Illinois state Rep. Martin McLaughlin, R-Barrington Hills |BlueRoomStream
Illinois has seen an exodus of residents over the past several years. Some say the outmigration is contributing to the state’s growing pension problems.
Illinois currently spends about $10 billion a year on public pensions, and the state’s five systems have an unfunded liability of at least $140 billion. Some Illinois legislators are pushing for more funding for pensions while others have raised concerns of having Tier 2 employees hired after 2011 with fewer promised benefits paying more to support those employees in Tier 1 with more generous benefits.
A recent report from the American Legislative Exchange Council found each man, woman and child in Illinois is on the hook for about $37,000 to pay off public employee pensions, the second highest amount of all states after Alaska.
U.S. Census data shows nationwide, the median household income was $74,755 in 2022, down around 1% from the year before when adjusting for inflation. Illinois is one of 17 states to see its average inflation-adjusted household income decrease in 2022.
Other data from the U.S. Census on state-to-state migration released earlier this year shows that Illinois gained 4,000 residents from nine other states. But about 150,000 left for other states. That means 146,000 Illinoisans on net left in 2021.
Illinois state Rep. Martin McLaughlin, R-Barrington Hills, said the state pension systems suffer when people leave the state.
“We are having a smaller and smaller number of employees supporting the top, and that demographic structure itself is a big problem,” McLaughlin told The Center Square. “That’s not changing because the only way to change that is to grow Illinois’ population, grow Illinois businesses, grow Illinois employees, so they can support those at the top.”
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Government worker unions are a clear and obvious conflict of interest and should be made illegal.
Roughly one in 10 Illinois voters is a government union member or a ‘close relation’ to one (a spouse, parent, or child). They will vote to maintain the over-generous pay, work rules, and pensions by maintaining the status quo- which is why we keep electing the same corrupt politicians cycle after cycle after cycle. Until the electorate starts paying attention and gets out to VOTE we will get the same. And when Illinois property owners have had the value of their homes, businesses, and buildings liquidated by the insatiable needs of the public worker union pensions Illinois will have to declare bankruptcy.