Darren Bailey points to the news of Illinois having lost more than 86,000 residents and nearly $5 billion in taxpayer income over a yearlong period as another example of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s failures.
"Rauner was sent to stop this,” Bailey posted on Facebook. “Instead he made it worse. Nothing was shaken up or turned around. Instead of leading the revolt, he gave up."
A recent Paul Simon Public Policy Institute survey also found that nearly 50 percent of all Illinois residents now want to leave the state, with runaway taxes being cited as the top reason for wanting to exit. Data composed by the IRS also found Illinois experienced a loss of nearly 42,000 tax returns to other states over the 2015-16 year surveyed, equating to an all-time high in lost exemptions.
Perhaps making matters even worse is the fact millennials are leading the charge in bolting the state. 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).
Bailey, a Xenia Republican who recently launched his campaign against Rep. Dave Reis (R-Willow Hill) in the 109th District, wants to be part of the solution. He previously told the SE Illinois News the status quo and the way things are done in Springfield simply is no longer acceptable.
“It is a shame that this state has eroded so much in the past 13 years under the current leadership,” he said back then. “Career politicians have run our state in the ground.”
The 109th House District includes parts or all of Jasper, Effingham, Clay, Richland, Lawrence, Wabash, Wayne, Edwards and White counties.
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