Metro East Sun

Lawmakers are pained at the news that the 2020 U.S. Census brought for Illinois: tens of thousands have left the Prairie State for greener pastures, and a congressional seat will be taken away because of it. 

State Rep. Avery Bourne (R-Litchfield) made a statement about Illinois' pitching population numbers, what in the past has caused it and what it could mean for the future. 

"The anecdotes that we have heard from our constituents for years came out in numbers," Bourne said. "We saw that Illinois is one of the only states in the country who lost population."

West Virginia is the only state to lose more of its residents in the 2010s than Illinois. Bourne pointed out that none of Illinois' neighboring Midwest states experienced population dips, and linked the decline to the state's economy, dwindling opportunities for families and its policies. 

Prairie State Wire reported that thousands of residents have been moving out of the state, mostly millennials in search of better job opportunities and housing. 

Illinois Policy estimated that if the state had followed average state population growth trends, it would be 9% higher than it is today. 

Bourne hopes her fellow legislators see the numbers as a call to action before more revenue opportunities and congressional seats are lost. 

"Unfortunately, these results don't come as much of a surprise," Bourne said. "I want to reiterate that we were the only one of our neighbors to have lost population, and we are also one of our only neighbors to have had these kinds of job-killing policies in our state."