Metro East Sun

Though Illinois lost more than 86,000 residents and nearly $5 billion in adjusted gross income over a yearlong period beginning in 2015, Doug Jameson fears things could get even worse without major policy changes.

Jameson, a Belleville Republican vying for the House seat held by Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Swansea) in the 113th District, noted that a recent Paul Simon Public Policy Institute survey found that nearly 50 percent of Illinoisans want to leave the state, with runaway taxes being cited as their primary reason for looking to flee.

"We cannot overlook that Illinois lost more than 6,000 residents to Wisconsin and more than 8,000 residents to Indiana," Jameson wrote in a post to Facebook. “This crisis, if left unaddressed, will have drastic ramifications for our state. Reforms must take place in Springfield, so residents will be proud to call Illinois home again."

According to IRS data, Illinois experienced a loss of nearly 42,000 tax returns to other states over the year surveyed, equating to an all-time high in lost exemptions. Data also showed millennials were the leading sector now heading for the exits.

The top 10 states to which Illinois lost people were Florida (12,800 exemptions gained from Illinois on net), Texas (9,400), Indiana (8,200), California (7,600), Arizona (6,400), Wisconsin (6,000), Colorado (4,700), Georgia (4,200), Tennessee (3,600) and North Carolina (2,700).

Jameson is running on a platform of bringing more discipline and fiscal responsibility to government. He previously told the Metro East Sun he sees these as desperate times for the state and feels that his military background could be useful in righting the ship.

“In the military, the only times we apply force is when the norms of society have been transgressed,” he said at that time. “As a government, we've reached that point, and now we need to restore balance and order to the way we do things.”

The 113th House District includes all or part of Belleville, Swansea, Fairview Heights, Washington Park, Fairmont City, Caseyville, Madison and Granite City.