Illinois......are you staying or leaving? (Chicago, Washington: appointed, house, employment)

[Bird4Prez]

Hello. So I am sure most of the people on this website are familiar with the recent census data that shows Illinois continuing to lose people at the highest rate in the nation. If not, here is a link to the Trib:
Illinois loses more residents in 2016 than any other state - Chicago Tribune
Anyways, I was wondering if some of you on City-Data are planning on staying or going in the near future? Also, why you plan on staying or leaving? Personally, I have a 2 to 3 year plan to leave Chicago. I love the city immensely, but the politics (i.e. corruption) of the city and state are just too ridiculous. There may be a mayoral change in the near future, but I am convinced that the speaker of the house will die in office because he truly has nothing else going besides his sociopathic political chess games. Sorry about the political interlude......personally, I am an independent who generally leans democrat, but this state makes me more conservative with each passing day. I realize that this is a statewide question, but I feel like the divide between Chicagoland and Downstate is so vast nowadays that I would have to post the question in several different threads. Thanks in advance for any responses.

[Avondalist]

I don't have any plans to leave, but I have thought about it often. The main thing that keeps me here is my spouse's job and my parents. The latter are probably here for the duration, and the former would require some convincing to find a new job. I'd also need to unload some local investments. So I'm too enmeshed to be seriously considering an exit now.

I think the property market will hold up where I am for at least another decade, so I'm in no rush. I don't think Illinois is in imminent financial danger, but I will leave eventually because the fix to Illinois's financial problems will require higher taxes and less spending, and I don't want to be here when that starts to bite. For some people that moment already came and they went. Everyone has their own tolerance for the corruption and waste in this state, and I haven't reached my limit yet.

[edsg25]

Staying. And damned happy about it.

[Jynnie847]

Don't be sucked into the "grass is greener somewhere else" delusion.

Chicago is holding up economically better than most cities in America, and the politics here is not as bad as the media likes to portray. The ex-mayor of a large Michigan metropolis is currently serving out a 28-year sentence in a federal lockup. I don't think our buddy Rahm is doing that badly yet LMAO.

Try living a few months in truly despicable garbage dumps like Detroit or Baltimore or Cleveland and you'll think Chi-Town is paradise on Earth (albeit a cold paradise).

[Wendy013]

We are planning to leave when our youngest graduates high school in 2 1/2 years. I don't mind paying taxes to feed to poor or for more cops or to beautify the city or whatever, as long as we feel like we have a say through representation. But to have to put in extra money because politicians over-promised and then didn't set aside the money to be invested at the time -- that, I have a problem with. Also not fixing things going forward. I really feel like we were duped by Daley, and I'm tired of King Madigan. It's time to go. I only hope the housing market holds up.

[beaniemac]

Originally Posted by Avondalist

I don't have any plans to leave, but I have thought about it often. The main thing that keeps me here is my spouse's job and my parents. The latter are probably here for the duration, and the former would require some convincing to find a new job. I'd also need to unload some local investments. So I'm too enmeshed to be seriously considering an exit now.

I think the property market will hold up where I am for at least another decade, so I'm in no rush. I don't think Illinois is in imminent financial danger, but I will leave eventually because the fix to Illinois's financial problems will require higher taxes and less spending, and I don't want to be here when that starts to bite. For some people that moment already came and they went. Everyone has their own tolerance for the corruption and waste in this state, and I haven't reached my limit yet.

this is the reason I don't want to leave. my parents and in laws are here and will be hitting 70 in the next couple years. and my sister and brother and law are here as well. my wife's job relocated her to the dallas area, so she is set to be moving, but we just bought our house 1 year ago in, and I don't think we'd be able to make money selling it this quickly. plus my kids are settled in schools here. my job is irrelevant because I work from home, but there are too many factors keeping me here for the time being.

[Bird4Prez]

Originally Posted by Jynnie847

Don't be sucked into the "grass is greener somewhere else" delusion.

Chicago is holding up economically better than most cities in America, and the politics here is not as bad as the media likes to portray. The ex-mayor of a large Michigan metropolis is currently serving out a 28-year sentence in a federal lockup. I don't think our buddy Rahm is doing that badly yet LMAO.

Try living a few months in truly despicable garbage dumps like Detroit or Baltimore or Cleveland and you'll think Chi-Town is paradise on Earth (albeit a cold paradise).

I guess my post was a bit ambiguous. To be more specific........Madigan is the reason why I am leaving Illinois. He is (reportedly) a healthy 74 year-old who loves power so much that he will stunt the political ambitions of his own daughter. He could be around for another 25 years. Don't laugh when you read that because Strom Thurmond was in the senate until he was 100. There will never be any change in this state financially speaking while he is the man behind the curtain. As for Rahm, I think he is a disgusting and power-hungry human being, but as a mayor he has done as well as he could've considering the shambles that Richie the Prince left Chicago in when he left office. There weren't a ton of options for generating the kind of income needed to put all of the pensions on a somewhat stable footing. Having said that, if he gets one or two more terms, I believe that there will be some serious scandals related to funding etc. because he will only become more emboldened. Honestly, what other options does he have besides continuing to be mayor (if he wants to continue to hold public office). I doubt he would win a statewide election (or if he even wants that) and I think he is despised nationally.
Anyways, I truly love Chicago and would stay her forever, but I'm not going to be sitting at the table when the bill for Madigan's decades-long party arrives.

[IrishIllini]

Everyone hates Michael Madigan except those in his district. Unfortunately, that's all he needs to care about.

If he's reappointed as Speaker, I'm done with the Illinois Democratic party. PLEASE CALL YOUR REP AND DEMAND HE IS NOT VOTED BACK IN AS SPEAKER. I truthfully already had enough this go around and voted Republican almost exclusively, and there are PLENTY of issues with them as well.

[thunderstruck666]

If I can find suitable employment in another state, I'll definitely leave. The problem is lack of value for taxes paid, and the pension problems the state has. The situation for pensions is far worse than most people realize. A good example is earlier in the year when the Teachers Retirement System lowered the investment return assumption from 7.5% to 7%. This resulted in an additional taxpayer obligation of $420 million to meet the legally mandated contribution level. Here's the problem-the actual rate of return last year was .1%. Not 1%, but .1%. This is how the actuaries game the system. If the actuarially required contribution was adjusted to meet real returns instead of assumed returns, that one fund alone would have needed over 5.5 billion more from the state this year.

[IrishIllini]

Originally Posted by thunderstruck666

If I can find suitable employment in another state, I'll definitely leave. The problem is lack of value for taxes paid, and the pension problems the state has. The situation for pensions is far worse than most people realize. A good example is earlier in the year when the Teachers Retirement System lowered the investment return assumption from 7.5% to 7%. This resulted in an additional taxpayer obligation of $420 million to meet the legally mandated contribution level. Here's the problem-the actual rate of return last year was .1%. Not 1%, but .1%. This is how the actuaries game the system. If the actuarially required contribution was adjusted to meet real returns instead of assumed returns, that one fund alone would have needed over 5.5 billion more from the state this year.

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