leaving Illinois

With over 418,000 people leaving Illinois in just a few years, it seems many are searching for greener pastures. The reasons might surprise you.

There are more than a couple of reasons that so many people are leaving, or planning on leaving Illinois; better job, better weather, but most of all it boils down to having your pocket emptied by state and local governments.

Spoiler alert: It's not Winnebago, Boone, and/or Ogle counties that are looking to leave the state of Illinois, although at one time Winnebago County, Jo Daviess County, Stephenson County, and Boone County all tried to remove themselves from the master list of Illinois counties.

The annual migration report from Allied Van Lines and Zillow found that Illinois reported the largest outmigration of residents of any state during 2021, which would make last year the 8th consecutive year of population decline in Illinois.