SE Illinois News

Darren Bailey has a clear vision of what he thinks is needed in Springfield to save Illinois.

“The first thing I will do is push for a rollback of the 32 percent tax increase my opponent supported," Bailey, a Xenia Republican running in the GOP primary against Rep. David Reis (R-Willow Hill) in 109th District, told the SE Illinois News. “I will also push for a reduction of property taxes. We have the second highest property taxes in the country and we need property tax reform.”

Bailey said the lack of those reforms stands as the primary reason why so many people are now walking away from the state altogether.

According to data recently released by the Census Bureau, Illinois has fallen from the list of the country’s five largest states, dropping to sixth behind Pennsylvania.

From July 2016 to July 2017, the state’s population shrank by 33,700 people, the worst decline of any state in the U.S. in raw terms. In terms of percentage, Illinois’ dip represents the third-worst population decline in the country, dropping the state’s overall population estimate down to 12,802,023.

The 2017 dip in population marks the fourth straight year of decline for Illinois and comes at a time when its neighbors experienced growth spurts.

Overall, government data shows from July 2016 to July 2017, 115,000 people left Illinois on net for other states and since 2010 that number swells to 643,000.

“If we want to stop the exodus of people from Illinois, we need to lower taxes,” Bailey said. “Taxes are too high. Illinois was already one of the highest taxed states in the country before the recent 32 percent tax hike. Instead of lowering taxes, lawmakers – including my opponent – decided our taxes were not high enough and they raised income taxes.”

Bailey said he personally knows people who have bolted the state, many of them making it clear to him that spiraling taxes had become too much for them to deal with.

“I also know people who desire to move back home to Illinois, but the property taxes are too high,” he said. “They would essentially be refinancing their home over the course of 30 years because of the difference. It is time we had legislators in Springfield who listened to what people are telling them.”

The 109th House District includes parts or all of Jasper, Effingham, Clay, Richland, Lawrence, Wabash, Wayne, Edwards and White counties.