Metro East Sun

Republican House candidate Dwight Kay worries there will be a domino effect without a structural change in Illinois.

“The General Assembly, Mike Madigan and all his cohorts have made the state unaffordable for a while, now more and more people are finding it to be an unfit place to live as well,” he told the Metro East Sun.

Kay isn't surprised that a new Illinois Issues Survey found that 53 percent of Illinoisans have considered leaving the state, he said.

Rep. Katie Stuart

“It’s a case of chickens coming home to roost,” said Kay, running against Rep. Katie Stuart (D-Edwardsville) in Illinois’ 112th District. “People have realized they can’t pay bills they normally owe, plus all the bills owed to state government.”

Pollsters also found that 64 percent of respondents with household incomes between $60,000 and $100,000 have considered moving out of Illinois. Nearly three-fourths, or 74 percent, believe the state is on the wrong track compared to 14 percent that thinks it is heading in the right direction.

The new results are similar to findings from a 2016 Paul Simon Public Institute survey that found 47 percent of residents would rather live elsewhere because of the state's tax rates.

“It’s put us in a ditch where we’re just spinning our wheels,” Kay said. “People no longer trust Chicago politics or that Mike Madigan will do the right thing, especially with (Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B) Pritzker looming in the wings.”

With Illinoisans already paying some of the country’s highest property tax rates in the country, Illinois Policy Institute reports the state is one of only three where owning a home has become a worse investment since the Great Recession.

“We’ve got to change the course of direction,” Kay said. “As it is, fewer taxpayers will remain left to deal with the burden and it won’t be a pretty sight.”

Illinois’ 112th District includes Madison and St. Clair counties.