinois is Dying.

If you live in the rural areas of the Land of Lincoln you are officially the "last of a dying breed" as a report shows that Illinois is becoming increasingly more urban. What does the impact of this report mean for the small-town residents in Illinois?

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The Times Weekly put an article together based on a report that was done off of 2020 census data that shows Illinois is quickly becoming more urban and less rural. In the article, they say...

"Illinois is NOT suffering the mass exodus that some have claimed. To the contrary, researchers...have found that Illinois’ population has been stable over the last decade—driven by growth in the Chicago metropolitan area—with the state as a whole becoming less rural, more educated, more foreign-born, more Hispanic, and higher-paid... The tax base grew in the Chicago area while it declined Downstate. The number of tax filers with high incomes grew substantially, as Illinois became a $1 trillion economy..."

To read the complete article from The Times Weekly, click here!

If you have the time and are interested you should read the entire report, it is fascinating. But, I want to focus on the larger idea that Illinois is becoming more Urban and less Rural...This has to be alarming for people who live in small towns and in downstate Illinois. The people who live in downstate Illinois have LONG felt ignored and forgotten by the powers that run this state and if the power shift is growing that is more bad news for these rural residents. Many of the rural areas in our state need financial help, infrastructure help, and population help, and if more of the state's focus shifts north and urban what will become of the towns like Quincy, Danville, Lincoln, Galesburg, and others? I hope that there will always be the option for people in Illinois to live the rural lifestyle in these terrific small communities, but it is increasingly likely that if you want to live in Illinois it's big cities or nothing...