Metro East Sun

In the eyes of former republican House hopeful Mike Babcock the revolt against Springfield has been a long time coming.

“We’ve been running these massive deficits for more than 20-years now,” Babcock told the Metro East Sun. “You add to that the way taxes are now too high and the way the business climate is not conducive to make a living, especially under these pandemic restrictions, and people have had enough. They’re fleeing Illinois now like there’s no tomorrow.”

According to the latest data compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau, Illinois now stands as one of four only four states to lose population over the last decade with almost 170,000 residents heading for the exits.

Of the state’s 102 counties, 93 have also lost population, topped by the Cook County region where nearly 49,000 individuals have bolted.  Finally, at least 10 counties have suffered losses of more than 5,000 people, with Babcock fearing the worst may still be yet to come.

“We’ve got so many problems that need to be solved and that’s just not happening,” he said. “I’ve come to believe the change we need can’t come without new leadership. Our current so-called leaders are more concerned with solving their own problems instead of the people of Illinois.”

Deeper analysis shows that downstate counties have particularly been hard hit, with the region losing 144,000 residents or 3.2% of its 2010 population over the same time period. In addition, data shows the losses in Cook County represent the second worst losses of residents in any country across the country, with only Wayne County in Michigan losing more people.

“The bottom line is democrats have failed this state in all their years of running it and now we’re seeing the effects of that like never before,” Babcock added. “We’ve got to find a way to break the cycle.”